1362.7 - Regional Statistics, Northern Territory, 2003  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 06/08/2003   
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MEDIA RELEASE

August 6, 2003
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
81/2003
Northern Territory: The people, the land, the economy

The total value of engineering construction work in the Northern Territory increased to $1,227million(m) in 2001-2002, according to new figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This was an increase of $1,058m from the previous financial year and can primarily be attributed to the construction of the Darwin to Alice Springs railway and the heavy industry associated with such a large-scale project.

This information is included in Regional Statistics, Northern Territory 2003 which captures ABS and other government agency data for the NT regions and sub-regions, including population and employment summaries, and information on mining and agriculture, transport, tourism, education, health, policing, government finance and Indigenous statistics.

Other interesting facts in the publication include:
  • At June 2002, the Territory's population was estimated at 198,013. More than half of the population lived in Darwin Statistical Division (SD) and Environs (55.2%) which had an average annual growth rate of 1.6% for the 5 years to June 2002.
  • Palmerston-East Arm Statistical Subdivision (SSD) contributed significantly to the Darwin SD and Environs growth with an average annual growth rate of 9.5% for the 5 years to June 2002, and a 3.1% increase in 2001-02.
  • The ten years from December 1992 to December 2002 saw the number of employed people in the NT increase by 30.2%, while for Australia the increase was 23.6%.
  • At February 2003 the average weekly earnings for full-time adults in the NT was $880.30, 2.2% below the national average of $900.40.
  • In 2002 Indigenous students represented around 40% of all preschool enrolments, 37.9% of primary school enrolments and 31.6% of secondary school enrolments in the NT.
  • The NT imprisonment rate per 10,000 adult population decreased from 51.1 in 2001 to 46.6 in 2002.
  • During 2002 there were 2,188 road traffic accidents recorded in the NT, a decrease of 8.8% from 2000. Darwin Regional Balance had the highest rate per 10,000 population (151.5), followed by the Barkly Region (138.0) and Darwin SD and Environs (118.3).
  • Mineral and Petroleum exploration expenditure for the NT increased significantly in 2001-02 (67.9%) from the previous financial year, while the Australian level of exploration expenditure fell by 10.8% over the same period. The majority of the increase in expenditure for the NT occurred in petroleum exploration expenditure in the Ashmore and Cartier Island regions.
  • Of the 1.7 million visitors to the NT in 2001-02, 46% visited the Top End, 16% visited the Katherine Region, 8% visited the Barkly Region, and 44% visited the Central Region. On average, visitors stayed 6.6 nights in the Top End compared with 4 nights in the Central Region, 3.3 nights in the Katherine Region and 2.1 nights in the Barkly Region.

Further details can be found in Regional Statistics, Northern Territory, 2003 (cat.no. 1362.7).