Australia

Background:

Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great Britain. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop its agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. In recent decades, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally competitive, advanced market economy. It boasted one of the OECD's fastest growing economies during the 1990's, a performance due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980's. Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef.

Location:

Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean.

Geographic coordinates:

27 00 S, 133 00 E

Map references:

Oceania

Area:

total: 7,686,850 sq km
land: 7,617,930 sq km
water: 68,920 sq km
note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island

Land boundaries:

0 km

Coastline:

25,760 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate:

generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north.

Terrain:

mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m
highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m

Natural resources:

bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum

Land use:

arable land: 6.15% (includes about 27 million hectares of cultivated grassland)
permanent crops: 0.04%
other: 93.81% (2005)

Irrigated land:

25,450 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:

cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires

Environment - current issues:

soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note:

world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and south-eastern coasts; the invigorating tropical sea breeze known as the "Fremantle Doctor" affects the city of Perth on the west coast, and is one of the most consistent winds in the world

Population:

21,007,310 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 18.8% (male 2,022,151/female 1,919,002)

15-64 years: 67.9% (male 7,233,555/female 7,038,722) 
65 years and over: 13.3% (male 1,266,166/female 1,527,714) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 37.1 years
male: 36.4 years
female: 37.9 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

1.221% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

12.55 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

6.68 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

6.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 0.9775 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 4.82 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.15 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 81.53 years
male: 79.16 years
female: 84.02 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

1.78 children born/woman (2008 est.)

Nationality:

noun: Australian(s)
adjective: Australian

Ethnic groups:

Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1%

Religions:

Catholic 26.4%, Anglican 20.5%, other Christian 20.5%, Buddhist 1.9%, Muslim 1.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 12.7%, none 15.3% (2001 Census)

Languages:

English 79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian 1.9%, other 11.1%, unspecified 5.8% (2001 Census)

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.)

Country name:

conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia
conventional short form: Australia

Government type:

democratic, federal-state system recognizing the British monarch as sovereign

Capital:

Canberra

Administrative divisions:

6 states and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

Dependent areas:

Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island, Macquarie Island

Independence:

1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)

National holiday:

Australia Day, 26 January (1788)

Constitution:

9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901

Legal system:

based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:

chief of state: Queen of Australia ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Michael JEFFERY (since 11 August 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Julia Eileen GILLARD (since 24 June 2010); Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Maxwell SWAN (since 24 June 2010)

cabinet: prime minister nominates, from among members of Parliament, candidates who are subsequently sworn in by the governor general to serve as government ministers
elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is sworn in as prime minister by the governor general

Legislative branch:

bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate (76 seats; 12 members from each of the six states and 2 from each of the two mainland territories; one-half of state members are elected every three years by popular vote to serve six-year terms while all territory members are elected every three years) and the House of Representatives (150 seats; members elected by popular preferential vote to serve terms of up to three-years; no state can have fewer than 5 representatives)
elections: Senate - last held 24 November 2007 (next to be held no later than 2010); House of Representatives - last held 24 November 2007 (next to be called no later than 2010)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 37, Australian Labor Party 32, Australian Greens 5, Family First Party 1, other 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Australian Labor Party 83, Liberal Party 55, National Party 10, independents 2

Judicial branch:

High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general)

Political parties and leaders:

Australian Democrats [Lyn ALLISON]; Australian Greens [Bob BROWN]; Australian Labor Party [Kevin RUDD]; Country Liberal Party [Jodeen CARNEY]; Family First Party [Steve FIELDING]; Liberal Party [Brendan NELSON]; The Nationals [Warren TRUSS]

International organization participation:

ANZUS, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CP, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, Paris Club, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMEE, UNMISET, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, WToO, ZC

Flag description:

Economy - overview:

Australia has an enviable, strong economy with a per capita GDP on par with the four dominant West European economies. Robust business and consumer confidence and high export prices for raw materials and agricultural products are fueling the economy, particularly in mining states. Australia's emphasis on reforms, low inflation, a housing market boom, and growing ties with China have been key factors behind the economy's 16 solid years of expansion. Drought, robust import demand, and a strong currency have pushed the trade deficit up in recent years, while infrastructure bottlenecks and a tight labor market are constraining growth in export volumes and stoking inflation. Australia's budget has been in surplus since 2002 due to strong revenue growth.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$760.8 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

$908.8 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita:

purchasing power parity - $36,300 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 3.6%
industry: 26.4%
services: 70.6% (2007 est.)

Labour force:

10.95 million (2007 est.)

Labour force - by occupation:

agriculture 3.6%, industry 21.2%, services 75.2% (2004 est.)

Unemployment rate:

4.4% (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line:

NA

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 25.4% (1994)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

30.5 (2006)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

2.3% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):

27.3% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $321.3 billion 
expenditures: $309.1 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt:

15.4% of GDP
note: The Commonwealth government eliminated its net debt in 2006, but continues a gross debt issue to support the market for risk-free securities. (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products:

wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry

Industries:

mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel

Industrial production growth rate:

3.8% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:

236.7 billion kWh (2005

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 90.8%
hydro: 8.3%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0.9% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:

221 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:

0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:

530,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - consumption:

875,600 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:

523,400 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports:

530,800 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - proved reserves:

3.664 billion bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:

35.6 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

25.08 billion cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

9.744 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

2.549 trillion cu m (1 January 2002)

Current account balance:

$41.1 billion (2005 est.)

Exports:

$103 billion (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:

coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment

Exports - partners:

Japan 19.1%, China 14.3%, South Korea 8%, India 5.9%, US 5.8%, NZ 5.2% (2006)

Imports:

$119.6 billion (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:

machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products

Imports - partners:

China 14.5%, US 13%, Japan 9.6%, Singapore 6.2%, Germany 5.2%, UK 4.5%, Thailand 4% (2006)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

$26.91 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external:

$824.9 billion (30 June 2007)

Economic aid - donor:

ODA, $2.123 billion (2006)

Currency (code):

Australian dollar (AUD)

Exchange rates:

Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003)

Fiscal year:

1 July - 30 June

Telephones - main lines in use:

9.94 million (2006)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

19.76 million (2006)

Telephone system:

general assessment: excellent domestic and international service
domestic: domestic satellite system; significant use of radiotelephone in areas of low population density; rapid growth of mobile cellular telephones
international: country code - 61; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3 optical telecommunications submarine cable with links to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe; the Southern Cross fiber optic submarine cable provides links to New Zealand and the United States; satellite earth stations - 19 (10 Intelsat - 4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean, 2 Inmarsat - Indian and Pacific Ocean regions, 2 Globalstar, 5 other) (2007)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998)

Television broadcast stations:

104 (1997)

Internet country code:

.au

Internet hosts:

9.458 million (2007)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

571 (2002)

Internet users:

15.3 million (2006)

Railways:

total: 38,550 km
broad gauge: 3,727 km 1.600-m gauge
standard gauge: 20,519 km 1.435-m gauge (1,877 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 14,074 km 1.067-m gauge (2,453 km electrified)
dual gauge: 230 km dual gauge (2006)

Highways:

total: 812,972 km
paved: 341,448 km
unpaved: 471,524 km (2004)

Waterways:

2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2006)

Pipelines:

condensate/gas 469 km; gas 26,719 km; liquid petroleum gas 240 km; oil 3,720 km; oil/gas/water 110 km (2007)

Ports and harbours:

Brisbane, Dampier, Fremantle, Gladstone, Hay Point, Melbourne, Newcastle, Port Headland, Port Kembla, Port Walcott, Sydney

Merchant marine:

total: 52 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,296,383 GRT/1,490,539 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 13, cargo 6, chemical tanker 1, container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger 7, passenger/cargo 7, petroleum tanker 8, roll on/roll off 5
foreign-owned: 24 (Canada 9, France 1, Germany 2, Japan 1, Netherlands 2, Norway 1, Singapore 1, UK 5, US 2)
registered in other countries: 34 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Bahamas 1, Bermuda 2, Dominica 2, Fiji 1, Marshall Islands 2, NZ 1, Panama 4, Singapore 11, Tonga 1, Tuvalu 1, UK 3, US 2, Vanuatu 2) (2008)

Airports:

461 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 317
over 3,047 m: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 12
1,524 to 2,437 m: 138
914 to 1,523 m: 143
under 914 m: 13 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 144
1,524 to 2,437 m: 19
914 to 1,523 m: 109
under 914 m: 16 (2007)

Military branches:

Australian Defense Force (ADF): Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, Special Operations Command (2006)

Military service age and obligation:

17 years of age for voluntary military service (with parental consent); no conscription; women allowed to serve in Army combat units in non-combat support roles (2008)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:

$17.84 billion (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:

2.7% (2005 est.)

Disputes - international:

Timor-Leste and Australia agreed in 2005 to defer the disputed portion of the boundary for fifty years and to split hydrocarbon revenues evenly outside the Joint Petroleum Development Area covered by the 2002 Timor Sea Treaty; dispute with Timor-Leste hampers creation of a revised maritime boundary with Indonesia in the Timor Sea; regional states continue to express concern over Australia's 2004 declaration of a 1,000-nautical mile-wide maritime identification zone; Australia asserts land and maritime claims to Antarctica; in 2004 Australia submitted its claims to Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) to extend its continental margins covering over 3.37 million square kilometers, expanding its seabed roughly thirty percent more than its claimed exclusive economic zone; since 2003, Australia has led the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) to maintain civil and political order and reinforce regional security

Illicit drugs:

Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of licit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate; major consumer of cocaine and amphetamines