Australia’s attitude towards death and funerals is changing with every passing year. The country seems to be treating the funerals with more acceptance rather than resistance, and is opting for more relaxed and celebratory funerals rather than serious and solemn ones. Maybe it’s because the country’s life expectancy has increased to 82 years. Most of the deaths reported are of people in the age bracket of 85 to 89.
Australian Funeral Directors Association (AFDA) commissioned a recent research in order to gain an understanding of how Australians perceive funerals now and to collect some statistical data related to the death patterns in the country. Here’s what the research found out:
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Declining Death Rates
While the tax rates might rising in Australia, but the death rates seem to be declining in the country. Even though Australia’s population (24.13 million as of 2016) is increasing, the country’s death rate is declining continually. The death rate in Australia was 6.9 deaths per 1,000 a decade ago, but it has now dropped to 6.5. Although men die more than women in the country, the gap seems to be decreasing. Almost a decade ago 107 men used to die in Australia for every 100 women, now 103 men die for every 100 women. Also, Australia has 300,000 births annually and only 150,000 annual deaths.
Seasonal Deaths
The winter months in Australia, June, July and August are considered the death season of the country. Deaths in the month of June are 11% above the monthly average, July experiences 26% more deaths than the monthly average, and the death rate in August is 24% above the average. This implies that these are the most profitable months for the funeral industry of Australia.
Increasing Age of Death
Deaths in Australia mostly occur in the five year age bracket of 85 to 89. Mostly, this age group sees 19% of the total deaths in the country. Australians in their twenties have the lowest death rates. However, males (1,134) die almost three times more than women (420) in a year.
Declining Infant Deaths
Even though the birth rate continues to set new records in the country, the death rate of infants continues to decline. In 2002, the number of infant deaths was recorded to be 397, which has dropped to 312 currently.
Insights on Australian Funerals
Funerals in Australia these days are all about embracing unconventional ideas that make funeral services more memorable and celebratory. These memorable arrangements are costly for sure, but the prevailing trend is all about adding a personalised touch to the funeral service. These expensive funerals are taken care of by the expanding industry of funeral insurance. For instance, Freedom Insurance has policies that enable the grieving family to host a memorable funeral service.
In Australia, the funeral insurance companies take care of the money you’ll need to organize such funerals. They also offer you new and innovative ideas for the funeral that match the personality and preferences of the deceased person, so that you can bid the last farewell to your beloveds in a celebratory style.
