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World's
smallest continent but sixth-largest country; the only continent without
glaciers; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts;
the invigorating 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
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Location:
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Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean
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Geographic coordinates:
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27 00 S,
133 00 E
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Area:
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total:
7,741,220 sq km land: 7,682,300 sq km water: 58,920 sq km note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island
Size comparison: slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states
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Land Boundaries:
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0 km
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Coastline:
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25,760 km
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Maritime claims:
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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
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Climate:
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generally
arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north
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Terrain:
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mostly
low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest
point: Lake
Eyre -15 m highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m
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Natural resources:
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bauxite,
coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, rare
earth elements, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum
note: Australia is the world's largest net
exporter of coal accounting for 29% of global coal exports
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Land use:
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arable
land: 6.15% (includes about 27 million hectares of cultivated grassland)
permanent crops: 0.04% other: 93.81% (2005)
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Irrigated land:
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25,500 sq
km (2003)
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Natural hazards:
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cyclones
along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires volcanism: volcanic activity
on Heard and McDonald Islands
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Current Environment Issues:
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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
freshwater resources
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International Environment
Agreements:
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party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources,
Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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: none of the
selected agreements
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Population:
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22,015,576
(July 2012 est.)
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Age structure:
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0-14
years: 18.3% (male 2,040,848/female 1,937,544) 15-64 years: 67.7% (male
7,469,092/female 7,266,143) 65 years and over: 14% (male 1,398,576/female
1,654,508) (2011 est.)
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Median age:
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total:
37.9 years male: 37.1 years female: 38.6 years (2012 est.)
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Population growth rate:
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1.126%
(2012 est.)
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Birth rate:
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12.28
births/1,000 population (2012 est.)
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Death rate:
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6.94
deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)
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Net migration rate:
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5.93
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)
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Sex ratio:
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at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03
male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 1
male(s)/female (2011 est.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
4.55 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.87 deaths/1,000 live births female:
4.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 81.9 years male: 79.48 years female: 84.45 years (2012 est.)
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Total fertility rate:
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1.77
children born/woman (2012 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.1%
(2009 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with
HIV/AIDS:
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20,000
(2009 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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fewer
than 100 (2009 est.)
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Nationality:
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noun:
Australian(s) adjective: Australian
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Ethnic groups:
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white
92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1%
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Religions:
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Protestant
27.4% (Anglican 18.7%, Uniting Church 5.7%, Presbyterian and Reformed 3%),
Catholic 25.8%, Eastern Orthodox 2.7%, other Christian 7.9%, Buddhist 2.1%,
Muslim 1.7%, other 2.4%, unspecified 11.3%, none 18.7% (2006 Census)
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Languages:
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English
78.5%, Chinese 2.5%, Italian 1.6%, Greek 1.3%, Arabic 1.2%, Vietnamese 1%,
other 8.2%, unspecified 5.7% (2006 Census)
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Literacy:
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definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female:
99% (2003 est.)
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Country name:
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conventional
long form: Commonwealth of Australia conventional short form: Australia
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Government type:
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federal
parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm
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Capital:
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name:
Canberra geographic coordinates: 35 16 S, 149 08 E time difference: UTC+10
(15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time:
+1hr, begins first Sunday in October; ends first Sunday in April note:
Australia is divided into three time zones
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Administrative divisions:
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6 states
and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia
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Dependent areas:
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Ashmore
and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea
Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Macquarie Island, Norfolk Island
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Independence:
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1 January 1901 (from the federation of UK colonies)
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National holiday:
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Australia
Day, 26 January (1788); ANZAC Day (commemorates the anniversary of the
landing of troops of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World
War I at Gallipoli, Turkey), 25 April (1915)
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Constitution:
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9 July 1900; effective 1
January 1901
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Legal system:
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common
law system based on the English model
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Suffrage:
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18 years
of age; universal and compulsory
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Executive branch:
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chief of
state: Queen of Australia ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented
by Governor General Quentin BRYCE (since 5 September 2008) 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 (For more information visit the World Leaders website )
elections: the monarchy 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
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Legislative branch:
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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 vote to serve
terms of up to three-years; no state can have fewer than 5 representatives)
elections: Senate - last held on 21 August 2010; House of Representatives -
last held on 21 August 2010 (the latest a simultaneous half-Senate and House
of Representative elections can be held is 30 November 2013) election
results: Senate (effective 1 July 2011) - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - Liberal/National Party 34, Australian Labor Party 31, Greens
9, others 2; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - Australian
Labor Party 38.1%, Liberal Party 30.4%, Greens 11.5%, Liberal National Party
of Queensland 9.3%, independents 6.6%, The Nationals 3.7%, Country Liberals
0.3%; seats by party - Australian Labor Party 72, Liberal Party 44, Liberal
National Party of Queensland 21, The Nationals 7, Country Liberals 1, Greens
1, independents 4
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Judicial branch:
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High
Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor
general acting on the advice of the government)
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Political parties and leaders:
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Australian
Greens [Christine MILNE]; Australian Labor Party [Julia GILLARD]; Family
First Party [Steve FIELDING]; Liberal Party [Tony ABBOTT]; The Nationals [Warren TRUSS]
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Political pressure groups and
leaders:
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other: business
groups; environmental groups; social groups; trade unions
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International organization
participation:
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ADB,
ANZUS, APEC, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CP, EAS,
EBRD, FAO, FATF, G-20, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS,
IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC,
MIGA, NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Paris Club, PCA, PIF, SAARC
(observer), Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMISS, UNMIT, UNRWA,
UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador Kim Christian BEAZLEY chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 797-3000
FAX: [1] (202) 797-3168 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco
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Diplomatic representation from the
US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador Jeffrey L. BLEICH embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 mailing address: APO AP 96549
telephone: [61] (02) 6214-5600 FAX: [61] (02) 6214-5970 consulate(s) general:
Melbourne, Perth, Sydney
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Australia's abundant and diverse natural
resources attract high levels of foreign investment and include extensive
reserves of coal, iron ore, copper, gold, natural gas, uranium, and renewable
energy sources. A series of major investments, such as the US$40 billion
Gorgon Liquid Natural Gas project, will significantly expand the resources
sector. Australia also has a large services sector
and is a significant exporter of natural resources, energy, and food. Key
tenets of Australia''s trade policy include support
for open trade and the successful culmination of the Doha Round of
multilateral trade negotiations, particularly for agriculture and services.
The Australian economy grew for 17 consecutive years before the global
financial crisis. Subsequently, the former RUDD government introduced a
fiscal stimulus package worth over US$50 billion to offset the effect of the
slowing world economy, while the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates to historic
lows. These policies - and continued demand for commodities, especially from China - helped the Australian economy
rebound after just one quarter of negative growth. The economy grew by 1.4% during
2009 - the best performance in the OECD - by 2.7% in 2010, and by 1.8% in
2011. Unemployment, originally expected to reach 8-10%, peaked at 5.7% in
late 2009 and fell to 5.0% in 2011. As a result of an improved economy, the
budget deficit is expected to peak below 4.2% of GDP and the government could
return to budget surpluses as early as 2015. Australia was one of the first advanced
economies to raise interest rates, with seven rate hikes between October 2009
and November 2010. The GILLARD government is focused on raising Australia''s economic productivity to
ensure the sustainability of growth, and continues to manage the symbiotic,
but sometimes tense, economic relationship with China. Australia is engaged in the Trans-Pacific
Partnership talks and ongoing free trade agreement negotiations with China, Japan, and Korea.
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GDP (purchasing power parity):
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GDP
(purchasing power parity): $926.2 billion (2011 est.) $907.7 billion (2010
est.) $885.2 billion (2009 est.) note: data are in 2011 US dollars
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GDP (official exchange rate):
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GDP
(official exchange rate): $1.488 trillion (2011 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate:
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2% (2011
est.) 2.5% (2010 est.) 1.4% (2009 est.)
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GDP - per capita (PPP):
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GDP - per
capita (PPP): $40,800 (2011 est.) $40,400 (2010 est.) $40,000 (2009 est.)
note: data are in 2011 US dollars
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture:
4% industry: 24.6% services: 71.4% (2011 est.)
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Labor force:
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12.05
million (2011 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture:
3.6% industry: 21.1% services: 75% (2009 est.)
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Unemployment rate:
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5.1%
(2011 est.) 5.2% (2010 est.)
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Population below poverty line:
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NA%
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Household income or consumption by
percentage share:
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lowest
10%: 2% highest 10%: 25.4% (1994)
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Distribution of family income -
Gini index:
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30.5
(2006) 35.2 (1994)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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Inflation
rate (consumer prices): 3.4% (2011 est.) 2.8% (2010 est.)
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Investment (gross fixed):
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Investment
(gross fixed): 26.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
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Budget:
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revenues:
$473.2 billion expenditures: $521.8 billion (2011 est.)
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Public debt:
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26.8% of
GDP (2011 est.) 23.5% of GDP (2010 est.)
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Agriculture - products:
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wheat,
barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry
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Industries:
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mining,
industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel
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Industrial production growth rate:
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-0.1%
(2011 est.)
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Electricity - production:
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232
billion kWh (2009 est.)
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Electricity - consumption:
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225.4
billion kWh (2008 est.)
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh
(2009 est.)
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Electricity - imports:
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0 kWh
(2009 est.)
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Oil - production:
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549,200
bbl/day (2010 est.)
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Oil - consumption:
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960,800
bbl/day (2010 est.)
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Oil - exports:
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312,600
bbl/day (2009 est.)
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Oil - imports:
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731,400
bbl/day (2009 est.)
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Oil - proved reserves:
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3.318
billion bbl (1 January 2011 est.)
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Natural gas - production:
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45.11
billion cu m (2010 est.)
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Natural gas - consumption:
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26.41
billion cu m (2010 est.)
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Natural gas - exports:
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24.7
billion cu m (2010 est.)
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Natural gas - imports:
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5.99
billion cu m (2010 est.)
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Natural gas - proved reserves:
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3.115 trillion
cu m (1 January 2011 est.)
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Current account balance:
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-$40.5
billion (2011 est.) -$31.99 billion (2010 est.)
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Exports:
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$272.1
billion (2011 est.) $212.9 billion (2010 est.)
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Exports - commodities:
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coal,
iron ore, gold, meat, wool, alumina, wheat, machinery and transport equipment
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Exports - partners:
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China 27.4%, Japan 19.2%, South Korea 8.9%, India 5.8% (2011)
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Imports:
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$243.4
billion (2011 est.) $194.7 billion (2010 est.)
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery
and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication
equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products
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Imports - partners:
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China 18.5%, US 11.4%, Japan 7.9%, Singapore 6.3%, Germany 4.7% (2011)
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Reserves of foreign exchange and
gold:
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$46.8
billion (31 December 2011 est.) $42.27 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
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Debt - external:
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$1.376
trillion (31 December 2011 est.) $1.266 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)
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Stock of direct foreign investment
- at home:
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$549.1
billion (31 December 2011 est.) $514.4 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
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Stock of direct foreign investment
- abroad:
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$443.5
billion (31 December 2011 est.) $400.7 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
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Market value of publicly traded
shares:
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$1.198
trillion (31 December 2011) $1.455 trillion (31 December 2010) $1.258 trillion (31 December 2009)
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Exchange rates:
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Australian
dollars (AUD) per US dollar - 0.9694 (2011 est.) 1.0902 (2010) 1.2822 (2009)
1.2059 (2008) 1.2137 (2007)
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Fiscal year:
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1 July -
30 June
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Telephones in use:
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8.66
million (2009) country comparison to the world: 24
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Cellular Phones in use:
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22.5
million (2009)
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Telephone system:
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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 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)
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Radio broadcast stations:
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Television broadcast stations:
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Internet country code:
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.au
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Internet hosts:
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16.952
million (2010)
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Internet users:
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15.81
million (2009)
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Airports:
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467
(2012) country comparison to the world: 18
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Airports (paved runways):
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total:
333 over 3,047 m: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 13 1,524 to 2,437 m: 146 914 to
1,523 m: 149 under 914 m: 14 (2012)
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Airports (unpaved runways):
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total:
134 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 101 under 914 m:
14 (2012)
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Heliports:
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1 (2012)
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Pipelines:
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gas 27,900
km; liquid petroleum gas 240 km; oil 3,257
km; oil/gas/water 1 km (2010)
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Railways:
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total: 38,445
km broad gauge: 3,355 km 1.600-m gauge standard gauge: 21,674
km 1.435-m gauge (650 km electrified) narrow gauge: 9,539
km 1.067-m gauge (2,067 km electrified); 3,877
km 1.000-m gauge (2008)
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Roadways:
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total: 818,356
km (2004)
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Waterways:
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2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on
Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2011)
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Merchant marine:
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total: 41
by type: bulk carrier 8, cargo 7, liquefied gas 4, passenger 6,
passenger/cargo 6, petroleum tanker 5, roll on/roll off 5 foreign-owned: 17
(Canada 5, Germany 2, Singapore 2, South Africa 1, UK 5, US 2) registered in
other countries: 25 (Bahamas 1, Dominica 1, Fiji 2, Liberia 1, Netherlands 1,
Panama 4, Singapore 12, Tonga 1, UK 1, US 1) (2010)
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Ports and terminals:
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Brisbane,
Cairns, Dampier, Darwin, Fremantle, Gladstone, Geelong, Hay Point, Hobart,
Jervis Bay, Melbourne, Newcastle, Port Adelaide, Port Dalrymple, Port
Hedland, Port Kembla, Port Lincoln, Port Walcott, Sydney
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Military branches:
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Australian
Defense Force (ADF): Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian
Air Force, Special Operations Command (2006)
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Military service age and
obligation:
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17 years
of age for voluntary military service (with parental consent); no conscription;
women allowed to serve in Army combat units in noncombat support roles (2012)
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Manpower available for military
service:
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males age
16-49: 5,316,464 females age 16-49: 5,116,722 (2010 est.)
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Manpower fit for military service:
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males age
16-49: 4,411,958 females age 16-49: 4,239,985 (2010 est.)
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