Australia
Commonwealth of Australia
federal parliamentary stateIndependence 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)
Australia as the 1997 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 101 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Geography
Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South | Pacific Ocean
18 fieldsLand useshare of 7,686,850 sq km
Natural resources
bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum
Environment - current issues
- 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 Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, 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
- signed, but not ratified :
- Desertification
Geography - note
- 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
People
15 fieldsPer 1,000 population(1997 est.)
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 22% (male 2,018,363; female 1,921,252)
- 15-64 years:
- 66% (male 6,188,476; female 6,041,173) 65 years and over : 12% (male 987,092; female 1,282,468) (July 1997 est.)
Sex ratio
- 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:
- 0.77 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 0.99 male(s)/female (1997 est.)
Government
Federal parliamentary state; Queen ELIZABETH II of the UK (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir William DEANE (since 16 February 1996)
22 fieldsSenate, 148 seats, elected 2 March 1996one dot, one seat
Administrative divisions
6 states and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia
Dependent areas
Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- Queen ELIZABETH II of the UK (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir William DEANE (since 16 February 1996)
- head of government :
- Prime Minister John Winston HOWARD (since 11 March 1996); Deputy Prime Minister Timothy Andrew FISCHER (since 11 March 1996)
- cabinet:
- Cabinet selected from among the members of Federal Parliament by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
- elections :
- none;
- the queen is a hereditary monarch;
- governor general appointed by the queen;
- following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general for a three-year term
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 territories; one-half of the members elected every three years by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives (148 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve three-year terms; no state can have fewer than five representatives)
- elections:
- Senate - last held 2 March 1996 (next to be held NA 1999); House of Representatives - last held 2 March 1996 (next to be held NA 1999)
- election results:
- Senate - percent of vote by party - NA;
- seats by party - Liberal-National 37, Labor 29, Australian Democrats 8, Greens 1, independent 1;
- note - subsequent to the election, there has been a change in the distribution of seats;
- the new distribution is as follows - Liberal-National 37, Labor 28, Australian Democrats 7, Greens 2, independents 2;
- House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA;
- seats by party - Liberal-National 94, Labor 49, independent 5
Judicial branch
High Court, the Chief Justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general
Political parties and leaders
- government :
- coalition of Liberal Party, John Winston HOWARD, and National Party, Timothy Andrew FISCHER
- opposition:
- Australian Labor Party, Kim BEAZLEY;
- Australian Democratic Party, Cheryl KERNOT;
- Green Party, Bob BROWN
Political pressure groups and leaders
Australian Democratic Labor Party (anti-Communist Labor Party splinter group); Peace and Nuclear Disarmament Action (Nuclear Disarmament Party splinter group)
International organization participation
AG (observer), ANZUS, APEC, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G- 8, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OECD, PCA, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Andrew Sharp PEACOCK
- chancery :
- 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 797-3000
FAX
[1] (202) 797-3168; consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission :
- Ambassador Genta Hawkins HOLMES
- embassy:
- Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600
- mailing address:
- APO AP 96549
- telephone:
- [61] (6) 270-5000
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;
- 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
Economy
Australia has a prosperous Western-style | capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP above the levels in highly | industrialized West European countries.
22 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(1994)
Economy - overview
Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP above the levels in highly industrialized West European countries. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels. Commodities account for about 60% of the value of total exports, so that a downturn in world commodity prices can have a big impact on the economy.
The government is pushing for increased exports of manufactured goods, but competition in international markets continues to be severe. Australia has suffered from the low growth and high unemployment characterizing the OECD countries in the early 1990s, but the economy has expanded at reasonably steady rates in recent years.
In addition to high unemployment, short-term economic problems include a balancing of output growth and inflationary pressures and the stimulation of exports to offset rising imports.
Exports
- total value:
- $59.5 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
- commodities :
- coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment
- partners:
- Japan 24%, South Korea 8%, NZ 7%, US 7%, UK, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong (1994/95)
Imports
- total value :
- $59.7 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
- commodities:
- machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products
- partners:
- US 22%, Japan 17%, UK 6%, China 5%, NZ 5% (1994/95)
Exchange rates
Australian dollars ($A) per US$1 - 1.2835 (January 1997), 1.2773 (1996), 1.3486 (1995), 1.3668 (1994), 1.4704 (1993), 1.3600 (1992)
Communications
6 fieldsTelephone system
good domestic and international service
- domestic:
- domestic satellite system
- 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)
Transportation
9 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved only
Railways
- total :
- 38,563 km (2,914 km electrified; 172 km dual gauge)
- broad gauge:
- 6,083 km 1.600-m gauge
- standard gauge:
- 16,752 km 1.435-m gauge
- narrow gauge:
- 15,728 km 1.067-m gauge
Highways
- total :
- 895,030 km
- paved:
- 345,482 km (including 1,330 km of expressways)
- unpaved:
- 549,548 km (1995 est.)
Ports and harbors
Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport, Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart (Tasmania), Launceton (Tasmania), Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville
Merchant marine
- total:
- 69 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,282,084 GRT/3,326,092 DWT
- ships by type :
- bulk 30, cargo 4, chemical tanker 3, combination bulk 1, container 5, liquefied gas tanker 4, oil tanker 14, roll-on/roll-off cargo 7, short-sea passenger 1 (1996 est.)
Military
Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal | Australian Air Force
7 fieldsTransnational Issues
2 fieldsIllicit 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 AUSTRIA
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Australia.” The World Factbook 1997. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/australia/1997.