Australia

Location

• Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean
• note 1: world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; the largest country in Oceania, the largest country entirely in the Southern Hemisphere, and the largest country without land bordersnote 2: the Great Dividing Range that runs along eastern Australia is that continent’s longest mountain range and the third-longest land-based range in the world; the term "Great Dividing Range" refers to the fact that the mountains form a watershed crest from which all of the rivers of eastern Australia flow – east, west, north, and southnote 3: Australia is the only continent without glaciers; it is the driest inhabited continent on earth; Perth on the west coast is home to the invigorating sea breeze known as the "Fremantle Doctor," one of the most consistent winds in the world; Australia hosts 10% of the world's biodiversity, and a great number of its flora and fauna exist nowhere else in the world

Population

Notable Population Centers

City	Population	Note
Sydney	5,557,233
Melbourne	5,350,705
Brisbane	2,780,063
Perth	2,309,338
Adelaide	1,469,163
Gold Coast	640,778
Newcastle	508,437
Canberra	367,752	Capital
Sunshine Coast	346,522
Logan City	326,615

Size

• 2,967,893 square miles
• 7,686,850 square kilometers
• slightly smaller than the 48 contiguous US states

History

Aboriginal Australians arrived on the continent at least 60,000 years ago and developed complex hunter-gatherer societies and oral histories. Dutch navigators led by Abel TASMAN were the first Europeans to land in Australia in 1606, and they mapped the western and northern coasts. They named the continent New Holland but made no attempts to permanently settle it. In 1770, Englishman James COOK sailed to the east coast of Australia, named it New South Wales, and claimed it for Great Britain. In 1788 and 1825 respectively, Great Britain established New South Wales and then Tasmania as penal colonies. Great Britain and Ireland sent more than 150,000 convicts to Australia before ending the practice in 1868. As Europeans began settling areas away from the coasts, they came into more direct contact with Aboriginal Australians. Europeans also cleared land for agriculture, impacting Aboriginal Australians’ ways of life. These issues, along with disease and a policy in the 1900s that forcefully removed Aboriginal children from their parents, reduced the Aboriginal Australian population from more than 700,000 pre-European contact to a low of 74,000 in 1933.Four additional colonies were established in Australia in the mid-1800s: Western Australia (1829), South Australia (1836), Victoria (1851), and Queensland (1859). Gold rushes beginning in the 1850s brought thousands of new immigrants to New South Wales and Victoria, helping to reorient Australia away from its penal colony roots. In the second half of the 1800s, the colonies were all gradually granted self-government, and in 1901, they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia contributed more than 400,000 troops to Allied efforts during World War I, and Australian troops played a large role in the defeat of Japanese troops in the Pacific in World War II. Australia severed most constitutional links with the UK in 1942 but remained part of the British Commonwealth. Australia’s post-war economy boomed and by the 1970s, racial policies that prevented most non-Whites from immigrating to Australia were removed, greatly increasing Asian immigration to the country. In recent decades, Australia has become an internationally competitive, advanced market economy due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s and its proximity to East and Southeast Asia.  In the early 2000s, Australian politics became unstable with frequent attempts to oust party leaders, including five changes of prime minister between 2010 and 2018. As a result, both major parties instituted rules to make it harder to remove a party leader.

Climate

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

Terrain

mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast

Languages

English 72%, Mandarin 2.7%, Arabic 1.4%, Vietnamese 1.3%, Cantonese 1.2%, other 15.7%, unspecified 5.7% (2021 est.)note: data represent language spoken at home

Religions

Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant 18.1% (Anglican 9.8%, Uniting Church 2.6%, Presbyterian and Reformed 1.6%, Baptist 1.4%, Pentecostal 1%, other Protestant 1.7%), other Christian 3.5%, Muslim 3.2%, Hindu 2.7%, Buddhist 2.4%, Orthodox 2.3% (Eastern Orthodox 2.1%, Oriental Orthodox 0.2%), other 2.1%, none 38.4%, unspecified 7.3% (2021 est.)

Government

federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

• Constitution: history: approved in a series of referenda from 1898 through 1900 and became law 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901amendment process: proposed by Parliament; passage requires approval of a referendum bill by absolute majority vote in both houses of Parliament, approval in a referendum by a majority of voters in at least four states and in the territories, and Royal Assent; proposals that would reduce a state’s representation in either house or change a state’s boundaries require that state’s approval prior to Royal Assent
• Political Parties and Leaders: n/a
• Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
• Legal System: common law system based on the English model
• Executive Branch: chief of state: King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor General Samantha (Sam) MOSTYN (since 1 July 2024)head of government: Prime Minister Anthony ALBANESE (since 23 May 2022)cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the prime minister from among members of Parliament and sworn in by the governor generalelection/appointment process: 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 majority coalition is sworn in as prime minister by the governor general
• Judicial Branch: highest court(s): High Court of Australia (consists of 7 justices, including the chief justice); each of the 6 states, 2 territories, and Norfolk Island has a Supreme Court; the High Court is the final appellate courtjudge selection and term of office: justices appointed by the governor-general in council for life with mandatory retirement at age 70subordinate courts: subordinate courts: at the federal level: Federal Court; Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia;  at the state and territory level: Local Court - New South Wales; Magistrates' Courts – Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory; District Courts – New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia; County Court – Victoria; Family Court – Western Australia; Court of Petty Sessions – Norfolk Island
• Legislative Branch: legislature name: Parliamentlegislative structure: bicameral

Demographic Profile

n/a

Economy

• high-income and globally integrated economy; strong mining, manufacturing, and service sectors driving slow but steady growth; net exporter, driven by commodities to East Asian trade partners; weak productivity and aging population straining labor force participation
• Budget: revenues: $431.27 billion (2022 est.)expenditures: $453.105 billion (2022 est.)note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated
• Credit Rating: n/a
• Natural Resources: alumina, coal, iron ore, copper, lithium, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, rare earth elements, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, opals, natural gas, petroleumnote 1: Australia is the world's largest net exporter of coal accounting for 26.5% of global coal exports in 2021; coal is the country’s most abundant energy resource, and coal ranks as the second-largest export commodity from Australia in terms of revenue; in 2020, Australia held the third-largest recoverable coal reserves in the world behind the United States and Russianote 2: Australia is by far the world's largest supplier of opalsnote 3: Australia holds the largest uranium reserves in the world and was the second-largest global uranium producer behind Kazakhstan in 2020note 4: Australia was the largest exporter of LNG in the world in 2020
• Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel
• Agricultural Products: wheat, sugarcane, barley, rapeseed, milk, cotton, sorghum, beef, lentils, grapes (2023)note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage
• Land Use: agricultural land: 47.3% (2022 est.)arable land: 4.1% (2022 est.)permanent crops: 0.1% (2022 est.)permanent pasture: 43.1% (2022 est.)forest: 17.4% (2022 est.)other: 35.3% (2022 est.)
• Labor Force by Occupation: n/a
• Imports
• Imported Commodities: refined petroleum, cars, trucks, broadcasting equipment, garments (2023)note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
• Import Partners: China 26%, USA 11%, S. Korea 6%, Japan 6%, Thailand 5% (2023)note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
• Exports
• Exported Commodities: iron ore, coal, natural gas, gold, minerals (2023)note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars
• Export Partners: China 37%, Japan 16%, S. Korea 6%, India 5%, Taiwan 5% (2023)note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports