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Compare World (2008) - Australia (2003)

Compare World (2008) z Australia (2003)

 World (2008)Australia (2003)
 WorldAustralia
Administrative divisions 266 nations, dependent areas, and other entities 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: 27.4% (male 931,551,498/female 875,646,416)


15-64 years: 65.1% (male 2,174,605,518/female 2,124,494,703)


65 years and over: 7.5% (male 217,451,123/female 278,474,917) (2007 est.)
0-14 years: 20.2% (male 2,045,783; female 1,949,864)


15-64 years: 67.1% (male 6,680,531; female 6,553,141)


65 years and over: 12.7% (male 1,099,275; female 1,403,390) (2003 est.)
Agriculture - products - wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry
Airports total airports - 49,024


top ten by passengers: Atlanta - 84,846,639; Chicago - 77,028,134; London - 67,530,197; Tokyo - 65,810,672; Los Angeles - 61,041,066; Dallas/Fort Worth - 60,226,138; Paris - 56,849,567; Frankfurt - 52,810,683; Beijing - 48,654,770; Denver - 47,325,016


top ten by cargo (metric tons): Memphis - 3,692,081; Hong Kong - 3,609,780; Anchorage - 2,691,395; Seoul - 2,336,572; Tokyo - 2,280,830; Shanghai - 2,168,122; Paris - 2,130,724; Frankfurt - 2,127,646; Louisville (US) - 1,983,032; Singapore - 1,931,881 (2006)
444 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways - total: 294


over 3,047 m: 10


2,438 to 3,047 m: 11


1,524 to 2,437 m: 126


914 to 1,523 m: 134


under 914 m: 13 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways - total: 150


1,524 to 2,437 m: 20


914 to 1,523 m: 116


under 914 m: 14 (2002)
Area total: 510.072 million sq km


land: 148.94 million sq km


water: 361.132 million sq km


note: 70.8% of the world's surface is water, 29.2% is land
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 land area about 16 times the size of the US slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states
Background Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war). Australia became a commonwealth of the British Empire in 1901. It was able to take 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. 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.
Birth rate 20.09 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) 12.55 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Budget - revenues: $86.8 billion


expenditures: $84.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY 00/01 est.)
Capital - Canberra
Climate a wide equatorial band of hot and humid tropical climates - bordered north and south by subtropical temperate zones - that separate two large areas of cold and dry polar climates generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north
Coastline 356,000 km


note: 94 nations and other entities are islands that border no other countries, they include: American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Baker Island, Barbados, Bermuda, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Christmas Island, Clipperton Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Comoros, Cook Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Cuba, Cyprus, Dominica, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Greenland, Grenada, Guam, Guernsey, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Howland Island, Iceland, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jan Mayen, Japan, Jarvis Island, Jersey, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Kiribati, Madagascar, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Federated States of Micronesia, Midway Islands, Montserrat, Nauru, Navassa Island, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Palmyra Atoll, Paracel Islands, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Spratly Islands, Sri Lanka, Svalbard, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Virgin Islands, Wake Island, Wallis and Futuna, Taiwan
25,760 km
Constitution - 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901
Country name - conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia


conventional short form: Australia
Currency - Australian dollar (AUD)
Death rate 8.37 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) 7.31 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Debt - external $54.31 trillion


note: this figure is the sum total of all countries' external debt, both public and private (2004 est.)
$176.8 billion (yearend 2002 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
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
Disputes - international stretching over 250,000 km, the world's 322 international land boundaries separate 194 independent states and 70 dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities; ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided states into separate political entities as much as history, physical terrain, political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimes arbitrary and imposed boundaries; most maritime states have claimed limits that include territorial seas and exclusive economic zones; overlapping limits due to adjacent or opposite coasts create the potential for 430 bilateral maritime boundaries of which 209 have agreements that include contiguous and non-contiguous segments; boundary, borderland/resource, and territorial disputes vary in intensity from managed or dormant to violent or militarized; undemarcated, indefinite, porous, and unmanaged boundaries tend to encourage illegal cross-border activities, uncontrolled migration, and confrontation; territorial disputes may evolve from historical and/or cultural claims, or they may be brought on by resource competition; ethnic and cultural clashes continue to be responsible for much of the territorial fragmentation and internal displacement of the estimated 6.6 million people and cross-border displacements of 8.6 million refugees around the world as of early 2006; just over one million refugees were repatriated in the same period; other sources of contention include access to water and mineral (especially hydrocarbon) resources, fisheries, and arable land; armed conflict prevails not so much between the uniformed armed forces of independent states as between stateless armed entities that detract from the sustenance and welfare of local populations, leaving the community of nations to cope with resultant refugees, hunger, disease, impoverishment, and environmental degradation maritime delimitation and resource sharing agreements signed with East Timor resolve dispute over "Timor Gap" hydrocarbon reserves; no agreement reached on dividing Timor Sea with Indonesia (see Ashmore and Cartier Islands disputes); Australia asserts a territorial claim to Antarctica and to its continental shelf (see Antarctica)
Economic aid - donor - ODA, $894 million (FY 99/00)
Economic aid - recipient ODA, $106.4 billion (2005) -
Economy - overview Global output rose by 5.2% in 2007, led by China (11.4%), India (8.5%), and Russia (7.4%). The 14 other successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations continued as strong performers, in the 8%-10% range of growth. From 2006 to 2007 growth rates slowed in all the major industrial countries except for the United Kingdom (3.0%). Analysts attribute the slowdown to uncertainties in the financial markets and lowered consumer confidence. Worldwide, nations varied widely in their growth results. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Iraq, in Indonesia, and in Canada. Externally, the central government is losing decisionmaking powers to international bodies, notably the EU. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from an economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuated a growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. The opening of war in March 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq added new uncertainties to global economic prospects. After the initial coalition victory, the complex political difficulties and the high economic cost of establishing domestic order in Iraq became major global problems that continued through 2007. Australia has a prosperous 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 is another key factor behind the economy's strength. The stagnant economic conditions in major export partners and the impact of the worst drought in 100 years cast a shadow over prospects for 2003.
Electricity - consumption 16.78 trillion kWh (2005 est.) 184.4 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 635.6 billion kWh (2005) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 625.7 billion kWh (2005) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 18.55 trillion kWh (2005 est.) 198.2 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source - fossil fuel: 90.8%


hydro: 8.3%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0.9% (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m


note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean


highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m
lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m


highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m
Environment - current issues large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion; global warming becoming a greater concern 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: 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, Nuclear Test Ban, 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%
Exchange rates - Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.84 (2002), 1.93 (2001), 1.72 (2000), 1.55 (1999), 1.59 (1998)
Executive branch - chief of state: Queen of Australia ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Michael JEFFREY (since 11 August 2003)


head of government: Prime Minister John Winston HOWARD (since 11 March 1996); Deputy Prime Minister John ANDERSON 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
Exports 63.76 million bbl/day (2004) 523,400 bbl/day (2001)
Exports - commodities the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services


top ten - share of world trade: electrical machinery, including computers 14.8%; mineral fuels, including oil, coal, gas, and refined products 14.4%; nuclear reactors, boilers, and parts 14.2%; cars, trucks, and buses 8.9%; scientific and precision instruments 3.5%; plastics 3.4%; iron and steel 2.7%; organic chemicals 2.6%; pharmaceutical products 2.6%; diamonds, pearls, and precious stones 1.9% (2006 est.)
coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment
Exports - partners US 15.1%, Germany 7.4%, China 5.9%, France 4.6%, UK 4.5%, Japan 4.4% (2006) Japan 18.5%, US 9.6%, South Korea 8.3%, China 6.9%, New Zealand 6.5%, UK 4.7%, Singapore 4.1%, Taiwan 4% (2002)
Fiscal year - 1 July - 30 June
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
GDP - purchasing power parity - $525.5 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 4%


industry: 32%


services: 64% (2007 est.)
agriculture: 3%


industry: 26%


services: 71% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita - purchasing power parity - $26,900 (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 5.2% (2007 est.) 3.6% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates - 27 00 S, 133 00 E
Geography - note the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13.7-billion-year age estimated for the universe 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
Heliports 1,359 (2007) -
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%: 2.5%


highest 10%: 29.8% (2002 est.)
lowest 10%: 2%


highest 10%: 25.4% (1994)
Illicit drugs cocaine: worldwide coca leaf cultivation in 2005 amounted to 208,500 hectares; Colombia produced slightly more than two-thirds of the worldwide crop, followed by Peru and Bolivia; potential pure cocaine production rose to 900 from 645 metric tons in 2005 - partially due to improved methodologies used to calculate levels of production; Colombia conducts aggressive coca eradication campaign, but both Peruvian and Bolivian Governments are hesitant to eradicate coca in key growing areas; 551 metric tons of export-quality cocaine (85% pure) is documented to have been seized or destroyed in 2005; US consumption of export quality cocaine is estimated to have been in excess of 380 metric tons



opiates: worldwide illicit opium poppy cultivation reached 208,500 hectares in 2005; potential opium production of 4,990 metric tons was only a 9% decrease over 2004's highest total recorded since estimates began in mid-1980s; Afghanistan is world's primary opium producer, accounting for 90% of the global supply; Southeast Asia - responsible for 9% of global opium - saw marginal increases in production; Latin America produced 1% of global opium, but most was refined into heroin destined for the US market; if all potential opium was processed into pure heroin, the potential global production would be 577 metric tons of heroin in 2005
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 63.18 million bbl/day (2004) 530,800 bbl/day (2001)
Imports - commodities the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services


top ten - share of world trade: see listing for exports
machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products
Imports - partners China 9.8%, Germany 8.8%, US 8.6%, Japan 5.6% (2006) US 18.3%, Japan 12.3%, China 10.1%, Germany 5.7%, UK 4.6% (2002)
Independence - 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)
Industrial production growth rate 5% (2007 est.) 4.3% (2002 est.)
Industries dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel
Infant mortality rate total: 43.52 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 46.32 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 40.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total: 4.83 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 5.23 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 4.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 20% typically; national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in one Third World countries (Zimbabwe); inflation rates have declined for most countries for the last several years, held in check by increasing international competition from several low wage countries (2005 est.) 2.8% (2002 est.)
International organization participation - ANZUS, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMEE, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) - 571 (2002)
Irrigated land 2,770,980 sq km (2003) 24,000 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch - High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general)
Labor force 3.001 billion (2007 est.) 9.2 million (37256)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture: 40%


industry: 20.5%


services: 39.4% (2007 est.)
services 73%, industry 22%, agriculture 5% (1997 est.)
Land boundaries the land boundaries in the world total 251,060 km (not counting shared boundaries twice); two nations, China and Russia, each border 14 other countries


note: 45 nations and other areas are landlocked, these include: Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked
0 km
Land use arable land: 13.31%


permanent crops: 4.71%


other: 81.98% (2005)
arable land: 6.88%


permanent crops: 0.03%


other: 93.09% (1998 est.)
Languages Mandarin Chinese 13.22%, Spanish 4.88%, English 4.68%, Arabic 3.12%, Hindi 2.74%, Portuguese 2.69%, Bengali 2.59%, Russian 2.2%, Japanese 1.85%, Standard German 1.44%, Wu Chinese 1.17% (2005 est.)


note: percents are for "first language" speakers only
English, native languages
Legal system all members of the UN are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
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 10 November 2001 (next to be held by February 2005); House of Representatives - last held 10 November 2001 (next to be held by February 2005)


election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 35, Australian Labor Party 28, Australian Democrats 8, Green Party 2, One Nation Party 1, Country Labor Party 1, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Liberal Party-National Party coalition 82, Australian Labor Party 65, independent and other 3
Life expectancy at birth total population: 65.82 years


male: 63.89 years


female: 67.84 years (2007 est.)
total population: 80.13 years


male: 77.27 years


female: 83.13 years (2003 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 82%


male: 87%


female: 77%


note: over two-thirds of the world's 785 million illiterate adults are found in only eight countries (India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Egypt); of all the illiterate adults in the world, two-thirds are women; extremely low literacy rates are concentrated in three regions, South and West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab states, where around one-third of the men and half of all women are illiterate (2005 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 100%


male: 100%


female: 100% (1980 est.)
Location - Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean
Map references Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard Time Zones of the World Oceania
Maritime claims a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims measured from the mean low-tide baseline as described in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: territorial sea - 12 nm, contiguous zone - 24 nm, and exclusive economic zone - 200 nm; additional zones provide for exploitation of continental shelf resources and an exclusive fishing zone; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 nm contiguous zone: 24 NM


continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin


exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
Merchant marine - total: 51 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,415,810 GRT/1,806,554 DWT


ships by type: bulk 20, cargo 6, chemical tanker 3, combination bulk 1, container 2, liquefied gas 4, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 6


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: France 2, UK 2, US 14 (2002 est.)
Military branches - Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $11.39 billion (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP roughly 2% of gross world product (2005 est.) 2.9% (FY02)
Military manpower - availability - males age 15-49: 5,037,538 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service - males age 15-49: 4,339,011 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - military age - 17 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually - males: 142,377 (2003 est.)
National holiday - Australia Day, 26 January (1788)
Nationality - noun: Australian(s)


adjective: Australian
Natural hazards large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions) cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires
Natural resources the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum
Net migration rate - 4.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Pipelines - condensate 36 km; condensate/gas 243 km; gas 27,321 km; liquid petroleum gas 240 km; oil 4,779 km; oil/gas/water 104 km; water 40 km (2003)
Political parties and leaders - Australian Democrats [Andrew BARTLETT]; Australian Labor Party [Mark LATHAM]; Australian Progressive Alliance [Meg LEES]; Country Labor Party [leader NA]; Australian Greens [Bob BROWN]; Liberal Party [John Winston HOWARD]; The Nationals [John ANDERSON]; One Nation Party [Len HARRIS]
Political pressure groups and leaders - Australian Monarchist League [leader NA]; Australian Republican Movement [leader NA]
Population 6,602,224,175 (July 2007 est.) 19,731,984 (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line - NA%
Population growth rate 1.167% (2007 est.) 0.93% (2003 est.)
Ports and harbors - Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport (Tasmania), Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart (Tasmania), Launceston (Tasmania), Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville
Radio broadcast stations AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998)
Railways total: 1,370,782 km (2006) total: 41,588 km (4,612 km electrified)


broad gauge: 2,193 km 1.600-m gauge


standard gauge: 23,648 km 1.435-m gauge


narrow gauge: 15,456 km 1.067-m gauge


dual gauge: 291 km dual gauge (2002)
Religions Christians 33.32% (of which Roman Catholics 16.99%, Protestants 5.78%, Orthodox 3.53%, Anglicans 1.25%), Muslims 21.01%, Hindus 13.26%, Buddhists 5.84%, Sikhs 0.35%, Jews 0.23%, Baha'is 0.12%, other religions 11.78%, non-religious 11.77%, atheists 2.32% (2007 est.) Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26%, other Christian 24.3%, non-Christian 11%, other 12.6%
Sex ratio at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.064 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.024 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.781 male(s)/female


total population: 1.014 male(s)/female (2007 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: 0.78 male(s)/female


total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Suffrage - 18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Telephone system general assessment: NA


domestic: NA


international: NA
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: 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 1,263,367,600 (2005) 10.05 million (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular 2,168,433,600 (2005) 8.6 million (2000)
Television broadcast stations NA 104 (1997)
Terrain the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast
Total fertility rate 2.59 children born/woman (2007 est.) 1.76 children born/woman (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate 30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (2007 est.) 6.3% (2002)
Waterways 671,886 km (2004) 8,368 km (mainly used by small, shallow-draft craft)
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