Australia

Australia 

Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

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

Area

Note: Includes Macquarie Island

Land Boundaries

0 km

Coastline

25,760 km

Maritime Claims

International Disputes

Territorial claim in Antarctica (Australian Antarctic Territory)

Climate

Generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north

Terrain

Mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast
lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m
highest point: Mount Kosciusko 2,229 m

Natural Resources

Land Use

Irrigated Land

18,800 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment

Note: World's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as "the Doctor" occurs along the west coast in the summer

PEOPLE

Population

18,260,863 (July 1996 est.)
18,322,231 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

21% (male 2,009,915; female 1,912,605) (July 1996 est.)
22% (male 2,032,238; female 1,929,366) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 Years

66% (male 6,129,285; female 5,980,315) (July 1996 est.)
67% (male 6,181,887; female 6,017,362) (July 1995 est.)

65 Years and Over

13% (male 967,291; female 1,261,452) (July 1996 est.)
11% (male 934,374; female 1,227,004) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

0.99% (1996 est.)
1.31% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

13.99 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
14.13 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

6.88 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
7.37 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

2.74 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
6.33 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
all ages: 1 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

5.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
7.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total Fertility Rate

1.84 children born/woman (1996 est.)
1.82 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic Divisions

Religions

Languages

English, native languages

Literacy

Age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)

Labor Force

8.63 million (September 1991)

By occupation:

GOVERNMENT

Names

Digraph

AS

Type

Federal parliamentary state

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

Independence

1 January 1901 (federation of U.K. 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

Legislative Branch

Bicameral Federal Parliament

Senate

Elections last held 2 March 1996 (next to be held NA 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (76 total) Liberal-National 37, Labor 29, Australian Democrats 8, Greens 1, independent 1

House of Representatives

Elections last held 2 March 1996 (next to be held NA 1999); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (148 total) Liberal-National 94, Labor 49, independent 5

Judicial Branch

High Court, the Chief Justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general

Political Parties and Leaders

Other Political or Pressure Groups

Australian Democratic Labor Party (anti-Communist Labor Party splinter group); Peace and Nuclear Disarmament Action (Nuclear Disarmament Party splinter group)

Member of

AG (observer), ANZUS, APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G- 8, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNAMIR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC

National Anthem

Flag

Blue with the flag of the U.K. in the upper hoist-side quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower hoist-side quadrant; the remaining half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four, larger, seven-pointed stars

ECONOMY

Overview

Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP comparable to levels in highly industrialized West European countries. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels. Commodities account for more than 80% of the value of total exports, so that, as in 1983-84, a downturn in world commodity prices can have a big impact on the economy. The government is pushing for increased exports of manufactured goods, but competition in international markets continues to be severe. Australia has suffered from the low growth and high unemployment characterizing the OECD countries in the early 1990s. In 1992-93 the economy recovered slowly from the prolonged recession of 1990-91, a major restraining factor being weak world demand for Australia's exports. Growth picked up so strongly in 1994 that the government felt the need for fiscal and monetary tightening by yearend. Australia's GDP grew 6.4% in 1994, largely due to increases in industrial output and business investment. A severe drought in 1994 reduced the value of Australia's net farm production, but rising world commodity prices are likely to boost commodity exports by 15% to $42.4 billion in 1995/96, according to government statistics. Short-term economic problems include a balancing of output growth and inflationary pressures and the stimulation of exports to offset rising imports.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $405.4 billion (1995 est.), $374.6 billion (1994 est.)

National Product Real Growth Rate

3.3% (1995 est.)
6.4% (1994)

National Product Per Capita

$22,100 (1995 est.)
$20,720 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

4.75% (1995)
2.5% (1994)

Unemployment Rate

8.1% (December 1995)
8.9% (December 1994)

Budget

Exports

$51.57 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
$50.4 billion (1994)

Commodities:

Partners:

Imports

$57.41 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
$51.1 billion (1994)

Commodities:

Partners:

External Debt

$147.2 billion (1994)

Industrial Production

Growth rate 3.9% (FY93/94); accounts for 32% of GDP

Electricity

Industries

Agriculture

Accounts for 5% of GDP and over 30% of export revenues; world's largest exporter of beef and wool, second-largest for mutton, and among top wheat exporters; major crops - wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruit; livestock - cattle, sheep, poultry

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

Economic Aid

Currency

1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents

Exchange Rates

Australian dollars ($A) per US$1 - 1.3477 (January 1996), 1.3486 (1995), 1.3668 (1994), 1.4704 (1993), 1.3600 (1992), 1.2835 (1991), 1.2799 (1990)

Fiscal Year

1 July - 30 June

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Highways

Inland Waterways

8,368 km; mainly by small, shallow-draft craft

Pipelines

Crude oil 2,500 km; petroleum products 500 km; natural gas 5,600 km

Ports

Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport, Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart (Tasmania), Launceton (Tasmania), Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville

Merchant Marine

Airports

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

8.7 million telephones (1987 est.); good international and domestic service

Radio

Television

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 4,848,777; males fit for military service 4,192,250; males reach military age (17) annually 127,569 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

Exchange rate conversion - $7.3 billion, 2.0% of GDP (FY95/96), $7.2 billion, 2.2% of GDP (FY94/95)

History
World Atlas