Australia

This article is about the country. For the continent,see Australia (continent). For other uses, see Australia(disambiguation).

Australia /streli/, /-/, or colloquially /-j/,[10][11]officially the Commonwealth of Australia,[12] is anOceanian country comprising the mainland of theAustralian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numer-ous smaller islands. It is the worlds sixth-largest countryby total area. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia,East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north; theSolomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and NewZealand to the south-east.For at least 40,000 years[13] before the first British settle-ment in the late 18th century,[14][15] Australia was inhab-ited by indigenous Australians,[16] who spoke languagesgrouped into roughly 250 language groups.[17][18]

After the European discovery of the continent by Dutchexplorers in 1606, Australias eastern half was claimed byGreat Britain in 1770 and initially settled through penaltransportation to the colony of New South Wales from26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in sub-sequent decades; the continent was explored and an ad-ditional five self-governing crown colonies were estab-lished.On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, form-ing the Commonwealth of Australia. Since Federation,Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic po-litical system that functions as a federal parliamentarydemocracy and constitutional monarchy comprising sixstates and several territories. The population of 23.6million[5] is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated inthe eastern states and on the coast.[19]

Australia is a developed country and one of the wealth-iest in the world, with the worlds 12th-largest econ-omy. In 2012 Australia had the worlds fifth-highestper capita income.[20] Australias military expenditure isthe worlds 13th-largest. With the second-highest humandevelopment index globally, Australia ranks highly inmany international comparisons of national performance,such as quality of life, health, education, economic free-dom, and the protection of civil liberties and politicalrights.[21] Australia is a member of the United Nations,G20, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisationfor Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),World Trade Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation, and the Pacific Islands Forum.

1 Etymology

Pronounced [stlj, -li] in Australian English,[22] thename Australia is derived from the Latin australis, mean-ing southern. The country has been referred to collo-quially as Oz since the early 20th century.[N 4] Aussie is acommon colloquial term for Australian. In neighbour-ing New Zealand, and less commonly in Australia itself,the noun Aussie is also used to refer to the nation, asdistinct from its residents.[27][28][29] The sporting anthemC'mon Aussie C'mon is an example of local use of Aussieas synonym for Australia.[28][30]

Legends of Terra Australis Incognitaan unknown landof the Southdate back to Roman times and were com-monplace in medieval geography, although not based onany documented knowledge of the continent. FollowingEuropean discovery, names for the Australian landmasswere often references to the famed Terra Australis.The earliest recorded use of the word Australia in Englishwas in 1625 in A note of Australia del Espritu Santo,written by Sir Richard Hakluyt, published by SamuelPurchas in Hakluytus Posthumus, a corruption of the orig-inal Spanish name Tierra Austral del Espritu Santo(Southern Land of the Holy Spirit)[31] for an island inVanuatu.[32] The Dutch adjectival form Australische wasused in a Dutch book in Batavia (Jakarta) in 1638, to re-fer to the newly discovered lands to the south.[33] Aus-traliawas later used in a 1693 translation of Les Aventuresde Jacques Sadeur dans la Dcouverte et le Voyage de laTerre Australe, a 1676 French novel by Gabriel de Foigny,under the pen-name Jacques Sadeur.[34] Referring to theentire South Pacific region, Alexander Dalrymple used itin An Historical Collection of Voyages and Discoveries inthe South Pacific Ocean in 1771. By the end of the 18thcentury, the name was being used to refer specifically toAustralia, with the botanists George Shaw and Sir JamesSmith writing of the vast island, or rather continent, ofAustralia, Australasia or New Holland" in their 1793 Zo-ology and Botany of New Holland,[35] and James Wilsonincluding it on a 1799 chart.[36]

The name Australia was popularised by the explorerMatthew Flinders, who pushed for it to be formallyadopted as early as 1804.[37] When preparing hismanuscript and charts for his 1814 A Voyage to TerraAustralis, he was persuaded by his patron, Sir JosephBanks, to use the term Terra Australis as this was thename most familiar to the public. Flinders did so, andpublished the following rationale:

1

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ames_Edward_Smithhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Holland_(Australia)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Wilsonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Flindershttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Voyage_to_Terra_Australishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Voyage_to_Terra_Australishttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bankshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Banks

2 2 HISTORY

There is no probability, that any other de-tached body of land, of nearly equal extent, willever be found in a more southern latitude; thename Terra Australis will, therefore, remaindescriptive of the geographical importance ofthis country, and of its situation on the globe: ithas antiquity to recommend it; and, having noreference to either of the two claiming nations,appears to be less objectionable than any otherwhich could have been selected.*[38]

In the footnote Flinders wrote:

* Had I permitted myself any innovation onthe original term, it would have been to convertit to AUSTRALIA; as being more agreeable tothe ear, and an assimilation to the names of theother great portions of the earth.[39]

This is the only occurrence of the word Australia in thattext; but in Appendix III, Robert Brown's General re-marks, geographical and systematical, on the botany ofTerra Australis, Brown makes use of the adjectival formAustralian throughout,[40]the first known use of thatform.[41] Despite popular conception, the book was notinstrumental in the adoption of the name: the name camegradually to be accepted over the following ten years.[42]

The first time that the name Australia appears to havebeen officially used was in a despatch to Lord Bathurstof 4 April 1817 in which Governor Lachlan Macquarieacknowledges the receipt of Capt. Flinders charts ofAustralia.[43] On 12 December 1817, Macquarie rec-ommended to the Colonial Office that it be formallyadopted.[44] In 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the con-tinent should be known officially as Australia.[45]

2 History

Main article: History of AustraliaHuman habitation of the Australian continent is esti-

mated to have begun between 42,000 and 48,000 yearsago,[46] possibly with the migration of people by landbridges and short sea-crossings from what is now South-East Asia. These first inhabitants may have been ances-tors of modern Indigenous Australians.[47] At the time ofEuropean settlement in the late 18th century, most In-digenous Australians were hunter-gatherers, with a com-plex oral culture and spiritual values based on reverencefor the land and a belief in the Dreamtime. The TorresStrait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originallyhorticulturalists and hunter-gatherers.[48] The northerncoasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadicallyby fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia.[49]

The first recorded European sighting of the Australianmainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the

Exploration of what was then New Holland by Europeans until18121606 Willem Janszoon1606 Luis Vez de Torres1616 Dirk Hartog1619 Frederick de Houtman1644 Abel Tasman1696 Willem de Vlamingh1699 William Dampier1770 James Cook17971799 George Bass18011803 Matthew Flinders

Portrait of Captain James Cook, the first European to map theeastern coastline of Australia in 1770.

Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch naviga-tor Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York

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3

Peninsula in early 1606, and made landfall on 26 Febru-ary at the Pennefather River near the modern town ofWeipa on Cape York.[50] The Dutch charted the wholeof the western and northern coastlines and named the is-land continent "New Holland" during the 17th century,but made no attempt at settlement.[50] William Dampier,an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688 and again in 1699on a return trip.[51] In 1770, James Cook sailed alongand mapped the east coast, which he named New SouthWales and claimed for Great Britain.[52] With the loss ofits American colonies in 1783, the British Governmentsent a fleet of ships, the "First Fleet", under the com-mand of Captain Arthur Phillip, to establish a new penalcolony in New South Wales. A camp was set up and theflag raised at Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, on 26 January1788,[15] a date which became Australias national day,Australia Day although the British Crown Colony of NewSouth Wales was not formally promulgated until 7 Febru-ary 1788. The first settlement led to the foundation ofSydney, the establishment of farming, industry and com-merce; and the exploration and settlement of other re-gions.A British settlement was established in Van DiemensLand, now known as Tasmania, in 1803 and it becamea separate colony in 1825.[53] The United Kingdom for-mally claimed the western part of Western Australia(the Swan River Colony) in 1828.[54] Separate colonieswere carved from parts of New South Wales: SouthAustralia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in1859.[55] The Northern Territory was founded in 1911when it was excised from South Australia.[56] South Aus-tralia was founded as a free provinceit was nevera penal colony.[57] Victoria and Western Australia werealso founded free, but later accepted transported con-victs.[58][59] A campaign by the settlers of New SouthWales led to the end of convict transportation to thatcolony; the last convict ship arrived in 1848.[60]

Port Arthur, Tasmania was Australias largest prison for reof-fending convicts.

The indigenous population, estimated to have been be-tween 750,000 and 1,000,000 at the time European set-tlement began,[61] declined for 150 years following settle-

ment, mainly due to infectious disease.[62] A governmentpolicy of assimilation beginning with the AboriginalProtection Act 1869 resulted in the removal of many Abo-riginal children from their families and communitiesoften referred to as the Stolen Generationsa practicewhich may also have contributed to the decline in the in-digenous population.[63] The Federal government gainedthe power to make laws with respect to Aborigines fol-lowing the 1967 referendum.[64] Traditional ownershipof landaboriginal titlewas not recognised until 1992,when the High Court case Mabo v Queensland (No 2)overturned the legal doctrine that Australia had been terranullius (land belonging to no one) before the Europeanoccupation.[65]

A gold rush began in Australia in the early 1850s[66] andthe Eureka Rebellion against mining licence fees in 1854was an early expression of civil disobedience.[67] Be-tween 1855 and 1890, the six colonies individually gainedresponsible government, managing most of their own af-fairs while remaining part of the British Empire.[68] TheColonial Office in London retained control of some mat-ters, notably foreign affairs,[69] defence,[70] and interna-tional shipping.

The Last Post is played at an Anzac Day ceremony in Port Mel-bourne, Victoria. Similar ceremonies are held in most suburbsand towns.

On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies wasachieved after a decade of planning, consultation andvoting.[71] This established the Commonwealth of Aus-tralia as a dominion of the British Empire.[72] The Fed-eral Capital Territory (later renamed the Australian Cap-ital Territory) was formed in 1911 as the location forthe future federal capital of Canberra. Melbourne wasthe temporary seat of government from 1901 to 1927while Canberra was being constructed.[73] The North-ern Territory was transferred from the control of theSouth Australian government to the federal parliamentin 1911.[74] In 1914, Australia joined Britain in fight-ing World War I, with support from both the out-going Commonwealth Liberal Party and the incom-

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4 3 GOVERNMENT

ing Australian Labor Party.[75][76] Australians took partin many of the major battles fought on the WesternFront.[77] Of about 416,000 who served, about 60,000were killed and another 152,000 were wounded.[78] ManyAustralians regard the defeat of the Australian and NewZealand Army Corps (ANZACs) at Gallipoli as the birthof the nationits first major military action.[79][80] TheKokoda Track campaign is regarded by many as an anal-ogous nation-defining event during World War II.[81]

Britains Statute of Westminster 1931 formally endedmost of the constitutional links between Australia and theUK. Australia adopted it in 1942,[82] but it was backdatedto 1939 to confirm the validity of legislation passed by theAustralian Parliament during World War II.[83][84] Theshock of the United Kingdoms defeat in Asia in 1942and the threat of Japanese invasion caused Australia toturn to the United States as a new ally and protector.[85]Since 1951, Australia has been a formal military ally ofthe US, under the ANZUS treaty.[86] After World WarII Australia encouraged immigration from Europe. Sincethe 1970s and following the abolition of the White Aus-tralia policy, immigration from Asia and elsewhere wasalso promoted.[87] As a result, Australias demography,culture, and self-image were transformed.[88] The finalconstitutional ties between Australia and the UK weresevered with the passing of the Australia Act 1986, end-ing any British role in the government of the AustralianStates, and closing the option of judicial appeals to thePrivy Council in London.[89] In a 1999 referendum, 55%of voters and a majority in every state rejected a pro-posal to become a republic with a president appointed bya two-thirds vote in both Houses of the Australian Par-liament. Since the election of the Whitlam Governmentin 1972,[90] there has been an increasing focus in foreignpolicy on ties with other Pacific Rim nations, while main-taining close ties with Australias traditional allies andtrading partners.[91]

3 Government

Main articles: Government of Australia, Politics of Aus-tralia and Monarchy of AustraliaAustralia is a constitutional monarchy with a federal

division of powers. It uses a parliamentary system ofgovernment[92] with Queen Elizabeth II at its apex as theQueen of Australia, a role that is distinct from her po-sition as monarch of the other Commonwealth realms.The Queen resides in the United Kingdom, and she isrepresented by her viceroys in Australia (the Governor-General at the federal level and by the Governors at thestate level), who by convention act on the advice of herministers. Supreme executive authority is vested by theConstitution of Australia in the sovereign, but the powerto exercise it is conferred by the Constitution specifi-cally on the Governor-General.[93][94] The most notableexercise to date of the Governor-Generals reserve pow-

Parliament House, Canberra was opened in 1988, replacing theprovisional Parliament House building opened in 1927.

Tony Abbott, Prime Minister of Australia

ers outside the Prime Ministers request was the dismissalof the Whitlam Government in the constitutional crisis of1975.[95]

The federal government is separated into three branches:

The legislature: the bicameral Parliament, definedin section 1 of the constitution as comprising theQueen (represented by the Governor-General), theSenate, and the House of Representatives;

The executive: the Federal Executive Council, inpractice the Governor-General as advised by the

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5

Prime Minister and Ministers of State;[96]

The judiciary: the High Court of Australia and otherfederal courts, whose judges are appointed by theGovernor-General on advice of the Council.

Government House, Canberra, also known as Yarralumla, isthe official residence of the Governor-General.

In the Senate (the upper house), there are 76 senators:twelve each from the states and two each from the main-land territories (the Australian Capital Territory and theNorthern Territory).[97] The House of Representatives(the lower house) has 150 members elected from single-member electoral divisions, commonly known as elec-torates or seats, allocated to states on the basis ofpopulation,[98] with each original state guaranteed a min-imum of five seats.[99] Elections for both chambers arenormally held every three years, simultaneously; senatorshave overlapping six-year terms except for those from theterritories, whose terms are not fixed but are tied to theelectoral cycle for the lower house; thus only 40 of the76 places in the Senate are put to each election unless thecycle is interrupted by a double dissolution.[97]

Australias electoral system uses preferential voting for alllower house elections with the exception of Tasmania andthe ACT which, along with the Senate and most state up-per houses, combine it with proportional representationin a system known as the single transferable vote. Votingis compulsory for all enrolled citizens 18 years and over inevery jurisdiction,[100] as is enrolment (with the exceptionof South Australia).[101] The party with majority supportin the House of Representatives forms the governmentand its leader becomes Prime Minister. In cases whereno party has majority support, the Governor-General hasthe constitutional power to appoint the Prime Ministerand, if necessary, dismiss one that has lost the confidenceof Parliament.[102]

There are two major political groups that usually formgovernment, federally and in the states: the AustralianLabor Party and the Coalition which is a formal groupingof the Liberal Party and its minor partner, the NationalParty.[103][104] Independent members and several minor

parties, have achieved representation in Australian par-liaments, mostly in upper houses.Within Australian political culture, the Coalition is con-sidered centre-right and the Labor Party is consideredcentre-left. Queensland in particular, along with West-ern Australia and the Northern Territory, are regarded ascomparatively conservative.[105][106][107][108][109][110][111]Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and the AustralianCapital Territory are regarded as comparatively sociallyliberal.[107][111][112][113][114] New South Wales has of-ten been regarded as a politically moderate bellwetherstate.[111][114]

Following a partyroom leadership challenge, Julia Gillardbecame the first female Prime Minister in June 2010.[115]The most recent federal election was held on 7 Septem-ber 2013 and resulted in a majority government for theCoalition. Liberal Party leader Tony Abbott was sworninto office as Prime Minister by the Governor-General ofAustralia on 18 September.

4 States and territories

Main article: States and territories of Australia

A clickable map of Australias states and mainlandterritories

Australia has six statesNew South Wales (NSW),Queensland (QLD), South Australia (SA), Tasmania(TAS), Victoria (VIC) and Western Australia (WA)and two major mainland territoriesthe Australian Cap-ital Territory (ACT) and the Northern Territory (NT). Inmost respects these two territories function as states, butthe Commonwealth Parliament can override any legisla-tion of their parliaments. By contrast, federal legislationoverrides state legislation only in areas that are set outin Section 51 of the Australian Constitution; state par-liaments retain all residual legislative powers, includingthose over schools, state police, the state judiciary, roads,public transport and local government, since these do notfall under the provisions listed in Section 51.[116]

Each state and major mainland territory has its ownparliamentunicameral in the Northern Territory, theACT and Queenslandand bicameral in the other states.The states are sovereign entities, although subject to cer-tain powers of the Commonwealth as defined by the Con-stitution. The lower houses are known as the LegislativeAssembly (the House of Assembly in South Australia andTasmania); the upper houses are known as the LegislativeCouncil. The head of the government in each state isthe Premier and in each territory the Chief Minister.The Queen is represented in each state by a Governor;and in the Northern Territory, the Administrator.[117] Inthe Commonwealth, the Queens representative is theGovernor-General.[118]

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6 6 GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE

The federal parliament directly administers the followingterritories:[96]

Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Australian Antarctic Territory

Christmas Island

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Coral Sea Islands

Heard Island and McDonald Islands

Jervis Bay Territory, a naval base and sea port forthe national capital in land that was formerly part ofNew South Wales

Norfolk Island is also technically an external territory;however, under the Norfolk Island Act 1979 it has beengranted more autonomy and is governed locally by itsown legislative assembly. The Queen is represented byan Administrator.[119]

Macquarie Island is administered by Tasmania, and LordHowe Island by New South Wales.

5 Foreign relations and military

Main articles: Foreign relations of Australia andAustralian Defence Force

Over recent decades, Australias foreign relations havebeen driven by a close association with the United Statesthrough the ANZUS pact, and by a desire to develop re-lationships with Asia and the Pacific, particularly throughASEAN and the Pacific Islands Forum. In 2005 Australiasecured an inaugural seat at the East Asia Summit follow-ing its accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperationin Southeast Asia, and in 2011 attended the Sixth EastAsia Summit in Indonesia. Australia is a member of theCommonwealth of Nations, in which the CommonwealthHeads of Government meetings provide the main forumfor co-operation.[120]

Australia has pursued the cause of international trade lib-eralisation.[121][122][123] It led the formation of the CairnsGroup and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.[124][125]Australia is a member of the Organisation for EconomicCo-operation and Development and the World Trade Or-ganization,[126][127] and has pursued several major bilat-eral free trade agreements, most recently the Australia United States Free Trade Agreement[128] and CloserEconomic Relations with New Zealand,[129] with anotherfree trade agreement being negotiated with ChinatheAustraliaChina Free Trade Agreementand Japan,[130]South Korea in 2011,[131][132] AustraliaChile Free TradeAgreement, ASEAN Australia New Zealand Free

Australian Army soldiers conducting a foot patrol during a jointtraining exercise with US forces in Shoalwater Bay (2007).

Trade Area, and the Trans-Pacific Strategic EconomicPartnership.Along with New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Malaysiaand Singapore, Australia is party to the Five Power De-fence Arrangements, a regional defence agreement. Afounding member country of the United Nations, Aus-tralia is strongly committed to multilateralism[133] andmaintains an international aid program under which some60 countries receive assistance. The 200506 budgetprovides A$2.5 billion for development assistance.[134]Australia ranks seventh overall in the Center for GlobalDevelopment's 2008 Commitment to Development In-dex.[135]

Australias armed forcesthe Australian Defence Force(ADF)comprise the Royal Australian Navy (RAN),the Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Force(RAAF), in total numbering 80,561 personnel (includ-ing 55,068 regulars and 25,493 reservists).[136] The titularrole of Commander-in-Chief is vested in the Governor-General, who appoints a Chief of the Defence Forcefrom one of the armed services on the advice of thegovernment.[137] Day-to-day force operations are underthe command of the Chief, while broader administrationand the formulation of defence policy is undertaken bythe Minister and Department of Defence.In the 201011 budget, defence spending was A$25.7billion,[138] representing the 13th largest defence bud-get.[139] Australia has been involved in UN and regionalpeacekeeping, disaster relief and armed conflict, includ-ing the 2003 invasion of Iraq; it currently has deployedabout 3,330 defence force personnel in varying capaci-ties to 12 international operations in areas including EastTimor, Solomon Islands and Afghanistan.[140]

6 Geography and climate

Main articles: Geography of Australia, Climate of Aus-tralia and Geology of AustraliaAustralias landmass of 7,617,930 square kilometres

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashmore_and_Cartier_Islandshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Antarctic_Territoryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_Islandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocos_(Keeling)_Islandshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_Sea_Islandshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heard_Island_and_McDonald_Islandshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jervis_Bay_Territoryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norfolk_Islandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_administrative_heads_of_Norfolk_Islandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macquarie_Islandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Howe_Islandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Howe_Islandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Defence_Forcehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANZUShttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Southeast_Asian_Nationshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Islands_Forumhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Asia_Summithttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Amity_and_Cooperation_in_Southeast_Asiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Amity_and_Cooperation_in_Southeast_Asiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_East_Asia_Summithttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_East_Asia_Summithttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nationshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_Heads_of_Governmenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_Heads_of_Governmenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_liberalisationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_liberalisationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairns_Grouphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairns_Grouphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia-Pacific_Economic_Cooperationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organisation_for_Economic_Co-operation_and_Developmenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organisation_for_Economic_Co-operation_and_Developmenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organizationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organizationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_%E2%80%93_United_States_Free_Trade_Agreementhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_%E2%80%93_United_States_Free_Trade_Agreementhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closer_Economic_Relationshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closer_Economic_Relationshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia%E2%80%93China_Free_Trade_Agreementhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Koreahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia%E2%80%93Chile_Free_Trade_Agreementhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia%E2%80%93Chile_Free_Trade_Agreementhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closer_Economic_Relationshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Closer_Economic_Relationshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Armed_Forceshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoalwater_Bayhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Pacific_Strategic_Economic_Partnershiphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Pacific_Strategic_Economic_Partnershiphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Power_Defence_Arrangementshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Power_Defence_Arrangementshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multilateralismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Global_Developmenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Center_for_Global_Developmenthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commitment_to_Development_Indexhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commitment_to_Development_Indexhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Defence_Forcehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Australian_Navyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Armyhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Australian_Air_Forcehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commander-in-Chiefhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor-General_of_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor-General_of_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_of_the_Defence_Force_(Australia)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minister_for_Defence_(Australia)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Defence_(Australia)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditureshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditureshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_invasion_of_Iraqhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Current_Australian_Defence_Force_deploymentshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Astutehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Astutehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_Assistance_Mission_to_Solomon_Islandshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Slipperhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology_of_Australia

7

Climatic zones in Australia, based on the Kppen climate classi-fication.

(2,941,300 sq mi)[141] is on the Indo-Australian Plate.Surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans,[N 5] it is sep-arated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas, withthe Coral Sea lying off the Queensland coast, and theTasman Sea lying between Australia and New Zealand.The worlds smallest continent[143] and sixth largest coun-try by total area,[144] Australiaowing to its size andisolationis often dubbed the island continent,[145] andis sometimes considered the worlds largest island.[146]Australia has 34,218 kilometres (21,262 mi) of coastline(excluding all offshore islands),[147] and claims an exten-sive Exclusive Economic Zone of 8,148,250 square kilo-metres (3,146,060 sq mi). This exclusive economic zonedoes not include the Australian Antarctic Territory.[148]Apart from Macquarie Island, Australia lies between lat-itudes 9 and 44S, and longitudes 112 and 154E.The Great Barrier Reef, the worlds largest coral reef,[149]lies a short distance off the north-east coast and extendsfor over 2,000 kilometres (1,240 mi). Mount Augustus,claimed to be the worlds largest monolith,[150] is locatedin Western Australia. At 2,228 metres (7,310 ft), MountKosciuszko on the Great Dividing Range is the highestmountain on the Australian mainland. Even taller areMawson Peak (at 2,745 metres or 9,006 feet), on theremote Australian territory of Heard Island, and, in theAustralian Antarctic Territory, Mount McClintock andMount Menzies, at 3,492 metres (11,457 ft) and 3,355metres (11,007 ft) respectively.[151]

Australias size gives it a wide variety of landscapes, withtropical rainforests in the north-east, mountain ranges inthe south-east, south-west and east, and dry desert in thecentre.[152] It is the flattest continent,[153] with the old-est and least fertile soils;[154][155] desert or semi-arid landcommonly known as the outback makes up by far thelargest portion of land.[156] The driest inhabited conti-nent, its annual rainfall averaged over continental area isless than 500 mm.[157] The population density, 2.8 inhab-

Whitehaven Beach in Queensland.

itants per square kilometre, is among the lowest in theworld,[158] although a large proportion of the populationlives along the temperate south-eastern coastline.[159]

Eastern Australia is marked by the Great Dividing Range,which runs parallel to the coast of Queensland, NewSouth Wales and much of Victoria. The name is notstrictly accurate, because parts of the range consist oflow hills, and the highlands are typically no more than1,600 metres (5,249 ft) in height.[160] The coastal up-lands and a belt of Brigalow grasslands lie between thecoast and the mountains, while inland of the dividingrange are large areas of grassland.[160][161] These in-clude the western plains of New South Wales, and theEinasleigh Uplands, Barkly Tableland, and Mulga Landsof inland Queensland. The northernmost point of theeast coast is the tropical-rainforested Cape York Penin-sula.[162][163][164][165]

Topographic map of Australia

The landscapes of the Top End and the Gulf Countrywith their tropical climateinclude forest, woodland,wetland, grassland, rainforest and desert.[166][167][168] Atthe north-west corner of the continent are the sand-stone cliffs and gorges of The Kimberley, and belowthat the Pilbara. To the south of these and inland, lie

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6ppen_climate_classificationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6ppen_climate_classificationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Australian_Platehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arafura_Seahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timor_Seahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coral_Seahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasman_Seahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_outlying_territories_by_total_areahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_outlying_territories_by_total_areahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_by_areahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exclusive_economic_zonehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macquarie_Islandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9th_parallel_southhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/44th_parallel_southhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/112th_meridian_easthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/154th_meridian_easthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Barrier_Reefhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Augustus_National_Parkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kosciuszkohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kosciuszkohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Dividing_Rangehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mawson_Peakhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heard_Island_and_McDonald_Islandshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_McClintockhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Menzieshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainforesthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deserts_of_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outbackhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_population_densityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitehaven_Beachhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Australian_temperate_forestshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Australian_temperate_forestshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigalow_Belthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Australia_temperate_savannahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einasleigh_Uplandshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barkly_Tablelandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulga_Landshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_York_Peninsulahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_York_Peninsulahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Endhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Countryhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodlandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grasslandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimberley_(Western_Australia)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilbara

8 7 ENVIRONMENT

more areas of grassland: the Ord Victoria Plain andthe Western Australian Mulga shrublands.[169][170][171] Atthe heart of the country are the uplands of central Aus-tralia. Prominent features of the centre and south includeUluru (also known as Ayers Rock), the famous sand-stone monolith, and the inland Simpson, Tirari and SturtStony, Gibson, Great Sandy, Tanami, and Great Victoriadeserts, with the famous Nullarbor Plain on the southerncoast.[172][173][174][175]

The climate of Australia is significantly influencedby ocean currents, including the Indian Ocean Dipoleand the El NioSouthern Oscillation, which is corre-lated with periodic drought, and the seasonal tropicallow-pressure system that produces cyclones in northernAustralia.[176][177] These factors cause rainfall to varymarkedly from year to year. Much of the northern partof the country has a tropical, predominantly summer-rainfall (monsoon) climate.[178] The southwest corner ofthe country has a Mediterranean climate.[179] Much of thesoutheast (including Tasmania) is temperate.[178]

7 Environment

Main article: Environment of AustraliaSee also: Fauna of Australia, Flora of Australia andFungi of Australia

Although most of Australia is semi-arid or desert,it includes a diverse range of habitats from alpineheaths to tropical rainforests, and is recognised as amegadiverse country. Fungi typify that diversity; an es-timated 250,000 speciesof which only 5% have beendescribedoccur in Australia.[180] Because of the conti-nents great age, extremely variable weather patterns, andlong-term geographic isolation, much of Australias biotais unique and diverse. About 85% of flowering plants,84% of mammals, more than 45% of birds, and 89% ofin-shore, temperate-zone fish are endemic.[181] Australiahas the greatest number of reptiles of any country, with755 species.[182]

Australian forests are mostly made up of evergreenspecies, particularly eucalyptus trees in the less arid re-gions, wattles replace them in drier regions and desertsas the most dominant species.[183] Among well-knownAustralian animals are the monotremes (the platypus andechidna); a host of marsupials, including the kangaroo,koala, and wombat, and birds such as the emu and thekookaburra.[183] Australia is home to many dangerous an-imals including some of the most venomous snakes inthe world.[184] The dingo was introduced by Austronesianpeople who traded with Indigenous Australians around3000 BCE.[185] Many animal and plant species becameextinct soon after first human settlement,[186] includingthe Australian megafauna; others have disappeared sinceEuropean settlement, among them the thylacine.[187][188]

The koala and the eucalyptus form an iconic Australian pair.

Many of Australias ecoregions, and the species withinthose regions, are threatened by human activitiesand introduced animal, chromistan, fungal and plantspecies.[189] All these factors have led to Australia hav-ing the highest mammal extinction rate of any coun-try in the world.[190] The federal Environment Protec-tion and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is the legalframework for the protection of threatened species.[191]Numerous protected areas have been created under theNational Strategy for the Conservation of AustraliasBiological Diversity to protect and preserve uniqueecosystems;[192][193] 65 wetlands are listed under theRamsar Convention,[194] and 16 natural World HeritageSites have been established.[195] Australia was ranked3rd out of 178 countries in the world on the 2014Environmental Performance Index.[196]

7.1 Environmental issues

See also: Climate change in Australia, Greenhouse gasemissions in Australia and Pollution in AustraliaProtection of the environment is also a major political

Drought affecting Lake Hume on the Upper Murray River.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ord_Victoria_Plainhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Australian_Mulga_shrublandshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Ranges_xeric_scrubhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Ranges_xeric_scrubhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uluruhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simpson_Deserthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirari-Sturt_stony_deserthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirari-Sturt_stony_deserthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_Deserthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Sandy-Tanami_deserthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Victoria_Deserthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nullarbor_Plainhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Ocean_Dipolehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Ni%C3%B1o%E2%80%93Southern_Oscillationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drought_in_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclonehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_corner_of_Western_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_corner_of_Western_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_climatehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environment_of_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauna_of_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora_of_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fungi_of_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpine_climatehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_rainforesthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megadiverse_countrieshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biota_(ecology)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_birds_of_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endemismhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forests_of_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyptushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acaciahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauna_of_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotremehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platypushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echidnahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsupialhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koalahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wombathttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emuhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kookaburrahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_attacks_in_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_attacks_in_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dingohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Erahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_megafaunahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thylacinehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koalahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyptushttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasive_species_in_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromistahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_areas_of_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiversity_action_planhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiversity_action_planhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wetlandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ramsar_sites_in_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramsar_Conventionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Heritage_Sitehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Heritage_Sitehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_Performance_Indexhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change_in_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas_emissions_in_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas_emissions_in_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollution_in_Australiahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Humehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murray_River

9

issue.[197][198] In 2007, the First Rudd Government signedthe instrument of ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. Nev-ertheless, Australias carbon dioxide emissions per capitaare among the highest in the world, lower than thoseof only a few other industrialised nations.[199] Rainfallin Australia has slightly increased over the past century,both nationwide and for two quadrants of the nation.[200]According to the Bureau of Meteorology's 2011 Aus-tralian Climate Statement, Australia had lower than aver-age temperatures in 2011 as a consequence of a La Niaweather pattern, however, the countrys 10-year averagecontinues to demonstrate the rising trend in temperatures,with 20022011 likely to rank in the top two warmest10-year periods on record for Australia, at 0.52 C abovethe long-term average.[201] Furthermore, 2014 was Aus-tralias third warmest year since national temperature ob-servations commenced in 1910.[202][203]

Water restrictions are frequently in place in many re-gions and cities of Australia in response to chronicshortages due to urban population increases and lo-calised drought.[204][205] Throughout much of the conti-nent, major flooding regularly follows extended periodsof drought, flushing out inland river systems, overflowingdams and inundating large inland flood plains, as occurredthroughout Eastern Australia in 2010, 2011 and 2012 af-ter the 2000s Australian drought.

8 Economy

Main article: Economy of AustraliaSee also: Economic history of Australia, Medianhousehold income in Australia and New Zealand andTransport in Australia

Australia is a wealthy country; it generates its

Australia is the worlds fourth largest exporter of wine. TheBarossa Valley is a major wine-producing region in South Aus-tralia.

income from various sources including mining-related exports, telecommunications, banking andmanufacturing.[206][207][208] It has a market economy, arelatively high GDP per capita, and a relatively low rate

of poverty. In terms of average wealth, Australia rankedsecond in the world after Switzerland in 2013, althoughthe nations poverty rate increased from 10.2 per centto 11.8 per cent, from 2000/01 to 2013.[209][210] It wasidentified by the Credit Suisse Research Institute as thenation with the highest median wealth in the world andthe second-highest average wealth per adult in 2013.[209]

The Australian dollar is the currency for the nation, in-cluding Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, andNorfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Islandstates of Kiribati, Nauru, and Tuvalu. With the 2006merger of the Australian Stock Exchange and the SydneyFutures Exchange, the Australian Securities Exchangebecame the ninth largest in the world.[211]

Ranked third in the Index of Economic Freedom(2010),[212] Australia is the worlds twelfth largest econ-omy and has the fifth highest per capita GDP (nom-inal) at $66,984. The country was ranked second inthe United Nations 2011 Human Development Indexand first in Legatum's 2008 Prosperity Index.[9] All ofAustralias major cities fare well in global comparativelivability surveys;[213] Melbourne reached first place onThe Economist's 2011,[214] 2012[215] and 2013 worldsmost liveable cities lists, followed by Adelaide, Syd-ney, and Perth in the fifth, seventh, and ninth placesrespectively.[216] Total government debt in Australia isabout $190 billion[217] 20% of GDP in 2010.[218] Aus-tralia has among the highest house prices and some of thehighest household-debt levels in the world.[219]

Australian exports in 2006 shownas a percentage of the top market(Japan - A$32,425,000,000)

100101

Destination and value of Australian exports in 2006[220]

An emphasis on exporting commodities rather than man-ufactured goods has underpinned a significant increase inAustralias terms of trade since the start of the 21st cen-tury, due to rising commodity prices. Australia has a bal-ance of payments that is more than 7% of GDP negative,and has had persistently large current account deficits formore than 50 years.[221] Australia has grown at an aver-age annual rate of 3.6% for over 15 years, in comparisonto the OECD annual average of 2.5%.[221] Australia wasthe only advanced economy not to experience a recessiondue to the global financial downturn in 20082009.[222]However, the economies of six of Australias major trad-ing partners have been in recession, which in turn hasaffected Australia, significantly hampering its economicgrowth in recent years.[223][224] From 2012 to early 2013,Australias national economy grew, but some non-mining

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10 9 DEMOGRAPHICS

states and Australias non-mining economy experienceda recession.[225][226][227]

The Hawke Government floated the Australian dol-lar in 1983 and partially deregulated the financialsystem.[228] The Howard Government followed with apartial deregulation of the labour market and the fur-ther privatisation of state-owned businesses, most notablyin the telecommunications industry.[229] The indirect taxsystem was substantially changed in July 2000 with the in-troduction of a 10% Goods and Services Tax (GST).[230]In Australias tax system, personal and company incometax are the main sources of government revenue.[231]

The Super Pit gold mine in Kalgoorlie, Australias largest opencut mine.[232]

In May 2012, there were 11,537,900 people employed(either full- or part-time), with an unemployment rateof 5.1%.[233] Youth unemployment (1524) stood at11.2%.[233] Data released in mid-November 2013 showedthat the number of welfare recipients had grown by 55%.In 2007 228,621 Newstart unemployment allowance re-cipients were registered, a total that increased to 646,414in March 2013.[234] According to the Graduate CareersSurvey, full-time employment for newly qualified pro-fessionals from various occupations has declined since2011 but it increases for graduates three years aftergraduation.[235][236]

Over the past decade, inflation has typically been 23%and the base interest rate 56%. The service sector ofthe economy, including tourism, education, and financialservices, accounts for about 70% of GDP.[237] Rich innatural resources, Australia is a major exporter of agri-cultural products, particularly wheat and wool, mineralssuch as iron-ore and gold, and energy in the forms ofliquified natural gas and coal. Although agriculture andnatural resources account for only 3% and 5% of GDPrespectively, they contribute substantially to export per-formance. Australias largest export markets are Japan,China, the US, South Korea, and New Zealand.[238] Aus-tralia is the worlds fourth largest exporter of wine, andthe wine industry contributes $5.5 billion per year to thenations economy.[239]

9 Demographics

Main articles: Demographics of Australia, Immigrationto Australia and List of cities in Australia by populationFor almost two centuries the majority of settlers, and

Nearly three quarters of Australians live in metropolitan citiesand coastal areas. The beach is an integral part of the Australianidentity.[240]

later immigrants, came from the British Isles. As aresult the people of Australia are primarily of Britishand/or Irish ethnic origin. The 2011 Census asked re-spondents to provide a maximum of two ancestries withwhich they most closely identify. The most commonlynominated ancestry was English (36.1%), followed byAustralian (35.4%),[241] Irish (10.4%), Scottish (8.9%),Italian (4.6%), German (4.5%), Chinese (4.3%), Indian(2.0%), Greek (1.9%), and Dutch (1.7%).[242] BecauseAustralias census doesn't ask for racial background, itis unclear how many Australians are descendants ofEuropeans. Estimates vary from 85% - 92%.[243][244]Asian Australians make up 12% of the population.[245]

Australias population has quadrupled since the end ofWorld War I.[246] Nevertheless, its population density, 2.8inhabitants per square kilometre, remains among the low-est in the world.[158] As such, Australians have more liv-ing space per person than the inhabitants of any other na-tion, with average dwelling sizes well over double those ofWestern Europe.[247] Aside from natural increases, Aus-tralias population growth has also stemmed from overtwo centuries of immigration. Following World War IIand through to 2000, almost 5.9 million of the total pop-ulation settled in the country as new immigrants, meaningthat nearly two out of every seven Australians were bornin another country.[248] Most immigrants are skilled,[249]but the immigration quota includes categories for familymembers and refugees.[249] By 2050, Australias popula-tion is currently projected to reach around 42 million.[250]

In 2011, 24.6% of Australians were born elsewhereand 43.1% of people had at least one overseas-bornparent;[251] the largest immigrant groups were those fromthe United Kingdom, New Zealand, China, India, Italy,Vietnam, and Philippines.[252]

Over 80 percent of Australias population is of Euro-pean ancestry, and most of the rest are of Asian her-

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9.2 Religion 11

itage, with a smaller minority of Indigenous background.Following the abolition of the White Australia policy in1973, numerous government initiatives have been estab-lished to encourage and promote racial harmony basedon a policy of multiculturalism.[253] In 200506, morethan 131,000 people emigrated to Australia, mainly fromAsia and Oceania.[254] The migration target for 201213is 190,000,[255] compared to 67,900 in 199899.[256]

The rural population of Australia in 2012 was 2,420,731(10.66% of the total population).[257] The IndigenouspopulationAborigines and Torres Strait Islanderswascounted at 548,370 (2.5% of the total population) in2011,[258] a significant increase from 115,953 in the 1976census.[259] The increase is partly due to many peoplewith Indigenous heritage previously having been over-looked by the census due to undercount and cases wheretheir Indigenous status had not been recorded on theform.Indigenous Australians experience higher than averagerates of imprisonment and unemployment, lower levelsof education, and life expectancies for males and femalesthat are 1117 years lower than those of non-indigenousAustralians.[238][260][261] Some remote Indigenous com-munities have been described as having "failed state"-likeconditions.[262][263][264][265][266]

In common with many other developed countries, Aus-tralia is experiencing a demographic shift towards anolder population, with more retirees and fewer people ofworking age. In 2004, the average age of the civilian pop-ulation was 38.8 years.[267] A large number of Australians(759,849 for the period 200203;[268] 1 million or 5% ofthe total population in 2005[269]) live outside their homecountry.

9.1 Language

Main article: Languages of Australia

Although Australia has no official language, Englishhas always been entrenched as the de facto nationallanguage.[2] Australian English is a major variety of thelanguage with a distinctive accent and lexicon,[271] anddiffers slightly from other varieties of English in grammarand spelling.[272] General Australian serves as the stan-dard dialect. According to the 2011 census, English isthe only language spoken in the home for close to 81%of the population. The next most common languagesspoken at home are Mandarin (1.7%), Italian (1.5%),Arabic (1.4%), Cantonese (1.3%), Greek (1.3%), andVietnamese (1.2%);[252] a considerable proportion offirst- and second-generation migrants are bilingual. A20102011 study by the Australia Early Development In-dex found the most common language spoken by chil-dren after English was Arabic, followed by Vietnamese,Greek, Chinese, and Hindi.[273][274]

Over 250 Indigenous Australian languages are thoughtto have existed at the time of first European contact,of which less than 20 are still in daily use by all agegroups.[275][276] About 110 others are spoken exclusivelyby older people.[276] At the time of the 2006 census,52,000 Indigenous Australians, representing 12% of theIndigenous population, reported that they spoke an In-digenous language at home.[277] Australia has a sign lan-guage known as Auslan, which is the main language ofabout 5,500 deaf people.[278]

9.2 Religion

Main article: Religion in Australia

Australia has no state religion; Section 116 of theAustralian Constitution prohibits the federal governmentfrom making any law to establish any religion, imposeany religious observance, or prohibit the free exerciseof any religion.[279] In the 2011 census, 61.1% of Aus-tralians were counted as Christian, including 25.3% asRoman Catholic and 17.1% as Anglican; 22.3% of thepopulation reported having "no religion"; 7.2% identifywith non-Christian religions, the largest of these beingBuddhism (2.5%), followed by Islam (2.2%), Hinduism(1.3%) and Judaism (0.5%). The remaining 9.4% of thepopulation did not provide an adequate answer.[252]

Before European settlement, the animist beliefs of Aus-tralias indigenous people had been practised for manythousands of years. Mainland Aboriginal Australians',spirituality is known as the Dreamtime and it places aheavy emphasis on belonging to the land. The collectionof stories that it contains shaped Aboriginal law and cus-toms. Aboriginal art, story and dance continue to drawon these spiritual traditions. The spirituality and customsof Torres Strait Islanders, who inhabit the islands betweenAustralia and New Guinea, reflected their Melanesian ori-gins and dependence on the sea. The 1996 Australiancensus counted more than 7000 respondents as followersof a traditional Aboriginal religion.[280]

Since the arrival of the First Fleet of British ships in 1788,Christianity has grown to be the major religion practisedin Australia. Christian churches have played an integralrole in the development of education, health and wel-fare services in Australia. For much of Australian his-tory the Church of England (now known as the AnglicanChurch of Australia) was the largest religious affiliation.However, multicultural immigration has contributed to adecline in its relative position, and the Roman CatholicChurch has benefitted from recent immigration to be-come the largest group. Similarly, Islam, Buddhism,Hinduism and Judaism have all grown in Australia overthe past half-century.[281]

A survey by the Bertelsmann Foundation found that Aus-tralia is one of the least religious nations in the westernworld, coming in 17th out of 21 [countries] surveyed

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12 9 DEMOGRAPHICS

St Marys Catholic Cathedral, Sydney, built to a design byWilliam Wardell. About a quarter of Australians are RomanCatholic.

and that Nearly three out of four Australians say they areeither not at all religious or that religion does not play acentral role in their lives.[282] While weekly attendance atchurch services in 2001 was about 1.5 million[283] (about7.8% of the population),[284] a survey of 1,718 Aus-tralians by the Christian Research Association at the endof 2009 suggested that the number of people attendingreligious services per month in Australia dropped from23% in 1993 to 16% in 2009, and while 60% of 15 to29-year-old respondents in 1993 identified with Christiandenominations, 33% did in 2009.[285]

9.3 Education

Main article: Education in AustraliaSchool attendance, or registration for home

schooling,[286][287] is compulsory throughout Australia.Education is the responsibility of the individual statesand territories[288] so the rules vary between states, butin general children are required to attend school from theage of about 5 up until about 16.[289][290] In some states(e.g., Western Australia,[291] the Northern Territory[292]and New South Wales[293][294]), children aged 1617are required to either attend school or participate invocational training, such as an apprenticeship.

The University of Sydney is the oldest university in Australia

Australia has an adult literacy rate that was estimatedto be 99% in 2003.[295] However, a 201112 report forthe Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that Tasma-nia has a literacy and numeracy rate of only 50%.[296]In the Programme for International Student Assessment,Australia regularly scores among the top five of thirtymajor developed countries (member countries of theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Develop-ment). Catholic education accounts for the largest non-government sector.Australia has 37 government-funded universities and twoprivate universities, as well as a number of other special-ist institutions that provide approved courses at the highereducation level.[297] The University of Sydney is Aus-tralias oldest university, having been founded in 1850.Other notable universities include those of the Group ofEight leading tertiary institutions.The OECD places Australia among the most expen-sive nations to attend university.[298] There is a state-based system of vocational training, known as TAFE,and many trades conduct apprenticeships for training newtradespeople.[299] About 58% of Australians aged from25 to 64 have vocational or tertiary qualifications,[238] andthe tertiary graduation rate of 49% is the highest amongOECD countries. The ratio of international to local stu-dents in tertiary education in Australia is the highest inthe OECD countries.[300]

9.4 Health

See also: Health care in Australia

Australia has the fourth highest life expectancy in theworld after Iceland, Japan and Hong Kong.[301] Life ex-pectancy in Australia in 2010 was 79.5 years for malesand 84.0 years for females.[302] Australia has the high-est rates of skin cancer in the world,[303] while cigarettesmoking is the largest preventable cause of death anddisease, responsible for 7.8% of the total mortalityand disease. Ranked second in preventable causes ishypertension at 7.6%, with obesity third at 7.5%.[304][305]

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10.1 Arts 13

Australia ranks 35th in the world[306] and near the top ofdeveloped nations for its proportion of obese adults.[307]

Total expenditure on health (including private sectorspending) is around 9.8% of GDP.[308] Australia in-troduced universal health care in 1975.[309] Known asMedicare, it is now nominally funded by an incometax surcharge known as the Medicare levy, currently setat 1.5%.[310] The states manage hospitals and attachedoutpatient services, while the Commonwealth funds thePharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (subsidising the costs ofmedicines) and general practice.[309]

10 Culture

Main article: Culture of AustraliaSince 1788, the basis of Australian culture has

The Royal Exhibition Building inMelbourne was the first buildingin Australia to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in2004.[311]

been strongly influenced by Anglo-Celtic Western cul-ture.[312][313] Distinctive cultural features have also arisenfrom Australias natural environment and Indigenouscultures.[314][315] Since the mid-20th century, Americanpopular culture has strongly influenced Australia, par-ticularly through television and cinema.[316] Other cul-tural influences come from neighbouring Asian countries,and through large-scale immigration from non-English-speaking nations.[316][317]

10.1 Arts

Main articles: Australian art, Theatre of Australia andDance in Australia

Australian visual arts are thought to have begun with thecave paintings, rock engravings and body painting of itsIndigenous peoples. The traditions of Indigenous Aus-tralians are largely transmitted orally, through ceremonyand the telling of Dreamtime stories.[318] From the timeof European settlement, a major theme in Australian arthas been the natural landscape, seen for example in the

works of Arthur Streeton, Tom Roberts and others asso-ciated with the 19th-century Heidelberg School, the firstdistinctively Australian movement in Western art.[319]

Sidney Nolan's Snake mural (1970), held at the Museum of Oldand New Art, is inspired by the Aboriginal creation myth of theRainbow Serpent, as well as the Australian landscape.

The countrys landscape remains a source of inspirationfor Australian modernist artists; it has been depictedin acclaimed works by the likes of Albert Namatjira,Sidney Nolan,[320] Arthur Boyd,[321] Fred Williams,[322]Margaret Preston and Clifton Pugh.[323] ContemporaryIndigenous Australian art is the only art movement of in-ternational significance to emerge from Australia[324] andthe last great art movement of the 20th century";[325]its exponents have included Emily Kngwarreye.[326]Art critic Robert Hughes has written several influen-tial books about Australian history and art, and wasdescribed as the worlds most famous art critic byThe New York Times.[327] The National Gallery of Aus-tralia and state galleries maintain Australian and overseascollections.[328] Australia has one of the worlds highestattendances of art galleries and museums per head ofpopulationfar more than Britain or America.[329]

Many of Australias performing arts companies re-ceive funding through the federal governments AustraliaCouncil.[330] There is a symphony orchestra in eachstate,[331] and a national opera company, Opera Aus-tralia,[332] well known for its famous soprano Joan Suther-land.[333] At the beginning of the 20th century, NellieMelba was one of the worlds leading opera singers.[334]Ballet and dance are represented by The Australian Bal-let and various state companies. Each state has a publiclyfunded theatre company.[335]

Australian literature has also been influenced by the land-scape; the works of writers such as Banjo Paterson, HenryLawson, and Dorothea Mackellar captured the experi-ence of the Australian bush.[336] The character of the na-tions colonial past, as represented in early literature, ispopular with modern Australians.[314] In 1973, PatrickWhite was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, the onlyAustralian to have achieved this.[337] Australian winnersof the Man Booker Prize have included Peter Carey andThomas Keneally;[338] David Williamson, David Maloufand J. M. Coetzee, who has become an Australian citizen,are also renowned writers[339] and Les Murray is regarded

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