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 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 1990s a performance due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s. Long-term concerns include climate-change issues such as the depletion of the ozone layer and more frequent droughts and management and conservation of coastal areas especially the Great Barrier Reef.

Geographic coordinates: 27 00 S 133 00 E

Map reference: Oceania

Area
Total: 7,741,220 km²
Rank: 6
Land: 7,682,300 km²
Water: 58,920 km²
Note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island
Comparative: slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states

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
Extremes highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m

Natural resources: 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

Land use
Arable land: 6.15%
Permanent crops: 0.04%
Other: 93.81% (2005)

Irrigated land: 25,450 km² (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 398 km³ (1995)

Natural hazards: cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires
Volcanism: volcanic activity occurs on the Heard and McDonald Islands

Geography
Note: world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; 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

Population: 21,515,754 (July 2010 est.)
Rank: 54
Growth rate: 1.171% (2010 est.)
Growth rate rank: 107
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Australian
Adjective: Australian

Ethnic groups: white 92% Asian 7% aboriginal and other 1%

Languages: 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)

Religions: Catholic 25.8% Anglican 18.7% Uniting Church 5.7% Presbyterian and Reformed 3% 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)

Age structure
0-14 years: 18.6%
15-64 years: 67.9% (male 7,318,743/female 7,121,613)
65 years and over: 13.5% (male 1,306,329/female 1,565,153) (2010 est.)

Median age
Total: 37.5 years
Male: 36.8 years
Female: 38.3 years (2010 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.171% (2010 est.)
Rank: 107

Birth rate: 12.39 births/1000 population (2010 est.)
Rank: 161

Death rate: 6.81 deaths/1000 population (July 2010 est.)
Rank: 145

Net migration rate: 6.13 migrant(s)/1000 population (2010 est.)
Rank: 14

Urbanization
Urban population: 89% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 1.2% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

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
International agreements 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
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.055 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
Total population: 1 male(s)/female (2010 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 4.67 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 192
Male: 5 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 4.33 deaths/1000 live births (2010 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 81.72 years
Rank: 9
Male: 79.33 years
Female: 84.25 years (2010 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.78 children born/woman (2010 est.)
Rank: 158

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2007 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 92
People living with hivaids: 18,000 (2007 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 81
Deaths: fewer than 100 (2007 est.)
Deaths rank: 127

Education expenditures: 4.7% of GDP (2007)
Rank: 83

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99%
Male: 99%
Female: 99% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 21 years
Male: 20 years
Female: 21 years (2008)

Country name
Conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia
Conventional short form: Australia

Government type: federal parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

Capital
Name: Canberra
Geographic coordinates: 35 17 S 149 13 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

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

Dependent areas: (6) Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Macquarie Island, Norfolk Island

Independence: 1 January 1901 (from the federation of UK colonies)

National holiday: Australia Day 26 January (1788); ANZAC Day (commemorated as 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)

Constitution: 9 July 1900; effective on 1 January 1901

Legal system: based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts International Criminal Court jurisdiction with conditions

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch
Chief of state: Queen of Australia ELIZABETH II ; 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
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

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 vote to serve terms of up to three-years; no state can have fewer than 5 representatives)
Elections: half-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 2014)
Election results: Senate - 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

Judicial branch: High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general acting on the advice of the government)

Political parties and leaders: Australian Greens [Bob BROWN]; Australian Labor Party [Julia GILLARD]; Family First Party [Steve FIELDING]; Liberal Party [Tony ABBOTT]; The Nationals [Warren TRUSS]

International organization participation: ADB ANZUS APEC ARF ASEAN (dialogue partner) Australia Group BIS C CP EAS EBRD FAO FATF G-20 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICCt 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 UNMIS UNMIT UNRWA UNTSO UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Kim Christian BEAZLEY
In the us chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW Washington DC 20,036
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 797-3,000
In the us fax: [1] (202) 797-3,168
In the us consulate general: Atlanta Chicago Honolulu Los Angeles New York San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Jeffrey L. BLEICH
From the us embassy: Moonah Place Yarralumla Canberra Australian Capital Territory 2,600
From the us mailing address: APO AP 96,549
From the us telephone: [61] (02) 6,214-5,600
From the us fax: [61] (02) 6,214-5,970
From the us consulate general: Melbourne Perth Sydney

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 known as the Commonwealth or Federation Star representing the federation of the colonies of Australia in 1901; the star depicts one point for each of the six original states and one representing all of Australia's internal and external territories; on the fly half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four larger seven-pointed stars

National anthem
Name: 'Advance Australia Fair'
Lyricsmusic: Peter Dodds McCORMICK
Note: adopted 1984; although originally written in the late 19th century the anthem did not become official until 1984; as a Commonwealth country in addition to the national anthem 'God Save the Queen' serves as the royal anthem (see United Kingdom)

Economy overview: 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 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 1.2% during 2009 - the best performance in the OECD. Unemployment originally expected to reach 8-10% peaked at 5.7% in late 2009 and fell to 5.1% in 2010. 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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 18
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 106

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 17
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 4%
Industry: 24.8%
Services: 71.2% (2010 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% (2010 est.)
Rank: 104

Labor force: 11.62 million (2010 est.)
Rank: 44
By occupation agriculture: 3.6%
By occupation industry: 21.1%
By occupation services: 75% (2009 est.)

Unemployment rate: 5.6% (2009 est.)
Rank: 46

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: 35.2 (1994)
Rank: 110

Public debt: 22.1% of GDP (2009 est.)
Rank: 107

Inflation rate consumer prices: 1.8% (2009 est.)
Rank: 88

Central bank discount rate: 4.25% (3 December 2008)
Rank: 106
Note: this is the Reserve Bank of Australia's 'cash rate target' or policy rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 8.91% (31 December 2008 est.)
Rank: 105

Stock of narrow money: $290.8 billion (31 December 2009 est)
Rank: 13

Stock of broad money: $976.6 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 15

Stock of domestic credit: $1.407 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 13

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 13

Current account balance: -$41.33 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 182

Exports: $154.8 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 21
Commodities: coal iron ore gold meat wool alumina wheat machinery and transport equipment
Partners: China 21.81% Japan 19.19% South Korea 7.88% India 7.51% US 4.95% UK 4.37% NZ 4.1% (2009)

Imports: $160.4 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 21
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment computers and office machines telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products
Partners: China 17.94% US 11.26% Japan 8.36% Thailand 5.81% Singapore 5.54% Germany 5.3% (2009)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $41.74 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 30

Debt external: $1.094 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 14

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $295.9 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 14

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $221.1 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 17

Exchange rates: Australian dollars (AUD) per US dollar - 1.1151 (2010) 1.2822 (2009) 1.2059 (2008) 1.2137 (2007) 1.3285 (2006)

Electricity
Production: 239.9 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Production rank: 17
Consumption: 222 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Consumption rank: 16
Exports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 42.33 billion m³ (2009 est.)
Production rank: 19
Consumption: 26.59 billion m³ (2009 est.)
Consumption rank: 29
Exports: 22.3 billion m³ (2009 est.)
Exports rank: 10
Imports: 6.56 billion m³ (2009 est.)
Imports rank: 29
Proven reserves: 3.115 trillion m³ (1 January 2010 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 12

Telephones
Main lines in use: 9.02 million (2009)
Main lines in use rank: 24
Mobile cellular: 24.22 million (2009)
Mobile cellular rank: 37

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 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)

Broadcast media: the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) runs multiple national and local radio networks and TV stations as well as Australia Network a TV service that broadcasts throughout the Asia-Pacific region and is the main public broadcaster; Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) a second large public broadcaster operates radio and TV networks broadcasting in multiple languages; several large national commercial TV networks a large number of local commercial TV stations and hundreds of commercial radio stations are accessible; cable and satellite systems are available (2008)

Internet
Country code: .au
Hosts: 13.361 million (2010)
Hosts rank: 8
Users: 15.81 million (2009)
Users rank: 25

Military expenditures: 3% of GDP (2009)
Rank: 42

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 (2010)

Airports: 465 (2010)
Rank: 17
With paved runways total: 326
With paved runways over 3047 m: 11
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 13
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 148
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 140
With paved runways under 914 m: 14 (2010)
With unpaved runways total: 139
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 17
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 110
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 12 (2010)

Heliports: 1 (2010)

Pipelines: gas 27,105 km; liquid petroleum gas 240 km; oil 3,258 km; oil/gas/water 1 km (2009)

Railways
Total: 37,855 km
Rank: 7
Broad gauge: 142 km 1.600-m gauge
Standard gauge: 24,409 km 1.435-m gauge (1094 km electrified)
Narrow gauge: 13,304 km 1.067-m gauge (1193 km electrified) (2008)

Roadways
Total: 812,972 km
Rank: 9
Paved: 341,448 km
Unpaved: 471,524 km (2004)

Waterways: 2000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2006)
Rank: 45

Merchant marine
Total: 45
Rank: 73
By type: bulk carrier 10 cargo 8 liquefied gas 4 passenger 6 passenger/cargo 6 petroleum tanker 6 roll on/roll off 5
Foreign owned: 20 (Canada 7 Germany 2 Netherlands 1 Norway 1 Singapore 2 UK 5 US 2)
Registered in other countries: 29 (Dominica 1 Fiji 2 Liberia 2 Marshall Islands 1 Netherlands 1 NZ 1 Panama 5 Singapore 11 Tonga 1 UK 1 US 1 Vanuatu 2) (2010)

Ports and terminals: 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

Disputes international: In 2007 Australia and Timor-Leste signed a 50-year development zone and revenue sharing agreement in lieu of a maritime boundary; 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 1000-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 30 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 concentrat