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Data and statistics

Data and statistics are generally considered to be grey literature as they are generally available through non-traditional publishing sources, such as government agencies or research bodies.

Sometimes you will need to use statistics or data as part of your assessments. Below are links to authoritative sources of Australian and global health data and statistics.

Many statistics are freely available via a Web search. To help you to decide where you might find these data, you should consider:

Could statistics have been gathered on this subject?
What organisation might gather and share these statistics online?
Will these data be freely available or is a payment/subscription needed to access them?

The kinds of organisations that collect and share these resources may include:

state government
federal government
international governments and agencies
private enterprises

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
Australia's official national statistical agency, the ABS provides official statistics on a range of economic, social, population, and environmental topics.
The Australian Data Archive (ADA)
The ADA provides a national service for the collection and preservation of digital research data, including health studies, social attitudes surveys, and longitudinal studies.
Australian Government Department of Health
Australian national health information, policies, and programs.
Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet
Informs best practice and policy for those working in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)
Australia's national agency for health and welfare information and statistics. Useful for authoritative publications on health and welfare issues affecting Australia.
Public Health Information Development Unit (PHIDU)
Created by Torrens University, PHIDU provides free online access to a comprehensive range of current (and some historical) data at national, jurisdictional, regional, and small-area levels for Australia.

The Global Health Observatory
Provided by the World Health Organization: statistics by theme or country; indicators; and compilations of statistics in the publications section.
OECD health statistics
Datasets for a range of health statistics for populations around the world including health status, non-medical determinants of health, health resources, and health expenditure.
World Health Statistics
Annual reports provided by the World Health Organization.
World Bank - Health
Data here cover health systems, disease prevention, reproductive health, nutrition, and population dynamics from the U.N. Population Division, WHO, UNCF, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and others.