The town in the midst of a women drought, and 9 other places with quirky claims to fame

INGA TING From the shire with the most campervans to the community where women give birth at four times the national rate, this is "the Lucky Country" you won't find in tourist brochures.

Generation Overstimulation? Generation Y's addiction to being busy

INGA TING Australia's 18 to 29-year-olds are so busy their physical and mental health suffers but, apparently, they like it.

Gap between rich and poor at highest level in decades: IMF

GARETH HUTCHENS The International Monetary Fund has warned that widening income inequality is the "defining challenge of our time".

House prices around the world: Sydney and Melbourne up but Hong Kong ranked No.1

INGA TING House prices may be soaring in Sydney and Melbourne but Australia looks tame compared to these overseas property markets.

Top 20pc of households have more than 200 times the savings of bottom 20pc

GARETH HUTCHENS A report has tackled a rarely discussed financial inequality.

Where Sydney's essential workers can afford to live

Inga Ting and Matt Wade Every city needs nurses, yet nurses are priced out of 95 per cent of Sydney.

The Sydney suburbs where minimum wage workers can afford to rent

INGA TING None of the five Sydney suburbs where a full-time worker on the minimum wage can afford to rent a one-bedroom is within 40 kilometres of the city centre.

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Tool that compares your income shows most Australians are out of touch

INGA TING It turns out Tony Abbott isn't the only one who's out of touch when it comes to understanding wealth in Australia.

Economy

AAA credit perfection offsets budget gloom

Matt Wade and Conrad Walters Interactive: Stop worrying about the deficit. We're one of the only nations with a perfect credit rating.

Sydney is turning into a ghetto as poor are trapped by fewer jobs and rising housing costs

JESSICA IRVINE The people of Point Piper enjoy an average income five times that of those in Auburn, as the gap between rich and poor in Sydney widens.

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Meet the rich and poor of Generation Y

INGA TING They haven't even celebrated their 30th birthdays yet, but Generation Y is already marred by a stark divide between rich and poor.

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Behind Australia's love affair with illicit drugs

INGA TING When it comes to illicit drug use, Australians are world leaders. But exactly who is using which substances, and how often, may come as a surprise.

Australia's fattest and fittest areas revealed

DAN HARRISON The Darling Downs region in Queensland's south-east is known for producing exquisitely marbled beef, and stats show human inhabitants are similarly far from lean.

The Australian children 24 times more likely to face jail than their peers

INGA TING This simple chart suggests why Australians may need to start asking tough questions about our justice system.

Living solo in Sydney: successful women and lonely men

Inga Ting and Eryk Bagshaw Living solo and loving it, or alone and down on your luck? It might depend on whether you're a man or woman.

Political donations: Mining hits back at Labor

Inga Ting and Patrick Begley It is potentially one of the most costly battles the Labor Party has lost.

Germanwings plane crash: How safe is your next flight?

Inga Ting and Conrad Walters The Germanwings flight that plunged into the Alps from 38,000 feet has sparked a natural reaction in any traveller. Is aviation safe?

Why the government thinks bulk-billing can go

MARC MONCRIEF The medicare co-payment, or some variation thereof, is reportedly back on the table.

Selling the farm? Who's buying?

MARC MONCRIEF Chinese investors have bought prominent properties near Bendigo in the latest purchase to raise concerns that Australia is "selling the farm".

Gender pay gap hits 20-year high leaving women's wages up to 10 years behind

INGA TING The gender pay gap has hit a 20-year high, with women in one industry earning the same amount their male colleagues were earning 10 years ago.

Road fatality stats: the most dangerous time of week to be driving

Tom Decent, Conrad Walters Be careful this afternoon - the deadliest time to be on NSW roads in the past 15 years was on a Saturday.

Data dollars

What is Patricia Arquette on about?

MARC MONCRIEF Patricia Arquette struck a nerve with her call for equal pay for women, then struck a raw one with her call for 'people of colour' to get on board. The data suggets she had a point, but only to a point.

Online dating: Behind the 'science' of digital matchmaking

INGA TING With so much data at our fingertips, are we any closer to finding an algorithm for love?

Children in detention: Seven charts that show the facts

MARC MONCRIEF Tony Abbott isn't happy about the latest report from the Australian Human Rights Commission. He says it's a partisan hatchet job.

Eight million tonnes of plastic added to ocean every year: study

ANDREW DARBY In the latest attempt to grasp the scale of the marine pollution crisis, researchers estimate around 8 million tonnes of plastic is being added to the oceans each year.

Hurstville: Sydney's real Chinatown

Conrad Walters, Data Editor Hurstville, 16 kilometres west of Sydney's CBD, occupies a unique spot on our demographic map.

Welcome home, Peter Greste. You've missed so much in 400 days

Conrad Walters, Data Editor Welcome home, Peter Greste. For 400 days, we watched your parents, concerned but dignified, and your brother, persistent and loyal, await your freedom.

Mystery Chinese donor Zi Chun Wang tops political donations with $850,000 gift to Labor

Heath Aston, Matthew Knott and Inga Ting Political donations to the major parties quadrupled in 2013/14, encompassing the lead-up to the federal election, including a donation of almost $1 million to the Labor Party from a mysterious Chinese donor.

By the numbers - the average Australian doesn't exist

MARC MONCRIEF You are 37, and a woman. You have a son and a daughter, aged six and nine. You live in a three-bedroom house. You have $200,000 still to pay on your mortgage. You are the statistically average Australian.

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Aussies on death row part of a grim line to have faced possible death sentence

Inga Ting, Conrad Walters One third of Australians arrested abroad for capital crimes in the past 30 years received the death penalty. Fewer than one in five walked free.

Check the ATAR cut-off for your course: Universities make their offers to students

AMY MCNEILAGE Universities say business and health degrees were the most popular this year, with strong growth in areas such as nursing, physiotherapy and exercise science.

Top ATAR, HSC performances the result of years of achievement

INGA TING Is ti nature of nurture that leads to academic achievement? The debate is far from over.

Asian students four times more likely to be in HSC honours list

INGA TING Students of east and south-east Asian background were the top-performing group in 10 of the 13 most  popular courses on the 2013 Higher School Certificate honour roll, new research shows.

Australian divorce rate lowest since 1976 when `no fault' splits introduced

MARC MONCRIEF Modern newlyweds are now well into their 30s and marriage still offers something powerful a new book argues.

Australian science and innovation in six charts

Nicky Phillips and Conrad Walters Australians take pride in being a competitive nation. We relish our world-leading position in many fields of endeavour, but we are far from the podium in one important area.

Retail rage

Inconsistent clothing sizes put shoppers in a twist

ESTHER HAN Mez Gallifuoco has hips that measure 102cm, like the average Australian woman according to the Bureau of Statistics. But depending on where she shops, the "perfect fit" can span three sizes.

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CSIRO unearths clues about the land

Conrad Walters, Data Editor A gargantuan effort by the CSIRO to map the condition of Australia's soil is unique in the world.

Ebola: nine charts show why it matters

Conrad Walters and Inga Ting It's killed more people than SARS or bird flu, and has one of the highest mortality rates in history. But how serious a threat is Ebola?

A tribute to the dead of World War I

CONRAD WALTERS World War 1, by some measures the deadliest of all conflicts, is still as relevant today 100 years after the beginning of the event.

Data of death: Remote NSW life expectancy as bad as North Korea's

Eryk Bagshaw, Conrad Walters The average person in remote western NSW can expect to live a shorter life than someone in North Korea, the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data has revealed.

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Deaths in custody hit 16-year high in NSW facilities

INGA TING Deaths in prison, police or immigration custody are at their highest level in a decade and a half, the latest figures from the NSW State Coroner show.

Best Melbourne Cup horses of all time

CONRAD WALTERS Sorry, Phar Lap. You're stuffed in Melbourne, and you wouldn't be a safe bet for this year's Cup.

Comments

Global biodiversity suffers as humanity lives beyond its means

Bridie Smith and Inga Ting Australia’s ecological footprint is the 13th-largest in the world - and is likely to get bigger following the repeal of the carbon tax, conservation group WWF has warned.

Australian Government investment in science reaches 30-year low

Inga Ting and Nicky Phillips The Australian government's investment in research and development has dropped to its lowest level in 30 years, an analysis of government figures shows.

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OECD figures show public benefits more than individuals from tertiary education

INGA TING The Australian public, not individuals, gains most from higher education but students shoulder most of the cost, according to international figures that undermine the government's claim that students should pay more because they benefit most.

Green Economy Index 2014: Australia ranked last for leadership

INGA TING Australia has fallen sharply in international green economy rankings, coming last out of 60 countries for performance on political leadership and climate change, and 37th overall.

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Australian women desert technology courses, as tertiary IT enrolments fall

CRAIG BUTT Enrolments in tertiary information technology courses have been falling, as local female students recoil from the sector's masculine reputation.

Ms Dhu's death in custody shows little learnt

INGA TING Those familiar with this country's dismal record of deaths in custody will not be surprised by the disturbing similarities between Ms Dhu's death and many deaths before hers.

NSW's new crime capital: Moree

RACHEL OLDING Country towns in northern NSW are in the midst of a ''tsunami'' of crime.

High price of alcohol drives demand for illegal drugs

INGA TING The expense of alcohol is driving Australia's high rates of illicit drug use, health experts say, as new figures show Australia's combination of high levels of use and expensive illicit substances buck international trends.

Drawcards

Sydney's fastest growing suburbs

TOBY JOHNSTONE Parramatta or Paddington? New data from the Domain Group charts the city's best and worst performers.

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Sydney restaurants: Where we are happy to pay for fine dining

Esther Han and Inga Ting Celebrated chef Guillaume Brahimi is set to open a new fine dining restaurant, as new figures show patrons of premium restaurants are spending more.

Options

Should you buy or rent?

Jacob Saulwick, Toby Johnstone, Michael Koziol Buy or rent? Ross Hoskins never gave the latter a try.

Behind the labels: who is really on the disability support pension and why

Judith Ireland, Conrad Walters We dig into the much-criticised benefit.

Number of displaced people worldwide exceeds 50 million: UN report

Sarah Whyte and Inga Ting The number of refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced people worldwide has exceeded 50 million for the first time since World War II, a United Nations report shows.

Dating scams leave victims broke and broken-hearted

Esther Han and Inga Ting Dating and romance-related fraud netted $25.2 million last year.

Pensioners lose savings in government cash grab

Esther Han, Inga Ting The government has bagged an unprecedented $360 million from household bank accounts since a controversial change to unclaimed money laws.

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Women being left behind in Queen's Birthday Honours

CONRAD WALTERS Female librarians and women working with the disabled, take a bow. Since 2001, you have received more Order of Australia honours than your male counterparts. That's 185 of you, compared with 145 men.

Post-Gonski fortune to private schools

ANNA PATTY Termination of schools funding under the Gonski model after four years will deliver an ''overpayment'' of $169 million a year to 163 wealthy independent schools in NSW, analysis shows.

Life outside jail proves fatal

INGA TING A prison sentence - even after it has been served - can be a death sentence.

United States Correspondent

A slice of pizza and a one-way ticket to the big house: the three-strikes law

NICK O'MALLEY The way Jerry Williams tells the story he was just mucking around with friends when some kids said he stole a slice of pizza. He ended up with a 25-to-life prison sentence under California's ''three strikes'' law.

Asylum seekers' time in detention soars

Inga Ting, Conrad Walters The average number of days in detention has risen every month for the past eight months.

International drug cartels target wealthy Australian market

Nick Ralston International drug cartels are increasingly targeting the Australian market due to a rise in demand and the price consumers are willing to pay, with latest figures showing drug seizures and arrests at record highs.

Overlapping health system just helps to 'jump queue'

INGA TING Sam Taylor's children were just 6 and 14 when she was asked to make a choice no woman ever wants to make.

Drinkers in danger rate their usage as average: study

Amy Corderoy, Lucy Carroll Australians are in denial about their alcohol use, tens of thousands are potentially drinking at risky levels and those in the most danger are seemingly clueless they have a problem, the Global Drug Survey has found.

Food Authority inspections reveal worst-offending grocery stores

Esther Han, Inga Ting Rodents, bugs, filth and expired food have caused nearly 300 supermarkets, greengrocers and delis to be slapped with fines over the past six years, data from the NSW Food Authority shows.

Story of farming a saga of boom or bust

CONRAD WALTERS Drought kicked Cameron Rowntree in the gut this week. Spurred by the costs of feeding his cattle, the fourth-generation Walgett farmer thinned his herd by selling stock.

Private insurance-based healthcare 'the most expensive', Commission of Audit told

INGA TING Countries that rely strongly on private insurance to fund healthcare have more expensive health systems, the federal government's Commission of Audit has been told.

Freedom and control are why the rich really are charitable

INGA TING Among taxpayers who claim a deduction for their generosity, the proportion of money given away by low-income earners is 11 times higher than that of wealthy taxpayers.

Revealed: The women we failed

Nick Ralston, Amy Corderoy, Inga Ting Three-quarters of women killed in NSW die at the hands of loved ones, a statistic that has led the NSW Police Commissioner to warn that domestic violence is one of the ''biggest issues modern society has to face''.

Health system inefficiencies costing $3 billion a year, says expert

DAN HARRISON Billions of taxpayers' dollars could be saved from the public health budget without reducing levels of service and care, according to a former head of the federal Health Department.

A fare cop: state loses $120m every year to passengers who don't pay

Jacob Saulwick, Alexandra Back Public transport fare evaders cost NSW about $120 million a year, according to the first detailed survey of Sydney's bus, rail and ferry passengers.

Winter Olympics

Winter Olympics: Delphi's Oracle never foresaw this

Alex Nicholson Extreme sports have paved the way for Australia's hopes in the Winter Olympics.

Comments

Coalition wins money vote as $81m poured into its coffers

JONATHAN SWAN The Coalition appears to be vastly better off than Labor, with the Liberals and Nationals making about $26 million more than their political opponents last year.

NSW

Welcome to Sydney's new million-dollar suburbs

TOBY JOHNSTONE It is the only club in Sydney where Point Piper residents rub shoulders with the nouveau-riche of Kenthurst, where Mosman meets Matraville and Burwood and Birchgrove are equal.

Love your guts: world 'hearts' Aussie offal

ESTHER HAN Australians love steak, but our aversion to the bits left behind has made us one of the biggest purveyors of offal in the world.

EXCLUSIVE

Selective school fees five times higher than at other public schools

Josephine Tovey, Inga Ting Parents with children in NSW selective schools pay voluntary fees on average five times the amount of those with children in comprehensive public schools, creating a stark inequality within the public school system, an analysis by Fairfax Media reveals.

Lifting alcohol prices won't stop binges: experts

INGA TING Higher prices for alcohol will do little to curb high-intensity drinking because binge drinkers commonly drink little or nothing on some days so they can binge on the weekend, leading public health experts warn.

Steroid use soars among young men

Peter Munro Steroids have become the drug of choice for people who start injecting illicit substances, eclipsing methamphetamines and heroin in popularity among young men.

Australia's richest suburb: they're swimming in it

Matt Wade It has Taronga Zoo, Balmoral Beach and a higher annual income than several African nations. Mosman's postcode, 2088, has the largest combined taxable income in Australia - a handy $2.5 billion, the latest tax data shows.

Sydney gay capital but some are only homosexual couple in the village

Lucy Marks, Craig Butt, Caroline Zielinski Karen Di Stefano does not see her homosexuality as anything out of the ordinary. ''It doesn't define who I am,'' says Ms Di Stefano, who has lived with her partner Amanda Harris in Frenchs Forest for three years.

Private health insurance: one in the hip pocket

RACHEL BROWNE With premiums steadily rising, many people are cutting back their healthcare cover, writes Rachel Browne.

Revealed: the high cost of being charitable

Rachel Browne, Michaela Whitbourn Almost half of donations to some popular charities are spent on fund-raising, prompting calls for more transparency as the Coalition prepares to abolish the body set up to regulate not-for-profit organisations.

HSC trends hark back to gender stereotypes of '50s

AMY MCNEILAGE Looking at trends in this year's HSC results, one could be forgiven for thinking the results were from the 1950s.

ATAR results: two years' hard work adds up to relative mystery

AMY MCNEILAGE Almost 55,000 of the state's school leavers will find out their ATAR on Thursday. But it is doubtful many, if any, will truly understand the intricacies of how it was calculated.

One year after Sandy Hook, Americans still up in arms

NICK O'MALLEY One year after the Sandy Hook massacre, America is still fiercely divided over its gun laws.

Automotive

Holden: Numbers tell the story for the small fry of General Motors' ecosystem

MARK HAWTHORNE The story of Holden and its demise needs to be viewed through a global lens if it's to be fully understood.

Sandy Hook massacre: Gun lobby targets Australia

NICK O'MALLEY Australia has again become a focus of the increasingly bitter debate over gun control in the United States.

Maths tutoring adds up for students: OECD study

AMY MCNEILAGE Many of the world's most mathematically gifted teenagers come from countries with the most lucrative tutoring industries.

University degrees worth billions to Australian wellbeing

MATT WADE Sitting through lectures and tutorials may be worth more than you think: the wellbeing value of a university degree is nearly $1 million.

Wasted decade as indigenous health fails to show improvement

INGA TING Indigenous health has not improved at all in many areas of Australia over the past decade, data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed.

Court verdicts: More found innocent if no jury involved

Michaela Whitbourn The man accused of murdering his fiancee by throwing her off the balcony of their Hyde Park apartment may have improved his chances of being found innocent by being tried without a jury.

COAG report: girls ahead at school but women lag in pay stakes

JOSEPHINE TOVEY It is the "baffling contrast" in gender equality in Australia: girls generally outperform boys at school, and are more likely to hold a bachelor degree, but men continue to earn more than women in the workplace and overwhelmingly dominate leadership roles.

Our national journey to prosperity

MATT WADE Statistics charting progress across Australian election years tell an interesting story, writes Matt Wade

How Australia eats: The ultimate pie chart

INGA TING We've never been more preoccupied with what, where and how to eat, so why are we fatter than ever and less capable of preparing food for ourselves? Here are the facts and figures.

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