| Country
name |
| conventional
long form: Commonwealth of Australia
conventional short form: Australia |
| |
| Capital |
| Canberra
|
| |
| Location |
| Oceania,
continent between the Indian Ocean and the
South Pacific Ocean |
| |
| 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 |
| |
| Area
- comparative |
| Slightly
smaller than the US contiguous 48 states |
| |
| Climate |
| generally
arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east;
tropical in north |
| |
| Natural
resources |
| bauxite, coal, iron ore,
copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel,
tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds,
natural gas, petroleum |
| |
| Land
use |
arable land: 6.15% (includes
about 27 million hectares of cultivated grassland)
permanent crops: 0.04%
other: 93.81% (2005) |
| |
| Population |
| 20,264,082 (July 2006
est.) |
| |
| Population
growth rate |
| 0.85%
(2006 est.) |
| |
| Languages |
| English
79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian 1.9%, other 11.1%,
unspecified 5.8% (2001 Census) |
| |
| Literacy |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.) |
| |
| 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, 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. |
| |
| GDP
(purchasing power parity) |
| $640.1
billion (2005 est.) |
| |
| GDP
(official exchange rate) |
| $612.8
billion (2005 est.) |
| |
| GDP
- real growth rate |
| 2.5%
(2005 est.) |
| |
| GDP
- per capita (PPP) |
| $31,900
(2005 est.) |
| |
| GDP
- composition by sector |
agriculture:
3.8%
industry: 26.2%
services: 70% (2004 est.) |
| |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices) |
| 2.7%
(2005 est.) |
| |
| Investment
(gross fixed) |
| 25.9%
of GDP (2005 est.) |
| |
| Agriculture
- products |
| wheat,
barley, sugarcane, fruits, cattle, sheep,
poultry |
| |
| Industries |
| mining,
industrial and transportation equipment, food
processing, chemicals, steel |
| |
| Industrial
production growth rate |
| 1.1%
(2005 est.) |
| |
| Exports |
| $103
billion (2005 est.) |
| |
| Exports
- commodities |
| coal,
gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat,
machinery and transport equipment |
| |
| Exports
- partners |
| Japan
20.7%, China 12.5%, South Korea 7.4%, NZ 6.6%,
US 6.6%, India 4.8% (2005) |
| |
| Imports |
| $119.6
billion (2005 est.) |
| |
| Imports
- commodities |
| machinery
and transport equipment, computers and office
machines, telecommunication equipment and
parts; crude oil and petroleum products |
| |
| Imports
- partners |
| US 13.9%,
China 11.9%, Japan 11%, Singapore 6.2%, Germany
5.6%, Malaysia 4% (2005) |
| |
| Currency
(code) |
| Australian
dollar (AUD) |
| |
| Currency
code |
| AUD |
| |
| Fiscal
year |
| 1 July
- 30 June |
