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Countries of the Month:
Australia¤
AUSTRALIA
Official Name:
Australia
Location: Oceania,
continent between the Indian
Ocean and the South Pacific
Ocean
Size: 4733,562 sq
miles (slightly smaller than
the US contiguous 48 states)
History: 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 Captain
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. In recent decades,
Australia has transformed
itself into an
internationally competitive,
advanced market economy.
Long-term concerns include
pollution, particularly
depletion of the ozone
layer, and management and
conservation of coastal
areas, especially the Great
Barrier Reef.
Climate: Generally
dry, currently experiencing
one of the worst droughts in
its recorded history,
temperate in south and east;
tropical in north.
Languages: English
79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian
1.9%, other 11.1%,
unspecified 5.8%
Population: 20
million
Religions: Catholic
26.4%, Anglican 20.5%, other
Christian 20.5%, Buddhist
1.9%, Muslim 1.5%, other
1.2%, unspecified 12.7%,
none 15.3%
Government type:
Federal Parliamentary
Democracy
Capital: Canberra
Main Industry:
Mining.
Economy: Australia
has an enviable
Western-style capitalist
economy with a per capita
GDP on par with the four
dominant West European
economies. Rising output in
the domestic economy, robust
business and consumer
confidence, and rising
exports of raw materials and
agricultural products are
fueling the economy.
Australia's emphasis on
reforms, low inflation, and
growing ties with China are
other key factors behind the
economy's strength. The
impact of drought, weak
foreign demand, and strong
import demand pushed the
trade deficit up from $8
billion in 2002, to nearly
$17 billion in 2005.
Conservative fiscal policies
have kept Australia's budget
in surplus from 2002 to
2005.
Interesting fact
Australia is the smallest of
the world's seven continents
and the largest island the
world.
information retrieved from
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/as.html
