AUSTRALIA
“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” “Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means.” “To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.”
Australia | Facts & Information
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Facts & Figures
Sovereign: Queen Elizabeth II (1952)
Governor-General: David Hurley (2019)
Prime Minister: Anthony Albanese (2022)
Land area: 2,966,152 sq mi (7,682,300 sq km); total area: 2,988,901 sq mi (7,741,220 sq km)
Population (2022 est.): 26,141,369 (growth rate: 1.25%); birth rate: 12.3/1000; infant mortality rate: 3.01/1000; life expectancy: 83.09
Capital (2022 est.): Canberra, 467,000
Largest cities: Sydney 5.057 million; Melbourne 5.151 million; Brisbane 2.472 million; Perth 2.093 million; Adelaide 1.356 million; CANBERRA (capital) 467,000 (2022)
Monetary unit: Australian dollar
Languages: English 76.8%, Mandarin 1.6%, Italian 1.4%, Arabic 1.3%, Greek 1.2%, Cantonese 1.2%, Vietnamese 1.1%, other 10.4%, unspecified 5% (2011 est.)
Ethnicity/race: English 36.1%, Australian 33.5%, Irish 11.0%, Scottish 9.3%, Chinese 5.6%, Italian 4.6%, German 4.5%, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 2.8%, Indian 2.8%, Greek 1.8%, Dutch 1.6% (2016)
Religions: Protestant 23.1% (Anglican 13.3%, Uniting Church 3.7%, Presbyterian and Reformed 2.3%, Baptist 1.5%, Pentecostal 1.1%, Lutheran .7%, other Protestant .5%), Roman Catholic 22.6%, other Christian 4.2%, Muslim 2.6%, Buddhist 2.4%, Orthodox 2.3% (Eastern Orthodox 2.1%, Oriental Orthodox .2%), Hindu 1.9%, other 1.3%, none 30.1%, unspecified 9.6% (2016 est.)
National Holiday: Australia Day, January 26
Literacy rate: 99% (2011 est.)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP $1,250,900,000,000 (2020 est.); per capita $48,700. Real growth rate: 1.84%. Inflation: 1.6%. Unemployment: 5.16%. Arable land: 4.03%. Agriculture: wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry. Labor force: 12.568 million; agriculture 3.6%, industry 21.1%, services 70.4% (2011 est.). Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel. Natural resources: bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum. Exports: #299.04 billion (2020 est.): coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment. Imports: $249.07 billion (2020 est.): machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products. Major trading partners: China, US, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, India, Germany (2020).
Member of Commonwealth of Nations
Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 6.2 million (2020); mobile cellular: 27.453 million (2020). Broadcast media: the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) runs multiple national and local radio networks and TV stations, as well as Australia Network, a TV service that broadcasts throughout the Asia-Pacific region and is the main public broadcaster; Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), a second large public broadcaster, operates radio and TV networks broadcasting in multiple languages; several large national commercial TV networks, a large number of local commercial TV stations, and hundreds of commercial radio stations are accessible; cable and satellite systems are available (2008). Internet hosts: 9,099,619 (2020). Internet users: 23,123,940 (2020).
Transportation: Railways: total: 33,343 km. Highways: total: 145,928 km (2015). Waterways: 2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2006). Ports and terminals: Brisbane, Cairns, Dampier, Darwin, Fremantle, Gladstone, Geelong, Hay Point, Hobart, Jervis Bay, Melbourne, Newcastle, Port Adelaide, Port Dalrymple, Port Hedland, Port Kembla, Port Lincoln, Port Walcott, Sydney. Airports: 418 (2021).