Map of Australia | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: Australia became a British commonwealth in 1901. Blessed by rich natural resources, the country enjoyed rapid gains in herding, agriculture, and manufacturing and made a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. Australia subsequently developed its minerals, metals, and fossil fuel markets, all of which have become key Australian exports. Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef.


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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area
Total: 7,686,850 km²
Land: 7,617,930 km²; includes Macquarie Island
Comparative: slightly smaller than the US

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 25,760 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 12 nm
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes:

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

Terrain: mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast

Elevation

Natural resources: bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, crude oil

Land use: arable land: 6%; permanent crops: NEGL%; meadows and pastures 58%; forest and woodland 14%; other 22%; includes irrigated NEGL%

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


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Population: 17,576,354 (July 1992), growth rate 1.4% (1992)

Nationality: noun - Australian(s; adjective - Australian

Ethnic groups: Caucasian 95%, Asian 4%, Aboriginal and other 1%

Languages: English, native languages

Religions: Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26.0%, other Christian 24.3%

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 15 births/1000 population (1992)

Death rate: 7 deaths/1000 population (1992)

Net migration rate: 7 migrants/1000 population (1992)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: subject to severe droughts and floods; cyclones along coast; limited freshwater availability; irrigated soil degradation; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as the doctor occurs along west coast in summer; desertification
Current issues note: world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 8 deaths/1000 live births (1992)

Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 80 years female (1992)

Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1992)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 100% (male 100%, female 100%) age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia

Government type: federal parliamentary state

Capital: Canberra

Administrative divisions:

Dependent areas:

Independence: 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)

National holiday: Australia Day, 26 January

Constitution: 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901

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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18
House of Representatives:
Senate:
Communists: 4,000 members (est.)

Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Parliament consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives

Judicial branch: High Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation:
Diplomatic representation:
US:

Diplomatic representation

Flag description: blue with the flag of the UK 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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP comparable to levels in industrialized West European countries. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels. Of the top 25 exports, 21 are primary products, so that, as happened during 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.
GDP: purchasing power equivalent - $280.8 billion, per capita $16,200; real growth rate --0.6% (1991 est.)

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for 5% of GNP and 37% 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

Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel, motor vehicles

Industrial production growth rate: growth rate --0.9% (1991; accounts for 32% of GDP

Labor force: 8,630,000 (September 1991); finance and services 33.8%, public and community services 22.3%, wholesale and retail trade 20.1%, manufacturing and industry 16.2%, agriculture 6.1% (1987)
Organized labor: 40% of labor force (November 1991)

Unemployment rate: 10.5% (November 1991)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $76.9 billion; expenditures $75.4 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (FY91)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $41.7 billion (f.o.b., FY91)
Commodoties: metals, minerals, coal, wool, cereals, meat, manufacturers
Partners:

Imports: $37.8 billion (f.o.b., FY91)
Commodoties: manufactured raw materials, capital equipment, consumer goods
Partners: US 24%, Japan 19%, UK 6%, FRG 7%, NZ 4% (1990)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1 - 1.3360 (January 1992), 1.2836 (1991), 1.2618 (1989), 1.2752 (1988), 1.4267 (1987)


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Electricity
Production: 40,000,000 kW capacity; 155,000 million kWh produced, 8,960 kWh per capita (1991)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp:

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports:

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil 2,500 km; petroleum products 500 km; natural gas 5,600 km

Railways

Roadways

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

Merchant marine:
Civil air: about 150 major transport aircraft

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

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