Compare Oman (2002) - Australia (2006)

Compare Oman (2002) z Australia (2006)

	Oman (2002)	Australia (2006)

Administrative divisions	6 regions (mintaqat, singular - mintaqah) and 2 governorates* (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah) Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah, Al Wusta, Ash Sharqiyah, Az Zahirah, Masqat, Musandam, Zufar; note - the US Embassy in Oman reports that Masqat is a governorate, but this has not been confirmed by the US Board on Geographic Names (BGN)	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: 41.9% (male 579,065; female 556,923) 15-64 years: 55.7% (male 914,494; female 597,948) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 34,555; female 30,477) (2002 est.)	0-14 years: 19.6% (male 2,031,313/female 1,936,802) 15-64 years: 67.3% (male 6,881,863/female 6,764,709) 65 years and over: 13.1% (male 1,170,589/female 1,478,806) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	dates, limes, bananas, alfalfa, vegetables; camels, cattle; fish	wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits, cattle, sheep, poultry
Airports	143 (2001)	455 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 6 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002)	total: 311 over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 133 914 to 1,523 m: 143 under 914 m: 13 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 133 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 55 914 to 1,523 m: 37 under 914 m: 32 (2002)	total: 144 1,524 to 2,437 m: 18 914 to 1,523 m: 111 under 914 m: 15 (2006)
Area	total: 212,460 sq km land: 212,460 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 Kansas	slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states
Background	In 1970, QABOOS bin Said Al Said ousted his father and has ruled as sultan ever since. His extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world and has preserved a long-standing political and military relationship with the UK. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with all Middle Eastern countries.	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 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 1990s, a performance due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s. 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	37.76 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)	12.14 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $9.2 billion expenditures: $6.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)	revenues: $249.8 billion expenditures: $240.2 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Capital	Muscat	name: Canberra geographic coordinates: 35 17 S, 149 08 E time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in October; ends last Sunday in March (ended first Sunday in April 2006) note: Australia is divided into three time zones
Climate	dry desert; hot, humid along coast; hot, dry interior; strong southwest summer monsoon (May to September) in far south	generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north
Coastline	2,092 km	25,760 km
Constitution	none; note - on 6 November 1996, Sultan QABOOS issued a royal decree promulgating a new basic law which, among other things, clarifies the royal succession, provides for a prime minister, bars ministers from holding interests in companies doing business with the government, establishes a bicameral legislature, and guarantees basic civil liberties for Omani citizens	9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901
Country name	conventional long form: Sultanate of Oman conventional short form: Oman local long form: Saltanat Uman local short form: Uman former: Muscat and Oman	conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia conventional short form: Australia
Currency	Omani rial (OMR)	-
Death rate	4.03 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)	7.51 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$5.3 billion (2000 est.)	$323.4 billion (2005 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 Richard Lewis BALTIMORE III embassy: Jameat A'Duwal Al Arabiya Street, Al Khuwair area, Muscat mailing address: international: P. O. Box 202, P.C. 115, Madinat Al-Sultan Qaboos, Muscat telephone: [968] 698989, extension 203 FAX: [968] 699771	chief of mission: Ambassador Robert D. McCALLUM, Jr. 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 Mohamed Ali AL KHUSAIBY chancery: 2535 Belmont Road, NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-1980 through 1981, 1988 FAX: [1] (202) 745-4933	chief of mission: Ambassador Dennis J. RICHARDSON 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, San Francisco
Disputes - international	Oman signed a boundary treaty with the UAE in 1999, but the completed boundary is not expected until the end of 2002; undefined segments of the Oman-UAE boundary remain with Ra's al-Khaymah and Ash Shariqah (Sharjah) emirates, including the Musandam Peninsula, where an administrative boundary substitutes for an international boundary	East Timor and Australia agreed in 2005 to defer the disputed portion of the boundary for fifty years and to split hydrocarbon revenues evenly 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 identification zone; Australia asserts land and maritime claims to Antarctica (see Antarctica); in 2004 Australia submitted its claims to UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) to extend its continental margin from both its mainland and Antarctic claims
Economic aid - donor	-	ODA, $894 million (FY99/00)
Economic aid - recipient	$76.4 million (1995) (1995)	-
Economy - overview	Oman's economic performance improved significantly in 2000 due largely to the upturn in oil prices. The government is moving ahead with privatization of its utilities, the development of a body of commercial law to facilitate foreign investment, and increased budgetary outlays. Oman continues to liberalize its markets and joined the World Trade Organization (WTrO) in November 2000. GDP growth improved in 2001 despite the global slowdown.	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, $13 billion in 2004, and nearly $17 billion in 2005. Housing prices probably peaked in 2005, diminishing the prospect that interest rates would be raised to prevent a speculative bubble. Conservative fiscal policies have kept Australia's budget in surplus from 2002 to 2005.
Electricity - consumption	7.533 billion kWh (2000)	221 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2000)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2000)	0 kWh (2003)
Electricity - production	8.1 billion kWh (2000)	237 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source	fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m highest point: Jabal Shams 2,980 m	lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m
Environment - current issues	rising soil salinity; beach pollution from oil spills; very limited natural fresh water resources	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, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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	Arab, Baluchi, South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi), African	Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1%
Exchange rates	Omani rials per US dollar - 0.3845 (fixed rate since 1986)	Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001)
Executive branch	chief of state: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said Al Said (since 23 July 1970); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: Sultan and Prime Minister QABOOS bin Said Al Said (since 23 July 1970); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary	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	$10.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)	523,400 bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities	petroleum, reexports, fish, metals, textiles	coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment
Exports - partners	Japan 21%, Thailand 18%, China 16%, South Korea 12%, UAE 12%, US 3% (2001)	Japan 20.3%, China 11.5%, South Korea 7.9%, US 6.7%, NZ 6.5%, India 5% (2005)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 July - 30 June
Flag description	three horizontal bands of white, red, and green of equal width with a broad, vertical, red band on the hoist side; the national emblem (a khanjar dagger in its sheath superimposed on two crossed swords in scabbards) in white is centered near the top of the vertical band	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 or Federation 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; on the fly half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white with one small five-pointed star and four larger, seven-pointed stars
GDP	purchasing power parity - $21.5 billion (2001 est.)	-
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 3% industry: 40% services: 57% (1999 est.)	agriculture: 3.8% industry: 26.2% services: 70% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $8,200 (2001 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	7.4% (2001 est.)	2.7% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	21 00 N, 57 00 E	27 00 S, 133 00 E
Geography - note	strategic location on Musandam Peninsula adjacent to Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil	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
Heliports	1 (2002)	1 (2006)
Highways	total: 32,800 km paved: 9,840 km (including 550 km of expressways) unpaved: 22,960 km (1996)	-
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	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	$5.4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)	530,800 bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities	machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants	machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products
Imports - partners	UAE 23% (largely reexports), Japan 16%, UK 13%, Italy 7%, Germany 5%, US 5% (2001)	US 13.9%, China 13.7%, Japan 11%, Singapore 5.6%, Germany 5.6% (2005)
Independence	1650 (expulsion of the Portuguese)	1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)
Industrial production growth rate	4% (2000 est.)	1.1% (2005 est.)
Industries	crude oil production and refining, natural gas production, construction, cement, copper	mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel
Infant mortality rate	21.77 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)	total: 4.63 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.02 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	1% (2001 est.)	2.7% (2005 est.)
International organization participation	ABEDA, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO	ANZUS, APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, Paris Club, PCA, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMIS, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	1 (2000)	-
Irrigated land	620 sq km (1998 est.)	25,450 sq km (2003)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court note: the nascent civil court system, administered by region, has non-Islamic judges as well as traditional Islamic judges	High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general)
Labor force	920,000	10.42 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%	agriculture: 3.6% industry: 21.2% services: 75.2% (2004 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 1,374 km border countries: Saudi Arabia 676 km, UAE 410 km, Yemen 288 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 0.08% permanent crops: 0.22% other: 99.7% (1998 est.)	arable land: 6.15% (includes about 27 million hectares of cultivated grassland) permanent crops: 0.04% other: 93.81% (2005)
Languages	Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects	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 Islamic law; ultimate appeal to the monarch; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Legislative branch	bicameral Majlis Oman consists of an upper chamber or Majlis al-Dawla (48 seats; members appointed by the monarch; has advisory powers only) and a lower chamber or Majlis al-Shura (83 seats; members elected by limited suffrage for three-year term, however, the monarch makes final selections and can negate election results; body has some limited power to propose legislation, but otherwise has only advisory powers) elections: last held NA September 2000 (next to be held NA September 2003) election results: NA; note - two women were elected for the first time to the Majlis al-Shura, about 100,000 people voted	bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate (76 seats - 12 from each of the six states and 2 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 5 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 - 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: 72.31 years male: 70.15 years female: 74.57 years (2002 est.)	total population: 80.5 years male: 77.64 years female: 83.52 years (2006 est.)
Literacy	definition: NA total population: approaching 80% male: NA% female: NA%	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.)
Location	Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and UAE	Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean
Map references	Middle East	Oceania
Maritime claims	contiguous zone: 24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM	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: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 17,291 GRT/9,457 DWT ships by type: cargo 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Singapore 1 (2002 est.)	total: 53 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,361,000 GRT/1,532,874 DWT by type: bulk carrier 17, cargo 4, chemical tanker 3, container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger 6, passenger/cargo 7, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 5 foreign-owned: 17 (Canada 1, France 3, Germany 3, Japan 1, Netherlands 2, Norway 1, Philippines 1, UK 2, US 3) registered in other countries: 34 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Bahamas 2, Bermuda 3, Fiji 1, Hong Kong 1, Liberia 2, Marshall Islands 2, Netherlands 1, NZ 2, Panama 3, Portugal 1, Singapore 7, Tonga 1, UK 3, US 2, Vanuatu 2) (2006)
Military branches	Royal Omani Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Royal Omani Police	Australian Defense Force (ADF): Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, Special Operations Command
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$2,424.4 million (FY01)	$17.84 billion (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	12.2% (FY01)	2.7% (2005 est.)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 780,292 (2002 est.)	-
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 434,026 (2002 est.)	-
Military manpower - military age	14 years of age (2002 est.)	-
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 26,470 (2002 est.)	-
National holiday	Birthday of Sultan QABOOS, 18 November (1940)	Australia Day, 26 January (1788)
Nationality	noun: Omani(s) adjective: Omani	noun: Australian(s) adjective: Australian
Natural hazards	summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts	cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires
Natural resources	petroleum, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum, natural gas	bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum
Net migration rate	0.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)	3.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Pipelines	crude oil 1,300 km; natural gas 1,030 km	condensate/gas 546 km; gas 31,323 km; liquid petroleum gas 240 km; oil 4,808 km; oil/gas/water 110 km (2006)
Political parties and leaders	none	Australian Democrats [Lyn ALLISON]; Australian Greens [Bob BROWN]; Australian Labor Party [Kevin RUDD]; Country Liberal Party [Jodeen CARNEY]; Family First Party [Steve FIELDING]; Liberal Party [John Winston HOWARD]; The Nationals [Mark VAILE]
Political pressure groups and leaders	none	-
Population	2,713,462 note: includes 527,078 non-nationals (July 2002 est.)	20,264,082 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	NA%
Population growth rate	3.41% (2002 est.)	0.85% (2006 est.)
Ports and harbors	Matrah, Mina' al Fahl, Mina' Raysut	-
Radio broadcast stations	AM 3, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1999)	AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios	1.4 million (1997)	-
Railways	0 km	total: 47,738 km broad gauge: 4,015 km 1.600-m gauge standard gauge: 28,662 km 1.435-m gauge (1,397 km electrified) narrow gauge: 14,831 km 1.067-m gauge (2,462 km electrified) dual gauge: 230 km dual gauge (2005)
Religions	Ibadhi Muslim 75%, Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, Hindu	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: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.53 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female total population: 1.29 male(s)/female (2002 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 (2006 est.)
Suffrage	in Oman's most recent elections in 2000, limited to approximately 175,000 Omanis chosen by the government to vote in elections for the Majlis ash-Shura	18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Telephone system	general assessment: modern system consisting of open wire, microwave, and radiotelephone communication stations; limited coaxial cable domestic: open wire, microwave, radiotelephone communications, and a domestic satellite system with 8 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat	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 - 19 (10 Intelsat - 4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean, 2 Inmarsat - Indian and Pacific Ocean regions, 2 Globalstar, 5 other) (2005)
Telephones - main lines in use	201,000 (1997)	11.46 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	59,822 (1997)	18.42 million (2005)
Television broadcast stations	13 (plus 25 low-power repeaters) (1999)	104 (1997)
Terrain	central desert plain, rugged mountains in north and south	mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast
Total fertility rate	5.99 children born/woman (2002 est.)	1.76 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	NA%	5.1% (2005 est.)
Waterways	none	2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2002)

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