Compare Lesotho (2006) - Australia (2005)

Compare Lesotho (2006) z Australia (2005)

	Lesotho (2006)	Australia (2005)

Administrative divisions	10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka	6 states and 2 territories; Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia*
Age structure	0-14 years: 36.8% (male 374,102/female 369,527) 15-64 years: 58.3% (male 572,957/female 606,846) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 39,461/female 59,438) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 19.8% (male 2,038,809/female 1,943,563) 15-64 years: 67.2% (male 6,815,600/female 6,695,189) 65 years and over: 12.9% (male 1,145,274/female 1,452,002) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	corn, wheat, pulses, sorghum, barley; livestock	wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry
Airports	28 (2006)	448 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006)	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: 25 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 21 (2006)	total: 143 1,524 to 2,437 m: 17 914 to 1,523 m: 112 under 914 m: 14 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 30,355 sq km land: 30,355 sq km water: 0 sq km	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
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Maryland	slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states
Background	Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the UK in 1966. The Basuto National Party ruled for the first two decades. King MOSHOESHOE was exiled in 1990, but returned to Lesotho in 1992 and reinstated in 1995. Constitutional government was restored in 1993 after 7 years of military rule. In 1998, violent protests and a military mutiny following a contentious election prompted a brief but bloody intervention by South African and Botswanan military forces under the aegis of the Southern African Development Community. Constitutional reforms have since restored political stability; peaceful parliamentary elections were held in 2002.	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. It boasted one of the OECD's fastest growing economies during the 1990's, a performance due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980's. Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef.
Birth rate	24.75 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	12.26 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $738.5 million expenditures: $792.1 million; including capital expenditures of NA (2005 est.)	revenues: $222.7 billion expenditures: $221.7 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital	name: Maseru geographic coordinates: 29 28 S, 27 30 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Canberra
Climate	temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot, wet summers	generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)	25,760 km
Constitution	2 April 1993	9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901
Country name	conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form: Lesotho local long form: Kingdom of Lesotho local short form: Lesotho former: Basutoland	conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia conventional short form: Australia
Death rate	28.71 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	7.44 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$735 million (2002)	$308.7 billion (3rd quarter, 2004 est.)
Dependent areas	-	Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island, Macquarie Island
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador June Carter PERRY embassy: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section) mailing address: P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone: [266] 22 312666 FAX: [266] 22 310116	chief of mission: William A. STANTON, Charge d'Affaires ad interim 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
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Molelekeng E. RAPOLAKI chancery: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-5533 through 5536 FAX: [1] (202) 234-6815	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
Disputes - international	none	East Timor and Australia continue to meet but disagree over how to delimit a permanent maritime boundary and share unexploited petroleum resources that fall outside the Joint Petroleum Development Area covered by the 2002 Timor Sea Treaty; East Timor dispute hampers creation of a revised maritime boundary with Indonesia (see also Ashmore and Cartier Islands dispute); regional states express concern over Australia's 2004 declaration of a 1,000-nautical mile-wide maritime indentification zone; Australia asserts land and maritime claims to Antarctica (see Antarctica); in 2004 Australia submitted claims to UNCLOS to extend its continental margin from both its mainland and Antarctic claims
Economic aid - donor	ODA, $4.4 million	ODA, $894 million (FY99/00)
Economic aid - recipient	$41.5 million (2000)	-
Economy - overview	Small, landlocked, and mountainous, Lesotho relies on remittances from miners employed in South Africa and customs duties from the Southern Africa Customs Union for the majority of government revenue. However, the government has recently strengthened its tax system to reduce dependency on customs duties. Completion of a major hydropower facility in January 1998 now permits the sale of water to South Africa, also generating royalties for Lesotho. As the number of mineworkers has declined steadily over the past several years, a small manufacturing base has developed based on farm products that support the milling, canning, leather, and jute industries, as well as a rapidly expanding apparel-assembly sector. The latter has grown significantly, mainly due to Lesotho qualifying for the trade benefits contained in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act. The economy is still primarily based on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock, although drought has decreased agricultural activity. The extreme inequality in the distribution of income remains a major drawback. Lesotho has signed an Interim Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility with the IMF.	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 $18 billion in 2003, and to $13 billion in 2004. One other concern is the rapid increase in domestic housing prices, which have raised the prospect that interest rates will need to be raised to prevent a speculative bubble.
Electricity - consumption	363.5 million kWh (2003)	195.6 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	38 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2003)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	350 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2003)	210.3 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: junction of the Orange and Makhaleng Rivers 1,400 m highest point: Thabana Ntlenyana 3,482 m	lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m
Environment - current issues	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	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
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea	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	Sotho 99.7%, Europeans, Asians, and other 0.3%,	Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1%
Exchange rates	maloti per US dollar - 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001)	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000)
Executive branch	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 depose the monarch, determine who is next in the line of succession, or who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age	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 Mark VAILE (since 6 July 2005) cabinet: Prime Minister nominates, from among members of Parliament, candidates who are subsequently sworn in by the Governor General to serve as government ministers 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
Exports	NA bbl/day	523,400 bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities	manufactures 75% (clothing, footwear, road vehicles), wool and mohair, food and live animals (2000)	coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment
Exports - partners	Hong Kong 43.6%, China 35.4%, Germany 8.4% (2005)	Japan 18.6%, China 9.2%, US 8.1%, South Korea 7.7%, New Zealand 7.4%, India 4.6%, UK 4.2% (2004)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	1 July - 30 June
Flag description	three horizontal stripes of blue (top), white, and green in the proportions of 3:4:3; the colors represent rain, peace, and prosperity respectively; centered in the white stripe is a black Basotho hat representing the indigenous people; the flag was unfurled in October 2006 to celebrate 40 years of independence	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
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 16.3% industry: 44.3% services: 39.4% (2005 est.)	agriculture: 3.4% industry: 28.2% services: 68.4% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $30,700 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1.2% (2005 est.)	3.5% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	29 30 S, 28 30 E	27 00 S, 133 00 E
Geography - note	landlocked, completely surrounded by South Africa; mountainous, more than 80% of the country is 1,800 meters above sea level	world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; the invigorating tropical sea breeze known as the "Fremantle Doctor" affects the city of Perth on the west coast, and is one of the most consistent winds in the world
Highways	-	total: 811,603 km paved: 314,090 km (including 18,619 km of expressways) unpaved: 497,513 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 0.9% highest 10%: 43.4%	lowest 10%: 2% highest 10%: 25.4% (1994)
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	NA bbl/day	530,800 bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities	food; building materials, vehicles, machinery, medicines, petroleum products (2000)	machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products
Imports - partners	US 84%, Belgium 12.8%, Canada 2.4% (2005)	US 14.8%, China 12.7%, Japan 11.8%, Germany 5.8%, Singapore 4.4%, UK 4.1% (2004)
Independence	4 October 1966 (from UK)	1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)
Industrial production growth rate	15.5% (1999)	1.9% (2004 est.)
Industries	food, beverages, textiles, apparel assembly, handicrafts, construction, tourism	mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel
Infant mortality rate	total: 87.24 deaths/1,000 live births male: 92.04 deaths/1,000 live births female: 82.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 4.69 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	4.7% (2005 est.)	2.3% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	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
Irrigated land	30 sq km (2003)	24,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch acting on the advice of the Prime Minister); Court of Appeal; Magistrate's Court; customary or traditional court	High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general)
Labor force	838,000 (2000)	10.35 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 86% of resident population engaged in subsistence agriculture; roughly 35% of the active male wage earners work in South Africa industry and services: 14%	agriculture 3.6%, industry 26.4%, services 70% (2004 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 909 km border countries: South Africa 909 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 10.87% permanent crops: 0.13% other: 89% (2005)	arable land: 6.55% (includes about 27 million hectares of cultivated grassland) permanent crops: 0.04% other: 93.41% (2001)
Languages	Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa	English 79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian 1.9%, other 11.1%, unspecified 5.8% (2001 Census)
Legal system	based on English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations	based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Legislative branch	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 by 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	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 state members are elected every three years by popular vote to serve six-year terms while all territory members are elected every three years) and the House of Representatives (150 seats; members elected by popular preferential voting to serve terms of up to three-years; no state can have fewer than five representatives) elections: Senate - last held 9 October 2004 (next to be held no later than June 2008); House of Representatives - last held 9 October 2004 (next to be called no later than November 2007) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party (for session beginning on 1 July 2005) - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 39, Australian Labor Party 28, Democrats 4, Australian Greens 4, Family First Party 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 87, Australian Labor Party 60, independents 3
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 34.4 years male: 35.55 years female: 33.21 years (2006 est.)	total population: 80.39 years male: 77.52 years female: 83.4 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 84.8% male: 74.5% female: 94.5% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (1980 est.)
Location	Southern Africa, an enclave of South Africa	Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean
Map references	Africa	Oceania
Maritime claims	none (landlocked)	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
Merchant marine	-	total: 55 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,531,461 GRT/1,999,409 DWT by type: bulk carrier 16, cargo 7, chemical tanker 3, container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 6, petroleum tanker 8, roll on/roll off 5 foreign-owned: 16 (France 1, Germany 3, Japan 1, Philippines 1, Saudi Arabia 1, United Kingdom 2, United States 7) registered in other countries: 35 (2005)
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	Lesotho Defense Force (LDF): Army and Air Wing	Australian Defense Force (ADF): Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, Special Operations Command
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$41.1 million (2005 est.)	$16.65 billion (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.1% (2005 est.)	2.7% (2004)
National holiday	Independence Day, 4 October (1966)	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)
Nationality	noun: Mosotho (singular), Basotho (plural) adjective: Basotho	noun: Australian(s) adjective: Australian
Natural hazards	periodic droughts	cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires
Natural resources	water, agricultural and grazing land, diamonds, sand, clay, building stone	bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum
Net migration rate	-0.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	3.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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	Basotholand African Congress or BAC [Khauhelo RALITAPOLE]; Basotholand Congress Party or BCP [Ntsukunyane MPHANYA]; Basotho National Party or BNP [Maj. Gen. Justine Metsing LEKHANYA]; Kopanang Basotho Party or KPB [MOSALA]; Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Pakalitha MOSISILI] (the governing party); Lesotho Education Party or LEP [Thabo PITSO]; Lesotho People's Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE]; Lesotho Workers Party of LWP [Macaefa BILLY]; Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP [Vincent MALEBO]; National Independent Party or NIP [Anthony MANYELI]; National Progressive Party or NPP [Chief Peete Nkoebe PEETE]; Popular Front for Democracy or PFD [Lekhetho RAKUOANE]; Sefate Democratic Union or SDU [Bofihla NKUEBE]; Social Democratic Party of SDP [Masitise SELESO]; United Democratic Party or UDP [C.D. MOFELI]; United Party or UP [Makara SEKAUTU]	Australian Democrats [Lyn ALLISON]; Australian Labor Party [Kim BEAZLEY]; Australian Progressive Alliance [Meg LEES]; Australian Greens [Bob BROWN]; Liberal Party [John Winston HOWARD]; The Nationals [Mark VAILE]; One Nation Party [Len HARRIS]; Family First Party [Steve FIELDING]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	-
Population	2,022,331 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 2006 est.)	20,090,437 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	49% (1999)	NA
Population growth rate	-0.46% (2006 est.)	0.87% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Brisbane, Dampier, Fremantle, Gladstone, Hay Point, Melbourne, Newcastle, Port Hedland, Port Kembla, Port Walcott, Sydney
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways	-	total: 54,439 km (3859 km electrified) broad gauge: 5,434 km 1.600-m gauge standard gauge: 34,110 km 1.435-m gauge (1,397 km electrified) narrow gauge: 14,895 km 1.067-m gauge (2,462 km electrified) dual gauge: 213 km dual gauge (2004)
Religions	Christian 80%, indigenous beliefs 20%	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% (2001 Census)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	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 (2005 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Telephone system	general assessment: rudimentary system domestic: consists of a modest but growing number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)	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)
Telephones - main lines in use	48,000 (2005)	10.815 million (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	245,100 (2005)	14.347 million (2003)
Television broadcast stations	1 (2000)	104 (1997)
Terrain	mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and mountains	mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast
Total fertility rate	3.28 children born/woman (2006 est.)	1.76 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	45% (2002)	5.1% (December 2004 est.)
Waterways	-	2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2004)

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