CANBERRA, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 40 Australian cyclists die in crashes every year, a report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) released Wednesday has found.

The AIHW released data on the 651 cycling deaths and 160,000 hospitalizations in Australia between 1999-2000 and 2015-16. Of those killed, 90 percent were male and 90 percent of fatal incidents were on roads.

It revealed that while the death rate remained stable at an average of 38 per year, the age profile of those injured and killed while cycling has changed dramatically over 17 years.

In 1999-2000, 48 percent of cyclists hospitalized after crashes were aged between five and 14, 18 percent were aged 25 to 44, and 7 percent 45 to 64.

By comparison, in 2015-16 only 20 percent between five to 14 years old, 31 percent between 25 and 44, and 26 percent 45 and 64.

"The severity of injuries sustained by cyclists generally increased with age," AIHW spokesperson James Harrison said in a media release on Wednesday.

"Those aged 45 and over were more likely to have life-threatening injuries, stay longer in hospital and be transferred to another hospital."

According to the Australian Sports Commission (ASC), the number of cyclists aged 15 and over rose 45 percent between 2001 and 2010 to 2.1 million.

While the hospitalization rate for motorists and pedestrians has fallen by 1.3 percent for motorists and 2.2 percent for pedestrians, that for cyclists has risen.