AUSTRALIA GEOGRAPHY Total area: 7,686,850 km2; land area: 7,617,930 km2; includes Macquarie Island Comparative area: slightly smaller than the US Land boundaries: none Coastline: 25,760 km Maritime claims: Contiguous zone: 12 nm; Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation; Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 3 nm Disputes: territorial claim in Antarctica (Australian Antarctic Territory) Climate: generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north Terrain: mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast Natural resources: bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, crude oil Land use: arable land 6%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 58%; forest and woodland 14%; other 22%; includes irrigated NEGL% Environment: subject to severe droughts and floods; cyclones along coast; limited freshwater availability; irrigated soil degradation; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as the doctor occurs along west coast in summer; desertification Note: world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country PEOPLE Population: 17,288,044 (July 1991), growth rate 1.5% (1991) Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1991) Death rate: 7 deaths/1,000 population (1991) Net migration rate: 7 migrants/1,000 population (1991) Infant mortality rate: 8 deaths/1,000 live births (1991) Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 80 years female (1991) Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1991) Nationality: noun--Australian(s); adjective--Australian Ethnic divisions: Caucasian 95%, Asian 4%, Aboriginal and other 1% Religion: Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26.0%, other Christian 24.3% Language: English, native languages Literacy: 100% (male 100%, female 100%) age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.) Labor force: 7,700,000; finance and services 33.8%, public and community services 22.3%, wholesale and retail trade 20.1%, manufacturing and industry 16.2%, agriculture 6.1% (1987) Organized labor: 42% of labor force (1988) GOVERNMENT Long-form name: Commonwealth of Australia Type: federal parliamentary state Capital: Canberra 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 Independence: 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies) Constitution: 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901 Legal system: based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations National holiday: Australia Day (last Monday in January), 29 January 1990 Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Parliament consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives Judicial branch: High Court Leaders: Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since February 1952), represented by Governor General William George HAYDEN (since NA February 1989); Head of Government--Prime Minister Robert James Lee HAWKE (since 11 March 1983); Deputy Prime Minister Paul KEATING (since 3 April 1990) Political parties and leaders: government--Australian Labor Party, Robert James Lee HAWKE; opposition--Liberal Party, John HEWSON; National Party, Timothy FISCHER; Australian Democratic Party, Janet POWELL Suffrage: universal and compulsory at age 18 Elections: Senate--last held 11 July 1987 (next to be held by July 1993); results--Labor 43%, Liberal-National 42%, Australian Democrats 8%, independents 2%; seats--(76 total) Labor 32, Liberal-National 34, Australian Democrats 7, independents 3; House of Representatives--last held 24 March 1990 (next to be held by November 1993); results--Labor 39.7%, Liberal-National 43%, Australian Democrats and independents 11.1%; seats--(148 total) Labor 78, Liberal-National 69, independent 1 Communists: 4,000 members (est.) Other political or pressure groups: Australian Democratic Labor Party (anti-Communist Labor Party splinter group); Peace and Nuclear Disarmament Action (Nuclear Disarmament Party splinter group) Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), ANZUS, APEC, AsDB, BIS, C, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, GATT, G-8, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM (guest), NEA, OECD, PCA, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIIMOG, UNTAG, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Michael J. COOK; Chancery at 1601 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone (202) 797-3000; there are Australian Consulates General in Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Pago Pago (American Samoa), and San Francisco; US--Ambassador Melvin F. SEMBLER; Moonah Place, Yarralumla, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600 (mailing address is APO San Francisco 96404); telephone 61 (6) 270-5000; there are US Consulates General in Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney, and a Consulate in Brisbane Flag: 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 Overview: Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GNP comparable to levels in industrialized West European countries. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels. Of the top 25 exports, 21 are primary products, so that, as happened during 1983-84, 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 will be severe. GDP: $255.9 billion, per capita $15,000; real growth rate 2.2% (1990) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.9% (December 1990) Unemployment rate: 9.2% (March 1991) Budget: revenues $74.2 billion; expenditures $67.9 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (FY90) Exports: $39.8 billion (f.o.b., FY90); commodities--metals, minerals, coal, wool, cereals, meat, manufacturers; partners--Japan 26%, US 11%, NZ 6%, South Korea 4%, Singapore 4%, UK, Taiwan, Hong Kong Imports: $42.0 billion (f.o.b., FY90); commodities--manufactured raw materials, capital equipment, consumer goods; partners--US 24%, Japan 19%, UK 6%, FRG 7%, NZ 4% (1990) External debt: $123.7 billion (September 1990) Industrial production: growth rate - 1.8% (1990); accounts for 32% of GDP Electricity: 38,000,000 kW capacity; 150,000 million kWh produced, 8,860 kWh per capita (1990) Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel, motor vehicles Agriculture: accounts for 5% of GNP and 37% of export revenues; world's largest exporter of beef and wool, second-largest for mutton, and among top wheat exporters; major crops--wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruit; livestock--cattle, sheep, poultry Economic aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $10.4 billion Currency: Australian dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1--1.2834 (January 1991), 1.2799 (1990), 1.2618 (1989), 1.2752 (1988), 1.4267 (1987), 1.4905 (1986), 1.4269 (1985) Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June COMMUNICATIONS Railroads: 40,478 km total; 7,970 km 1.600-meter gauge, 16,201 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 16,307 km 1.067-meter gauge; 183 km dual gauge; 1,130 km electrified; government owned (except for a few hundred kilometers of privately owned track) (1985) Highways: 837,872 km total; 243,750 km paved, 228,396 km gravel, crushed stone, or stabilized soil surface, 365,726 km unimproved earth Inland waterways: 8,368 km; mainly by small, shallow-draft craft Pipelines: crude oil, 2,500 km; refined products, 500 km; natural gas, 5,600 km Ports: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport, Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart, Launceston, Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville Merchant marine: 77 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,249,926 GRT/3,391,323 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 6 cargo, 6 container, 10 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 vehicle carrier, 16 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 4 liquefied gas, 1 combination ore/oil, 30 bulk Civil air: around 150 major transport aircraft Airports: 747 total, 524 usable; 270 with permanent-surface runways, 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 17 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 401 with runways 1,220-2,439 m Telecommunications: good international and domestic service; 8.7 million telephones; stations--258 AM, 67 FM, 134 TV; submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; domestic satellite service; satellite stations--4 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 6 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth stations DEFENSE FORCES Branches: Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force Manpower availability: males 15-49, 4,689,559; 4,090,921 fit for military service; 135,435 reach military age (17) annually Defense expenditures: $6.6 billion, 2.2% of GDP (FY90)