Australia-Oceania :: Australia page last updated on November 15, 2011

Introduction ::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 of the east coast in the name of Great Britain (all of Australia was claimed as British territory in 1829 with the creation of the colony of Western Australia). 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 ageing of the population, pressure on infrastructure, and environmental issues such as frequent droughts.

Geography ::Australia

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: 7,741,220 sq km country comparison to the world: 6 land: 7,682,300 sq km water: 58,920 sq km note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island Area - 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 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% (includes about 27 million hectares of cultivated grassland) permanent crops: 0.04% other: 93.81% (2005)

25,500 sq km (2008) Total renewable water resources: 398 cu km (1995) Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): People and Society ::Australia total: 24.06 cu km/yr (15%/10%/75%) Nationality: per capita: 1,193 cu m/yr (2000) noun: Australian(s) adjective: Australian Natural hazards: cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires Ethnic groups: volcanism: volcanic activity occurs on the Heard and McDonald Islands white 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1% Environment - current issues: Languages: soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity English 78.5%, rising Chinese due to2.5%, the use Italian of poor 1.6%, quality Greek water; 1.3%, desertification; Arabic 1.2%,clearing Vietnamese for agricultural 1%, other purposes 8.2%, unspecified threatens 5.7% the natural (2006 habitat Census) 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 Religions: and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural freshwater resources Protestant 27.4% (Anglican 18.7%, Uniting Church 5.7%, Presbyterian and Reformed 3%), Environment - international agreements: 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% (2006Antarctic-Marine Census) party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Population: Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine 21,766,711 (July 2011 Dumping, Marine Life est.) Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, country comparison to the world: 55 Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements Age structure: 0-14 years: 18.3% Geography note: (male 2,040,848/female 1,937,544) 15-64 years: 67.7% (male 7,469,092/female 7,266,143) world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and 65 years and over: 14% (male 1,398,576/female 1,654,508) (2011 est.) Doctor" affects the city of southeastern coasts; the invigorating sea breeze known as the "Fremantle Perth on the west coast and is one of the most consistent winds in the world Median age: total: 37.7 years male: 37 years female: 38.4 years (2011 est.) Population growth rate: 1.148% (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 101 Birth rate: 12.33 births/1,000 population (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 158 Death rate: 6.88 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 139 Net migration rate: 6.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 14 Urbanization: urban population: 89% of total population (2010) rate of urbanization: 1.2% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.) Major cities - population:

CANBERRA (capital) 384,000 (2009) Sex ratio: at birth: 1.055 male(s)/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 (2011 est.) Maternal mortality rate: 8 deaths/100,000 live births (2008) country comparison to the world: 156 Infant mortality rate: total: 4.61 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 190 male: 4.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2011 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 81.81 years country comparison to the world: 9 male: 79.4 years female: 84.35 years (2011 est.) Total fertility rate: 1.78 children born/woman (2011 est.) country comparison to the world: 156 Health expenditures: 8.5% of GDP (2009) country comparison to the world: 47 Physicians density: 2.991 physicians/1,000 population (2009) country comparison to the world: 39 Hospital bed density: 3.82 beds/1,000 population (2009) country comparison to the world: 53 Drinking water source: improved: urban: 100% of population rural: 100% of population total: 100% of population (2008) Sanitation facility access: improved: urban: 100% of population rural: 100% of population total: 100% of population (2008) HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 111 HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: