Contents Key facts What is COPD Prevalence of COPD by age Hospitalisation trends Hospitalisation seasonality COPD deaths and smoking rates, COPD expenditure COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
© Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2016 This product, excluding the AIHW logo, Commonwealth Coat of Arms and any material owned by a third party or protected by a trademark, has been released under a Creative Commons BY 3.0 (CC-BY 3.0) licence. The full terms and conditions of this licence are available at You may distribute, remix and build upon this work. However, you must attribute the AIHW as the copyright holder of the work in compliance with our attribution policy available at Any enquiries about copyright and/or this fact sheet should be directed to the Head of the Digital and Media Communications Unit, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, GPO Box 570, Canberra ACT 2601, Tel: (02) ,
COPD COPD by numbers More than 1 in 20 Australians aged 55 and over have COPD, based on self-reported data. That's over 310,700 people. 58,872 Hospitalisations for COPD in Fifth leading cause of death With 6,462 deaths due to COPD in 2013
COPD What is COPD? COPDCOPD is a serious, progressive condition that limits airflow in the lungs. It is characterised by airflow limitation that is not fully reversible with the use of medication. People with COPD may have: impaired lung function with shortness of breath a persistent cough from excessive mucus (known as chronic bronchitis) damaged lung tissue and enlargement of the air sacs (known as emphysema). The terms COPD, emphysema and chronic bronchitis are often used interchangeably. The main cause of COPD is smoking. The following graphics are from the AIHW COPD web snapshot Information last updated in March 2016.
COPD Prevalence of COPD, 2011–12 Reference: AIHW 2016
COPD Hospitalisation rate for COPD, ages 55+ Reference: AIHW 2016
COPD Seasonal variation in hospitalisations rate for COPD and Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI), ages 55+ Reference: AIHW 2016
COPD COPD death rates, 3-year moving average, and smoking rates, ages 55+ Reference: AIHW 2016
COPD COPD expenditure 2008–09 Reference: AIHW 2016