Australia Yearbook - 2001

Chapter 5—Population 157
5.42 CRUDE DIVORCE RATE
Rate(a)
5
4
3
2
1
0
1901 1917 1933 1950 1966 1982 1999
(a) Rate per 1,000 population.
Source: Marriages and Divorces, Australia (3310.0).
5.43 SELECTED SUMMARY MEASURES OF DIVORCES
Median age at date decree made absolute
Divorces granted
Husband
Wife
Year ended
31 December
no.
Crude divorce
rate(a)
years
years
1901 398 0.1 n.a. n.a.
1921 1 490 0.3 n.a. n.a.
1933 1 954 0.3 n.a. n.a.
1947 8 705 1.1 n.a. n.a.
1954 6 457 0.7 37.8 34.5
1961 6 712 0.6 38.7 35.9
1966 9 859 0.8 40.4 36.9
1971 12 947 1.0 37.9 34.4
1976 63 230 4.5 36.2 33.1
1981 41 412 2.8 35.5 32.8
1986 39 417 2.5 37.5 34.7
1990 42 635 2.5 38.2 35.3
1991 45 652 2.6 38.4 35.5
1992 45 729 2.6 38.7 35.9
1993 48 363 2.7 39.3 36.4
1994 48 312 2.7 39.7 36.8
1995 49 712 2.8 40.0 37.1
1996 52 466 2.9 40.2 37.4
1997 51 288 2.8 40.3 37.6
1998 51 370 2.7 40.5 37.8
1999 52 566 2.8 40.9 38.2
(a) Per 1,000 population.
Source: Australian Demographic Statistics (3101.0); Marriages and Divorces, Australia (3310.0).
Households and families
At June 1999 there were an estimated 7.2 million
households in Australia, which were home to an
estimated 18.6 million Australians or 98% of the
resident population. Over the past 90 years the
number of households has increased by an
average 2.4% per year, compared to an average
1.6% increase per year in the population over the
same period. Reflecting the disproportionate
growth in households is the fall in average size
of households—from 4.5 in 1911 to 2.6 in 1999
(graph 5.44). Much of the decline in the number
of persons per household this century can be
attributed to reductions in completed family size,
and the concomitant increase in one- and
two-person households over the period. The
number of one-person households has grown
largely from the ageing of the population, while
a combination of ageing, increased childlessness
among couples and an increase in the number
of one-parent families has contributed to the
two-person households.