1377.0 - Measures of a Knowledge-based Economy and Society, Australia, 2003

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Contents >> Information and Communications Technology Indicators >> Proportion of households with access to a computer, by type of household, State or territory and broad region

CHARACTERISTIC: HOUSEHOLD AND INDIVIDUAL USE OF ICT

INDICATOR: Proportion of households with access to a computer, by type of household, income and broad region

The proportion of Australian households with access to a computer at home increased from 44% in 1998 to 66% in 2003. Households with children, or those located in capital city areas were more likely to have computer access than those without children or located in the balance of the state.

HOUSEHOLDS WITH ACCESS TO A HOME COMPUTER(a)


	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
	%	%	%	%	%	%

Households
Without children aged under 15	36	39	44	51	53	58
With children aged under 15	63	65	71	77	79	85

State or territory
New South Wales	44	45	52	59	61	65
Victoria	46	50	56	61	62	68
Queensland	43	44	50	55	57	65
South Australia	41	45	49	56	58	62
Westarn Australia	44	50	55	58	63	67
Tasmania	36	40	45	50	51	57
Northern Territory(b)	42	55	54	52	62	np
Australian Capital Territory	64	66	70	77	78	80

Region
Capital city	48	51	55	62	65	69
Balance of state	38	40	48	52	54	61

Total	44	47	53	58	61	66

(a) Proportions are of all households in each category.
(b) Northern Territory estimates for 2003 are included in the total and other classifications but cannot be shown separately.
np not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated.
Source: ABS Household Use of Information Technology, Australia (cat. no. 8146.0).

HOUSEHOLDS WITH ACCESS TO A COMPUTER BY BROAD REGION, 1998–2003
Graph–Households with access to a computer by region, 1998–2003

Source: ABS Household Use of Information Technology, Australia (cat. no. 8146.0).

STATISTICAL NOTES

Household data are from the ABS Household Use of Information Technology Survey. Up to 2000 data was collected as part of the ABS Population Survey Monitor (PSM) in 2001 as part of the Survey of Education, Training and Information Technology (SETIT) in 2002 as part of the General Social Survey (GSS) and in 2003 as part of the Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC).

Computer
Includes desktop computers, laptops, notebooks, items such as pocket computers or 'personal organisers' which can be plugged into larger computers and dedicated word processors. From 2000, machines were excluded from the survey as were machines where repair or restoration to working order was not being planned.

Household
A household is defined as a group of one or more persons in a private dwelling who consider themselves to be separate from other persons in the dwelling, and who make regular provisions to take meals separately from those other persons. Lodgers who receive accommodation and meals are not treated as separate households. A household may consist of any number of family and non-family members.

Capital city
Capital city refers to capital city statistical divisions. These delimit an area which is stable for general statistical purposes. The boundary is defined to contain anticipated development of the city for a period of 20 years. They contain more than just the urban centre, and represent the city in the wider sense.

INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON

HOUSEHOLDS WITH ACCESS TO A HOME COMPUTER, 2002(a)
graph - Households with access to a home computer, 2002(a)

Source:OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2003, Towards a knowledge-based economy, (http://www.oecd.org).

STATISTICAL NOTES

Information on household home computer access was provided to the OECD by National Statistical Organisations which collected the information using a variety of surveys, such as labour force, time use, household expenditure, general or specialised social surveys. Issues for international comparability include differences in the timing, scope and coverage of national surveys.

Users should note that statistics on ICT use may differ because of structural differences in the composition of households between countries.