The average Caesarean rate in Australia was 21.9% in 1999 (up from 21.1% in 1998). This is up to twice the recommended rate (10 - 15%) by the World Health Organization (WHO). The high rates of Caesareans in western countries are usually attributed to them being performed too often for non-medical reasons.
Caesarean rates vary greatly from caregiver to caregiver, hospital to hospital, state to state and country to country. Below are the latest available figures on Caesarean rates in Australian states.
At present only NSW actually publishes the individual statistics of every maternity hospital in the state, Caesarean rates can vary from 4.1 % to 35.2 %, depending on the hospital.
If you wish to look at the actual rates of interventions, including Caesareans, in every NSW hospital for 2000 you can click on the link and download Part 7. You will need Acrobat Reader to look at the PDF document.
NSW Health Department
The overall Caesarean rates for all Australian states in 1998 and 1999 were: