Australia (2004) | Tokelau (2004) | |
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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 | none (territory of New Zealand) |
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: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats |
Airports | 444 (2003 est.) | none; lagoon landings are possible by amphibious aircraft (2003 est.) |
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.) |
- |
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.) |
- |
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: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states | about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC |
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. | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. |
Birth rate | 12.4 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $185 billion
expenditures: $181 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003) |
revenues: $430,800
expenditures: $2.8 million, including capital expenditures of $37,300 (1987 est.) |
Capital | Canberra | none; each atoll has its own administrative center |
Climate | generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north | tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November) |
Coastline | 25,760 km | 101 km |
Constitution | 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901 | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948, as amended in 1970 |
Country name | conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia
conventional short form: Australia |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tokelau |
Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 7.38 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $233.5 billion (2003 est.) | $0 |
Dependency status | - | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelauans are drafting a constitution and developing institutions and patterns of self-government as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand |
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 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
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 |
none (territory of New Zealand) |
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 | - | from New Zealand about $4 million annually |
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. | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services, with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. |
Electricity - consumption | 184.4 billion kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - production | 198.2 billion kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m
highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 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 | very limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand |
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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1% | Polynesian |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000), 1.55 (1999) | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.7229 (2003), 2.154 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999) |
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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by Administrator Neil WALTER (since NA 2002)
head of government: Aliki Faipule Kuresa NASAU (since 2004) note - position rotates annually among members of the cabinet cabinet: the Council of Faipule, consisting of three elected leaders - one from each atoll - functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
Exports | 523,400 bbl/day (2001) | $98,000 f.o.b. (1983) |
Exports - commodities | coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment | stamps, copra, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Japan 18.1%, US 8.7%, China 8.4%, South Korea 7.4%, New Zealand 7.4%, UK 6.7% (2003) | New Zealand (2000) |
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 | the flag of New Zealand is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $571.4 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1.5 million (1993 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 26.3% services: 70.2% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $29,000 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (1993 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2003 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 27 00 S, 133 00 E | 9 00 S, 172 00 W |
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 | consists of three atolls, each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over three 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: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 25.4% (1994) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
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) | $323,000 c.i.f. (1983) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel |
Imports - partners | US 16%, Japan 12.5%, China 11%, Germany 6.1%, UK 4.2% (2003) | New Zealand (2000) |
Independence | 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies) | none (territory of New Zealand) |
Industrial production growth rate | -0.1% (2003 est.) | NA |
Industries | mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing |
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.) |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2003 est.) | NA |
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 | UNESCO (associate), UPU |
Irrigated land | 24,000 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general) | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau |
Labor force | 10.19 million (37256) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 5%, industry 22%, services 73% (1997 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 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: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | English, native languages | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English |
Legal system | based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | New Zealand and local statutes |
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 |
unicameral General Fono (48 seats; 15 members from each of the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms and the 3 island village mayors [pulenuku]); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 80.26 years
male: 77.4 years female: 83.27 years (2004 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: 68 years female: 70 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (1980 est.) |
NA |
Location | Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Oceania | Oceania |
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 |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
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.) |
none |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, new Special Operations Command (announced in December 2002) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $14,120.1 million (2003) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.8% (2003) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 5,061,810 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 4,356,671 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 140,182 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Australia Day, 26 January (1788) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Australian(s)
adjective: Australian |
noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
Natural hazards | cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires | lies in Pacific typhoon belt |
Natural resources | bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 3.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
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] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Australian Monarchist League [leader NA]; Australian Republican Movement [leader NA] | none |
Population | 19,913,144 (July 2004 est.) | 1,405 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.9% (2004 est.) | -0.01% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport (Tasmania), Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart (Tasmania), Launceston (Tasmania), Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
note: each atoll has a radio broadcast station of unknown type that broadcasts shipping and weather reports (1998) |
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) |
- |
Religions | Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26%, other Christian 24.3%, non-Christian 11%, other 12.6% | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
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.) |
NA |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 21 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: adequate
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: country code - 690; radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations, established in 1997 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 10.815 million (2003) | 300 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 14.347 million (2003) | 0 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 104 (1997) | - |
Terrain | mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons |
Total fertility rate | 1.76 children born/woman (2004 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | 6% (2003) | NA |
Waterways | 2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2004) | - |