2.Older
Australians: age, sex and living arrangements
The principal source of demographic data in Australia is the Census of Population and Housing conducted every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). To derive the estimated resident population between census years, the census counts are used with adjustments made for births, deaths and net interstate and overseas migration.
As of 30 June 1996, the ABS estimated that there were 18.3 million persons in Australia, with 2.2 million of these aged 65 and over (12% of the total population). Almost a third of all older people were aged between 65 and 69 and almost a quarter were aged 80 and over. The majority of older people were women (57%), with this predominance particularly evident in the older age groups. In the 65 - 69 age group only 51% were women, increasing to 66% among those aged 80 and over.
Families are the 'largest source of emotional, practical and financial support in our society' and this support is provided primarily on a non-paid voluntary basis (McDonald 1995). The existence or non-existence of family members within a household is an important indicator of the availability of family support. It should be recognised, however, that a substantial amount of informal assistance is provided to frail and disabled older people by non co-resident family members (Gibson et al. 1997). The vast majority (91%) of Australians were living in families at the time of the 1991 Census, and 8% were living alone, a proportion which dramatically increases amongst older people. Six per cent of persons aged less than 65 were living alone compared to 27% of 65 - 79 year olds and 45% of those aged 80 and over.
While the living arrangements of men and women were similar until age 65, women's greater longevity and their tendency to marry older men combine to create substantially higher proportions of women than men living alone after that age. Men aged 80 and over were three times more likely to be in a couple-only family than women (54% compared to 16%). Women aged 80 and over were twice as likely as men to be living alone; 55% of all women aged 80 and over were living alone compared to only 27% of men.
Persons aged 65 and over; sex by age, Australia 1996
Age
| 65 - 69 | 70 - 79 | 80+ | Total aged population | |||||
| Sex | ('000) | % | ('000) | % | ('000) | % | ('000) | % |
| Males | 336.4 | 15.3 | 456.4 | 20.7 | 167.4 | 7.6 | 960.2 | 43.5 |
| Females | 355.0 | 16.1 | 572.5 | 26.0 | 317.8 | 14.4 | 1,245.3 | 56.5 |
| Persons | 691.4 | 31.4 | 1,028.9 | 46.7 | 485.2 | 22.0 | 2,205.5 | 100.0 |
Living arrangements by age and sex, Australia 1991 (%)
| Males | Females | |||||||||
| Age | 1 - 2 parent family | Couple only | Other | Lives alone | Total (N) | 1 - 2 parent family | Couple only | Other | Lives alone | Total (N) |
| <65 | 78.9 | 13.1 | 1.8 | 6.2 | 6,599,811 | 79.1 | 14.4 | 1.5 | 5.0 | 6,663,897 |
| 65+ | 16.5 | 62.4 | 3.5 | 17.6 | 686,655 | 16.6 | 38.0 | 5.8 | 39.6 | 882,464 |
| 80+ | 13.2 | 54.2 | 5.2 | 27.3 | 94,811 | 17.3 | 16.0 | 11.3 | 55.4 | 161,109 |
References/further reading
Australian Bureau of Statistics 1992. 1991 Census: Australia in profile. Cat No. 2821.0. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service (AGPS).
Gibson D, Butkus E, Jenkins A, Mathur S, Liu Z 1997. The respite care needs of Australians: Respite Review supporting paper 1. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
McDonald P 1995. Families in Australia, a social-demographic perspective. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.
Data sources
Data presented here are drawn from Australian Bureau of Statistics 1997, Estimated resident population by sex and age: States and Territories of Australia, June 1995 and Preliminary June 1996. Cat No. 3201.0. Canberra: AGPS; and unpublished data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Prepared by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
