3302.0 - Deaths, Australia, 2007 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 25/11/2008   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All

November 25, 2008

MEDIA RELEASE
111/2008
Embargoed: 11.30 am (AEDT)

Australians are living longer: ABS
Life expectancy in Australia continues to increase, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The life expectancy of a boy born today is 79.0 years, while for a girl it is 83.7 years.

Since 1987, life expectancy at birth has increased by around six years for men and four years for women.

The Australian Capital Territory recorded the highest life expectancy for males (80.3 years), while the highest life expectancy for females (84.0 years) was recorded in both Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. The Northern Territory experienced the lowest life expectancy for both males (72.4 years) and females (78.4 years).

The standardised death rate in 2007 was the same as in 2005 and 2006, which was the lowest on record at 6.0 deaths per 1,000 people. In 1987 the rate was 9.1 deaths per 1,000 people.

There were 137,900 deaths (70,600 men and 67,300 women) in 2007.

There were 1,200 infant deaths in 2007. This was a decrease of 60 infant deaths (or 4.7%) over the number registered in 2006. The infant mortality rate in 2007 was 4.2 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, 11% lower than the 2006 rate (4.7). Infant mortality rates for Indigenous Australians were around twice the rates for all Australians.

Further details are available in Deaths, Australia, 2007 (cat. no. 3302.0) for free download from the ABS website <www.abs.gov.au>. Regional, state and territory information is also available.

Media Note - Life expectancy is calculated using the latest death rates and does not account for any future changes in death rates. The standardised death rate removes the effect of different age structures in populations of interest.