General News
26 October, 2022
Census data reveals who we are
ARTHRITIS and mental health are the now most common long-term illnesses of people living in the Mareeba Shire and on the Tablelands, according to the latest statistics from the 2021 Census.
New statistics from the census provide an insight into who we are, what we earn, where we work and other interesting information about the 49,100 people who did the survey in the Tablelands Regional Council (TRC) and the Mareeba Shire Council (MSC) areas.
The median age of people in Mareeba was 43, while TRC has an older population, with the median at 49 years of age. It came as no surprise that agriculture, forestry and fishing was the biggest employer in the region, with 1534 people employed in the sector in MSC and 1472 in TRC.
The number of people suffering from long-term illnesses were very similar across both LGAs, with arthritis topping the list, followed by mental health, asthma, heart disease and diabetes.
The census also asked people to name what ancestry they identified with, which showed the vast majority of people living in both LGAs believe they have a European background.
Another interesting metric to come out of the census was the number of people who said they participated in some level of volunteer work in each LGA, with Mareeba recording 2885 volunteers, while TRC had 4277.
People aged between 45 and 84 years of age made up 67 per cent of volunteers in MSC, while that number climbed to 72 per cent in TRC.
The census also showed how many people chose to move to the region in the past five years, with Mareeba Shire attracting 3799 people from interstate or from within Queensland, and 627 migrating from overseas.
In TRC, 5815 people moved to the area from interstate or from within Queensland, while 447 people moved there from overseas.
To find more results from the census, go to www.abs.gov.auÂ
