Australia (2004) | Lesotho (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia | 10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.1% (male 2,044,449; female 1,948,574)
15-64 years: 67.2% (male 6,747,687; female 6,623,995) 65 years and over: 12.8% (male 1,121,522; female 1,426,917) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 39% (male 433,229; female 427,926)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 600,476; female 642,538) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 43,691; female 60,094) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry | corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock |
Airports | 444 (2003 est.) | 28 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 305
over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 131 914 to 1,523 m: 139 under 914 m: 13 (2004 est.) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 143
1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 112 under 914 m: 14 (2004 est.) |
total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 20 (2002) |
Area | total: 7,686,850 sq km
land: 7,617,930 sq km water: 68,920 sq km note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island |
total: 30,355 sq km
land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states | slightly smaller than Maryland |
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 its 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. Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef. A referendum to change Australia's status, from a commonwealth headed by the British monarch to a republic, was defeated in 1999. | Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 23 years of military rule. |
Birth rate | 12.4 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 30.72 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $185 billion
expenditures: $181 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003) |
revenues: $76 million
expenditures: $80 million, including capital expenditures of $15 million |
Capital | Canberra | Maseru |
Climate | generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north | temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers |
Coastline | 25,760 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901 | 2 April 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia
conventional short form: Australia |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho
conventional short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | loti (LSL); South African rand (ZAR) |
Death rate | 7.38 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 16.81 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $233.5 billion (2003 est.) | $715 million (2001 est.) |
Dependent areas | Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador J. Thomas SCHIEFFER
embassy: Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 mailing address: APO AP 96549 telephone: [61] (02) 6214-5600 FAX: [61] (02) 6214-5970 consulate(s) general: Melbourne, Perth, Sydney |
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert G. LOFTIS
embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section) mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone: [266] 312666 FAX: [266] 310116 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael J. THAWLEY
chancery: 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 797-3000 FAX: [1] (202) 797-3168 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco |
chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Lebohang Kenneth MOLEKO
chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815 |
Disputes - international | the 1999 maritime delimitation established partial maritime boundaries with East Timor over part of the Timor Gap but temporary resource-sharing agreements over an unreconciled area grant Australia 90% share of exploited gas reserves and hamper creation of a southern maritime boundary with Indonesia (see Ashmore and Cartier Islands disputes); Australia asserts a territorial claim to Antarctica and to its continental shelf (see Antarctica) | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $894 million (FY99/00) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $123.7 million (1995) (1995) |
Economy - overview | 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 has been offsetting the global slump, and business and consumer confidence remains robust. 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 to $18 billion in 2003 and to $20 billion in 2004 from $8 billion in 2002. One other concern is the domestic housing bubble. | Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho's primary natural resource is water. Its economy is based on subsistence agriculture, livestock, remittances from miners employed in South Africa, and a rapidly growing apparel-assembly sector. The number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years. A small manufacturing base depends largely on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries. Agricultural products are exported primarily to South Africa. Proceeds from membership in a common customs union with South Africa form the majority of government revenue. Although drought has decreased agricultural activity over the past few years, completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, generating royalties for Lesotho. The pace of privatization has increased in recent years. In December 1999, the government embarked on a nine-month IMF staff-monitored program aimed at structural adjustment and stabilization of macroeconomic fundamentals. The government is in the process of applying for a three-year successor program with the IMF under its Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. Lesotho has a marked inequality in income distribution and serious unemployment/underemployment problems that will not yield to short-run solutions. |
Electricity - consumption | 184.4 billion kWh (2001) | 100 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 100 million kWh
note: electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) |
Electricity - production | 198.2 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m
highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m |
lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m
highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m |
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 | population pressure forcing settlement in marginal areas results in overgrazing, severe soil erosion, and soil exhaustion; desertification; Highlands Water Project controls, stores, and redirects water to South Africa |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, 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
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1% | Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%, |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000), 1.55 (1999) | maloti per US dollar - 11.58786 (January 2002), 8.60918 (2001), 6.93983 (2000), 6.10948 (1999), 5.52828 (1998), 4.60796 (1997); note - the Lesotho loti is at par with the South African rand which is also legal tender; maloti is the plural form of loti |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen of Australia ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Michael JEFFERY (since 11 August 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister John Winston HOWARD (since 11 March 1996); Deputy Prime Minister John ANDERSON (since 20 July 1999) cabinet: Parliament nominates and selects, from among its members, a list of candidates to serve as government ministers; from this list, the governor general swears in the final selections for the Cabinet elections: none; the monarch 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 note: government coalition - Liberal Party and National Party |
chief of state: King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); note - King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne from November 1990 to February 1995, while his father was in exile
head of government: Prime Minister Pakalitha MOSISILI (since 23 May 1998) cabinet: Cabinet elections: none; according to the constitution, the leader of the majority party in the Assembly automatically becomes prime minister; the monarch is hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution which came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a "living symbol of national unity" with no executive or legislative powers; under traditional law the college of chiefs has the power to determine who is next in the line of succession, who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age, and may even depose the monarch |
Exports | 523,400 bbl/day (2001) | $250 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment | manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals |
Exports - partners | Japan 18.1%, US 8.7%, China 8.4%, South Korea 7.4%, New Zealand 7.4%, UK 6.7% (2003) | South African Customs Union 53.9%, North America 45.6% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 April - 31 March |
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 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; the remaining half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four larger, seven-pointed stars | divided diagonally from the lower hoist side corner; the upper half is white, bearing the brown silhouette of a large shield with crossed spear and club; the lower half is a diagonal blue band with a green triangle in the corner |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $571.4 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5.3 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 26.3% services: 70.2% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 18%
industry: 38% services: 44% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $29,000 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,450 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2003 est.) | 2.6% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 27 00 S, 133 00 E | 29 30 S, 28 30 E |
Geography - note | world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as "the Doctor" occurs along the west coast in the summer | landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level |
Highways | total: 811,603 km
paved: 314,090 km (including 18,619 km of expressways) unpaved: 497,513 km (1999 est.) |
total: 4,955 km
paved: 887 km unpaved: 4,068 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 25.4% (1994) |
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 43% (1986-87) |
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 concentrate | - |
Imports | 530,800 bbl/day (2001) | $720 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products | food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | US 16%, Japan 12.5%, China 11%, Germany 6.1%, UK 4.2% (2003) | South African Customs Union 89.5%, Asia 7% (1999) |
Independence | 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies) | 4 October 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | -0.1% (2003 est.) | 15.5% (1999 est.) |
Industries | mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel | food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts; construction; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.76 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.16 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
82.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2003 est.) | 6.9% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ANZUS, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CP, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, Paris Club, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMEE, UNMISET, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, WToO, ZC | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 24,000 sq km (1998 est.) | 10 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general) | High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court |
Labor force | 10.19 million (37256) | 700,000 economically active |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 5%, industry 22%, services 73% (1997 est.) | 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 909 km
border countries: South Africa 909 km |
Land use | arable land: 6.55% (includes about 27 million hectares of cultivated grassland)
permanent crops: 0.04% other: 93.41% (2001) |
arable land: 10.71%
permanent crops: 0% other: 89.29% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English, native languages | Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa |
Legal system | based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate (76 seats - 12 from each of the six states and two from each of the two mainland territories; one-half of the members elected every three years by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (150 seats - this is up from 148 seats in 2001 election; members elected by popular vote on the basis of preferential representation to serve three-year terms; no state can have fewer than five representatives)
elections: Senate - last held 9 October 2004 (next to be held not later than June 2008); House of Representatives - last held 9 October 2004 (next to be held not later than November 2007) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party (as of 1 July 2003) - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 34, Australian Labor Party 28, Australian Democrats 7, Green Party 2, One Nation Party 1, Country Liberal Party 1, Australian Progressive Alliance 1, independent 2; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 86, Australian Labor Party 60, Country Liberal Party 1, independent and other 3 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (120 seats, 80 by direct popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote for five-year terms); note - number of seats in the Assembly rose from 80 to 120 in the May 2002 election
elections: last held 25 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - LCD 54%, BNP 21%, LPC 7%, other 18%; seats by party - LCD 76, BNP 21, LPC 5, other 18 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 80.26 years
male: 77.4 years female: 83.27 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 47 years
male: 46.3 years female: 47.8 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83% male: 72% female: 93% (1999 est.) |
Location | Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean | Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
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 |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 52 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,531,461 GRT/1,999,409 DWT
by type: bulk 20, cargo 5, chemical tanker 3, combination bulk 2, container 3, liquefied gas 4, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 6 foreign-owned: United Kingdom 2, United States 12 registered in other countries: 60 (2004 est.) |
- |
Military - note | - | The Lesotho Government in 1999 began an open debate on the future structure, size, and role of the armed forces, especially considering the Lesotho Defense Force's (LDF) history of intervening in political affairs. |
Military branches | Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, new Special Operations Command (announced in December 2002) | Lesotho Defense Force (LDF; including Army and Air Wing), Royal Lesotho Mounted Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $14,120.1 million (2003) | $34 million (1999) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.8% (2003) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 5,061,810 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 526,332 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 4,356,671 (2004 est.) | males age 15-49: 283,203 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 140,182 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) | Independence Day, 4 October (1966) |
Nationality | noun: Australian(s)
adjective: Australian |
noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural)
adjective: Basotho |
Natural hazards | cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires | periodic droughts |
Natural resources | bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum | water, agricultural and grazing land, some diamonds and other minerals |
Net migration rate | 3.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | condensate/gas 492 km; gas 28,680 km; liquid petroleum gas 240 km; oil 4,773 km; oil/gas/water 110 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Australian Democrats [Andrew BARTLETT]; Australian Labor Party [Mark LATHAM]; Australian Progressive Alliance [Meg LEES]; Country Liberal Party [Terry MILLS]; Australian Greens [Bob BROWN]; Liberal Party [John Winston HOWARD]; The Nationals [John ANDERSON]; One Nation Party [Len HARRIS] | Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Tseliso MAKHAKHE]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Phebe MOTEBANO, chairwoman; Pakalitha MOSISILI, leader] - the governing party; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; United Democratic Party or UDP [Charles MOFELI]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP and Setlamo Alliance [Vincent MALEBO]; Progressive National Party or PNP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Sefate Democratic Party or SDP [Bofihla NKUEBE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Australian Monarchist League [leader NA]; Australian Republican Movement [leader NA] | NA |
Population | 19,913,144 (July 2004 est.) | 2,207,954
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 49% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.9% (2004 est.) | 1.33% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport (Tasmania), Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart (Tasmania), Launceston (Tasmania), Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | NA (2002) |
Railways | total: 44,015 km (5,290 km electrified)
broad gauge: 1,957 km 1.600-m gauge standard gauge: 27,095 km 1.435-m gauge (2,828 km electrified) narrow gauge: 14,957 km 1.067-m gauge (2,462 km electrified) dual gauge: 213 km dual gauge (2003) |
total: 2.6 km; note - owned by, operated by, and included in the statistics of South Africa
narrow gauge: 2.6 km 1.067-m gauge (1995) |
Religions | Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26%, other Christian 24.3%, non-Christian 11%, other 12.6% | Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: excellent domestic and international service
domestic: domestic satellite system; much use of radiotelephone in areas of low population density; rapid growth of mobile cellular telephones international: country code - 61; submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean), 2 Inmarsat (Indian and Pacific Ocean regions) (1998) |
general assessment: rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 10.815 million (2003) | 22,200 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 14.347 million (2003) | 21,600 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 104 (1997) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast | mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains |
Total fertility rate | 1.76 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 4.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (2003) | 45% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2004) | none |