A summary of key statistics for spinal cord injury, estimate information on how many people have a spinal cord injury in Australia and information on the economic cost of spinal cord injury.
A 2020 report commissioned by Spinal Cure Australia and icare, and prepared by AlphaBeta Australia titled Spinal Cord Injury in Australia reported that approximately 20,800 Australians lived with a spinal cord injury (SCI) at the time of publication.
Also from the report, the most common cause of spinal cord injury in Australia is traumatic causes. 81% of SCIs in people under 65 results from traumatic causes, such as falls, road accidents, and sports injuries. In those over 65, non-traumatic causes are the leading cause, such as tumours and degenerative disorders.
Economic cost of SCI
According to the report, spinal cord injuries cost the Australian economy $74.5bn in personal and health care, lost productivity and reduced well-being of the 20,800 Australians living with SCI – approx. $3.7bn per year.
These spinal cord injury statistics come from the report mentioned above titled Spinal Cord Injury in Australia . Also see SCIA’s factsheet which contains information from the annual AIHW report Spinal Cord Injury, Australia.
