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Official Name: Known as the Commonwealth of Australia, or commonly known as Australia.
Capital: The Capital of Australia is Canberra. It is located in the Southeastern portion of the country, in between Sydney and Melbourne. Canberra is the largest inland city and the 8th largest overall city in the country.
Location: Australia is located in Oceania, and is in itself a continent. The main island is located in between the Indian and South Pacific Oceans. Nearby countries include Indonesia and Papua New Guinea to the north and New Zealand to the southeast.
Size: The total land area of Australia is 7.69 million square kilometers and this ranks 12th globally. It is comparative in size to the 48 contiguous states of the USA.
Climate: Given its large and wide reaching land mass, Australia’s climate varies greatly. It is typically arid to semi arid, with temperate climates occurring in the south and east regions, and tropical conditions covering the north.
Population: Australia has a gross population of approximately 21.3 million people, and this ranks 55th globally.
Life expectancy at birth: The average life expectancy at birth for Australia is 81.63 years, ranking 7th worldwide, and is one of the highest life expectancies in the world. There is close to a 5 year difference between male and female averages, with males averaging 79.25 years compared to women at 84.14 years.
Prevalence of HIV/AIDS: The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Australia is approximately 0.2%, placing 109th globally. This means that around 18,000 people are living with the disease in the country.
Major illnesses: The risk of major infectious diseases in Australia is low. There have been reported cases of dengue fever outbreaks, Murray Valley encephalitis, pertussis (whooping cough) and cryptosporidiosis in certain regions of the country, as well as reported cases of A (H1N1) swine flu.
Ethnic Groups: Australia is a largely white population (92%), while the origins of this group are varied, with immigrants from Great Britain, New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland, Italy and Germany making up the bulk of the number. The rest of the country is composed of Asian (7%) as well as aboriginal or other ethnicities (1%).
Languages: The official language of Australia is English, with 78.5% of the population speaking the language. Other languages include Chinese (2.5%), Italian (1.6%), Greek (1.3%), Arabic (1.2%), Vietnamese (1%), other (8.2%) and unspecified (5.7%).
Religion:Australia is made up of a number of religious faiths. The breakdown of these religions is as follows: Catholic (25.8%), Anglican (18.7%), Uniting Church (5.7%), Presbyterian and Reformed (3%), Eastern Orthodox (2.7%), other Christian (7.9%), Buddhist (2.1%), Muslim (1.7%), other (2.4%), unspecified (11.3%) and none (18.7%).
Government: Australia is a federal parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth Realm. This means that the country is a constitutional democracy based on federal powers. Like England, Australia is a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II acting as the Queen of Australia as well as the Head of State. Her role for Australia is distinct from that of other commonwealth nations. The Queen is represented by the Governor-General at the federal level, and regional Governors at the state level. While the Governor-General exercises executive powers, these are only used on the advice of the Prime Minister. The three branches of Australian government are the legislature, the executive and the judiciary.
Head of State: The Head of State is Queen Elizabeth II, who is also the Queen of Australia. The Queen is represented in the country by the Governor General of Australia, Quentin Bryce, and is largely a figure head who serves in processional events and government proceedings.
Head of Government: The Head of Government is Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. The Prime Minister is the highest political office in the country, and is almost always the leader of the political party with majority support in the House of Representatives.
Military: The Australian Defense Force (ADF) is divided into four branches, The Australian Army, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and the Special Operations Command. At 73,000 personnel Australia’s military is the 68th largest globally, but one of the smallest in terms of per capita. The age is 17 years of age for voluntary military service, although parental consent is required. There is no conscription. Women are allowed to serve in non-combat support roles within army units.
Economy: Australia has a very strong and renowned economy. Its strong per capita GDP which compares with many of the richest Western European nations is a result of economic liberal reforms, low inflation, growing ties with Asian countries like China and a housing market boom that has seen the country experience sustained economic expansion for the past two decades. Strong consumer confidence and the ability to charge higher prices for the export of raw materials and agricultural products have also fueled the rapidly expanding economy. Given the recent economic downturn, however, Australia experienced a reduction in growth on export volumes and a weakening currency. The country’s banks have also suffered due to tighter worldwide liquidity, which the banks rely on for funding. The government hopes to challenge these recent issues with stimulus efforts similar to those implemented by the U.S. government and other developed nations.
GDP: Australia has purchasing power parity GDP of US$ 800.5 billion, and this figure ranks among the top 20 largest GDPs in the world. It’s official growth rate, however, is 2.2%, which ranks 159th globally, and this is due to the recent worldwide downturn.
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