Book review: Who we are by David Dale

After two books about traveling in Australia, Sunburned Country and One for the Road, I felt like reading something more "objective" about the country. You know, something less personal, less anecdotal, and less humorous even.

Who we are fits this niche perfectly. On the first sight it is a book full of numbers and lack of exclamation marks. But nevertheless the author had a lofty goal. To use his words, "This book is an attempt to provide all the information anybody could need to determine what it means to be a resident of this continent, what might be our national values and whether there is--or ever could be--an average, normal or typical way of living here. "

But how bunch of numbers tell you who Australians are? Basically you have to put the puzzle together yourself, because nothing was offered in the book other than the pieces of the puzzle, aka, national average numbers of things from what Australians believe to top-selling DVDs of all time. Obviously the assumption here is that "You can tell a lot about a nation from the way it shops, talks, eats, laughs, worships, competes and entertains itself. "

Here are some numbers I found interesting and the italic parts were my thoughts (the book was published in 2006 so most numbers are still meaningful):

• Canberra has the longest life expectancy, lowest suicide rate, highest household income, highest internet use, lowest minimum temperature, and most same-sex partnerships compared to other states. Sydney has the highest level of air pollution/robbery rate/rate of happiness and house prices compared to other states.
  
• 77% of population was born in Australia, and 16% households speak a language other than English. After English, the most spoken languages are Italian, Greek, Cantonese, and Arabic.
  
• 27% Australians are Catholic, Buddhist 1.9%, Jewish 0.4%, no religion 16%.
• 85% Australians live within 50 kilometers of the sea. 1% live on a farm. 70% own or paying off a home. 74% of couples likely to cohabit before marriage and 43% of marriages likely to get divorced (I wonder what is the number for the group who didn't cohabit)
  
• 87% adults donate to charity more than once a year (average $424 per household)
• 82% feel safe at home after dark
• 87% mobile owners, 70% live in a home with two or more TV sets, 60% use the internet at least once a week.
  
• Population growth is 1% per year (up to date number here)
• 1.8 babies are born per woman and the median age for women giving birth is 30.
  
• Murder rate 1.9 per 1 million people per year compared to 5.6 in America, New Zealand 2.5, Britain 1.6 and Italy 1.5.
  
• Median age of population: 37, compared to 36 in America, Britain 39 and Italy 42.
• Australian is the #4 wine-exporting country in the world and the #16 wine-drinking country, with 22 liters per person per year (it is an underestimate for the MM household, MM drinks about 100 liter per year, and Yoyo drinks 0).
  
• In answering a 2002 survey question of "How do you feel about your life?" 12% of Australian adults said they were "delighted", 31% "pleased", 33% "mostly satisfied" and only 1.3% felt "terrible". However, among people who drank three glasses of wine a day, 49.7% were delighted or pleased and only 2.2 felt terrible or unhappy. Among people who never drink, only 37% were delighted or pleased and 6% felt terrible or unhappy (Does it mean "Booze helps!" as interpreted by the author, or it is also because high-income people tend to drink wine?)
  
• A 2005 survey of 4270 adults on "Australian social attitudes" revealed that 1) 90% agree the father should be as involved in the care of his children (only 90%?!), 2) 87% should have the right to choose whether or not she has an abortion, 3) 84% agree the gap between those with incomes and those with low incomes is too large (the gap is much smaller compared to that in the US), 4) 83% agree generally speaking Australia is a better country than most other countries, 5) a pre-school is likely to suffer if the mother works: 44% man agree, 30% disagree; 31% women agree, 45% women disagree (who has a clearer picture, Mum or Daddy?), 6) The death penalty should be the punishment for murder: 47% agree, 33% disagree, 7) Smoking marijuana should not be a criminal offense: 32% agree, 49% disagree.

About half of the books are not so much about numbers but purely descriptive, such as those Australian's values, cultural irons, most read books (Harry Potter! what else?). In these cases obviously not all were based on surveys or scientific research (Dale did list the source of his data, if any, at the end of each topic). The 17 Australian values listed, for instance, were probably just based on his own judgment.

Still it is an informative read, also perfect for somebody who doesn't have patience/time to read long and emotional stuff. I think I have better idea about who Australians are after reading his good. But perhaps the thongs (national wear) on the book cover and endpapers (umm, a word I just learned from MM) says who Dale is, if he chose the design himself ;)

To keep yourself updated, visit Dale's online-blog at Sun Herald.