Australia

• generally arid to semiarid;
• temperate in south and east;
• tropical in north

mean elevation:

330 m

elevation extremes:

-15 m lowest point: Lake Eyre; 2228 highest point: Mount Kosciuszko

• alumina, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, rare earth elements, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum;
• note - Australia is the world's largest net exporter of coal accounting for 29% of global coal exports

agricultural land:

52.9% (2014 est.)

arable land:

11.6% (2014 est.) / permanent crops: 0.09% (2014 est.) / permanent pasture: 88.4% (2014 est.)

forest:

16.2% (2014 est.)

other:

30.9% (2014 est.)

• population is primarily located on the periphery, with the highest concentration of people residing in the southeast;
• a secondary population center is located in and around Perth in the west;
• of the States and Territories, New South Wales has, by far, the largest population;
• the interior, or "outback", has a very sparse population

• cyclones along the coast;
• severe droughts;
• forest fires volcanism: volcanic activity on Heard and McDonald Islands

• soil erosion from overgrazing, deforestation, 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 freshwater resources;
• drought, overfishing, pollution, and invasive species are also problems

• world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country;
• the largest country in Oceania, the largest country entirely in the Southern Hemisphere, and the largest country without land borders;
• the only continent without glaciers;
• population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts;
• the invigorating 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

noun:

Australian(s)

adjective:

Australian

0-14 years:

17.75% (male 2,138,080 /female 2,027,583)

15-24 years:

12.62% (male 1,520,528 /female 1,442,461)

25-54 years:

41.35% (male 4,944,587 /female 4,760,752)

55-64 years:

11.84% (male 1,379,681 /female 1,398,177)

65 years and over:

16.44% (male 1,786,595 /female 2,071,701) (2018 est.)

total dependency ratio:

51.1 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio:

28.5 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio:

22.6 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio:

4.4 (2015 est.)

• population is primarily located on the periphery, with the highest concentration of people residing in the southeast;
• a secondary population center is located in and around Perth in the west;
• of the States and Territories, New South Wales has, by far, the largest population;
• the interior, or "outback", has a very sparse population

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

15-24 years:

1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

25-54 years:

1.04 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

55-64 years:

0.98 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

65 years and over:

0.86 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

total population:

1.01 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

conventional long form:

Commonwealth of Australia

conventional short form:

Australia

etymology:

• the name Australia derives from the Latin "australis" meaning "southern";
• the Australian landmass was long referred to as "Terra Australis" or the Southern Land

history:

approved in a series of referenda 1898 through 1900, became law 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901 (2017)

amendments:

• proposed by Parliament;
• passage requires approval of a referendum bill by absolute majority vote in both houses of Parliament, approval in a referendum by a majority of voters in at least four states and in the territories, and Royal Assent;
• proposals that would reduce a state’s representation in either house or change a state’s boundaries require that state’s approval prior to Royal Assent;
• amended several times, last in 1977 (2017)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen or permanent resident of Australia

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

4 years

highest courts:

• High Court of Australia (consists of 7 justices, including the chief justice);
• note - each of the 6 states, 2 territories, and Norfolk Island has a Supreme Court;
• the High Court is the final appellate court beyond the state and territory supreme courts

judge selection and term of office:

justices appointed by the governor-general in council for life with mandatory retirement at age 70

subordinate courts:

• subordinate courts: subordinate courts at the federal level: Federal Court;
• Federal Magistrates' Courts of Australia;
• Family Court;
• subordinate courts at the state and territory level: Local Court - New South Wales;
• Magistrates' Courts – Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory;
• District Courts – New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia;
• County Court – Victoria;
• Family Court – Western Australia;
• Court of Petty Sessions – Norfolk Island

chief of state:

Queen of Australia ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor Gen. Sir Peter COSGROVE (since 28 March 2014)

head of government:

Prime Minister Scott MORRISON (since 24 August 2018)

cabinet:

Cabinet nominated by the prime minister from among members of Parliament and sworn in by the governor general

elections/appointments:

• the monarchy 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 majority coalition is sworn in as prime minister by the governor general

• Australian Greens Party [Richard DI NATALE]
• Australian Labor Party or ALP [Bill SHORTEN]
• Country Liberal Party or CLP [Gary HIGGINS]
• Liberal National Party of Queensland or LNP [Deborah FRECKLINGTON]
• Liberal Party of Australia [Scott MORRISON]
• The Nationals [Michael MCCORMACK]
• Nick Xenophon Team [Nick XENOPHON]
• Pauline Hanson’s One Nation [Pauline HANSON]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Joseph Benedict HOCKEY (since 28 January 2016)

chancery:

1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

telephone:

[1] (202) 797-3000

FAX:

[1] (202) 797-3168

consulate(s) general:

Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires James CAROUSO (since September 2016)

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

• 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

agriculture:

3.6%

industry:

21.1%

services:

75.3% (2009 est.)

lowest 10%:

25.4% (1994)

highest 10%:

25.4% (1994)

general assessment:

• excellent domestic and international service;
• domestic satellite system;
• significant use of radiotelephone in areas of low population density;
• rapid growth of mobile telephones;
• 5G technologies in preparation and anticipation for 2020 (2017)

domestic:

• more subscribers to mobile services than there are people;
• 90% of all mobile device sales are now smartphones, growth in mobile traffic brisk;
• 36 per 100 fixed-line, 119 per 100 mobile-cellular (2017)

international:

• country code - 61;
• landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3 optical telecommunications submarine cable with links to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe;
• the Southern Cross fiber-optic submarine cable provides links to NZ and the US;
• satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean), 2 Inmarsat, 2 Globalstar, 5 other (2015)

• 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 (2009)

number of registered air carriers:

25 (2018)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 583 (2018)

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

69,294,187 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

1,887,295,820 mt-km (2018)

total:

33,343 km (2015)

standard gauge:

17,446 km 1.435-m gauge (650 km electrified) (2015)

narrow gauge:

12,318 km 1.067-m gauge (2,075.5 km electrified) (2015)

broad gauge:

3,247 km 1.600-m gauge (372 km electrified) (2015)

total:

873,573 km (2015)

urban:

145,928 km (2015)

non-urban:

727,645 km (2015)

total:

549 (2017)

by type:

bulk carrier 4, general cargo 83, oil tanker 10, other 452 (2017)

• 17 years of age for voluntary military service (with parental consent);
• no conscription;
• women allowed to serve in most combat roles (2018)

in 2018, Australia and Timor-Leste signed a permanent maritime border treaty, scrapping a 2007 development zone and revenue sharing arrangement between the countriesAustralia asserts land and maritime claims to AntarcticaAustralia's 2004 submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf extends its continental margins over 3.37 million square kilometers, expanding its seabed roughly 30 percent beyond its claimed EEZall borders between Indonesia and Australia have been agreed upon bilaterally, but a 1997 treaty that would settle the last of their maritime and EEZ boundary has yet to be ratified by Indonesia's legislatureIndonesian groups challenge Australia's claim to Ashmore Reef; Australia closed parts of the Ashmore and Cartier reserve to Indonesian traditional fishing

refugees (country of origin):

10,922 (Afghanistan), 8,077 (Iran) (2017)

stateless persons:

52 (2017)

• 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;
• major consumer of cocaine and amphetamines