Australia
In land area, Australia is the sixth largest nation after Russia,
Canada, China, the United States of America and
Brazil. It has,
however, a relatively small population of more than 20 million. Most of the
population is concentrated along the eastern seaboard and the
south-eastern corner of the continent.
Australia is the only nation to govern an entire continent and its outlying islands.
Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth. Its interior has
one of the lowest rainfalls in the world and about three-quarters of
the land is arid or semi-arid. Isolated from other continents, Australia has an
abundance of unique plant and animal life. Australia occupies the
continental part of Oceania and the island of Tasmania, and has a
predominantly flat terrain. The Great Dividing Range runs along the
eastern coast. Inland lies the Central Basin, a desert plateau
surrounded by plains and savannas. The desert region runs west to
the huge Western Plateau.
The Australian federation consists of six states and two
territories and a few island territories.
Most inland borders follow lines of longitude and latitude. The largest
State, Western Australia, is about the same size as Western Europe.
Australia
is an independent Western democracy which has had one of the most outstanding economies of the world in
recent years. As a high-growth, low-inflation, low interest rate
economy, it is more vibrant than ever before. There is an efficient
government sector, a flexible labor market and a very competitive
business sector. It is one of the world’s most urbanized countries, with about
70 per cent of the population living in the 10 largest cities.
| Capital: | Canberra |
| Government type: | Democratic, federal-state system recognizing British monarch as sovereign |
| Population: | 32,805,864 (July 2005 est.) |
| Languages: | English 84% (official) & Italian, Greek, Cantonese, Arabic (including Lebanese), Mandarin, and Spanish. 1 |
| Ethnic Diversity: | More than 95 per cent of Australians are of European or Asian descent, about 2.4 per cent of the population identify as being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin. 2 |
| Official Currency: | Australian Dollar (AUD) Exchange Rates |
| Climate: | Australia’s climate is subtropical arid. The north has hot, humid, and rainy summers and dry, warm winters. In the south, summers are dry and sunny, and winters are mild and rainy. Except on the eastern coast, rainfall is generally low. |
| National Holiday: | 1 January |
| Religion: | Christianity is the dominant religion with other major religions - Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism |
| Area: | total: 7,690,000 sq km |
| Country Phone Code: | 61 |
Top Destinations in Australia
Sydney | Great Barrier Reef | Cairns | Melbourne | Adelaide | Brisbane | Blue Mountains
Alice Springs | Darwin | Perth | Rottnest Island | Fraser Island | Kakadu National Park
2. Source; ABC Asia Pacific - Australian Broadcasting Corporation