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Australia

Australia is both the name of the world's smallest continent, and the short
form of the Commonwealth of Australia.

The Commonwealth of Australia is the sixth largest country in the world
(geographically), the only one to occupy an entire continent, and the
largest in Australasia. New Zealand is to to the southeast; Papua New
Guinea, West Papua and East Timor to its north, and Indonesia northwest. The
name 'Australia' comes from the Latin phrase terra australis incognita
("unknown southern land", see Terra Australis).

                                            National motto: None
                                 Official language        English
                                 Capital                  Canberra
History                          Queen                    Elizabeth II
                                 Governor-General         Michael Jeffery
Main article: History of
Australia                        Prime Minister           John Howard
Other topics: Australian         Area                     Ranked 6th
Constitutional History,          Ê- Total                 7,686,850 km2
Australian Prime Ministers       Ê- % water               1%
                                 Population               Ranked 53rd
Australia has been inhabited for Ê- Total (2003)          19,834,248
at least 50,000 years, since the Ê- Density               3/km2
remote ancestors of the current
Australian Aborigines arrived    Independence             From the UK
from present-day Southeast Asia. - Date                   January 1, 1901
The land was not discovered by   Currency                 Australian dollar
Europeans until the 17th         Time zone                UTC +8 to +11
century, when it was sighted and
visited by several expeditions.  National anthem          Advance Australia
It was claimed for the United                             Fair
Kingdom in 1770, and first       Internet TLD             .AU
colonised in 1788 as an English
penal colony.                    Calling Code             61

                                 Worldwide press freedom  Ranked 12 out of
In 1901, Australia adopted the   index                    139 countries (2
Federal system of government and                          way tie)
became a commonwealth, or
dominion, within the British
Empire, thereby becoming independent (though full formal
independence took a considerable time after that). Australia is a
Constitutional monarchy, with the 'Queen of Australia' reigning as head of
state. Under Australian law, the monarch of the United Kingdom reigns also
as Australian monarch. A referendum to introduce a republic, with a
president replacing the queen, in 1999 was defeated.

Politics

The Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional monarchy: the Queen of
Australia is the official head of state and is represented by the Governor
General. In practice the role of the Crown (and thus that of the Governor
General) is largely ceremonial. The executive power theoretically vested in
the Crown is exercised by an elected cabinet headed by a prime minister. The
prime minister is almost always the leader of the majority party in the
House of Representatives.

The House of Representatives (150 seats) is one of the two chambers of the
federal parliament, the other being the Senate (76 seats). Elections for
both chambers are held every three years.

States and Territories

Australia is divided into six states and several territories. The states are
Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria
and Tasmania: the territories, the Australian Capital Territory and the
Northern Territory.

Australia also has an additional minor internal territory, Jervis Bay
Territory (a naval base in New South Wales), several inhabitated external
territories (Norfolk Island, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and
several largely uninhabited external territories: Coral Sea Islands
Territory, Heard Island and McDonald Islands and the Australian Antarctic
Territory.

The Australian Capital Territory was created at the chosen site of the
capital city Canberra. Canberra was founded as a compromise between the two
largest cities, Melbourne and Sydney.

Geography

By far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-desert?40% of the
landmass is covered by sand dunes?. Only the south-east and south-west
corners have a temperate climate and moderately fertile soil. The northern
part of the country has a tropical climate: part is tropical rainforests,
part grasslands, and part desert. The Great Barrier Reef, by far the world's
largest coral reef, lies a short distance off the north-east coast.

Flora and Fauna

Although most of the continent is desert or semi-desert, Australia
nevertheless includes a diverse range of habitats, from alpine heaths to
tropical rainforests. Because of the great age of the continent, its very
variable weather patterns, and its long-term geographic isolation, much of
Australia's biota is unique.

Economy

Australia has a prosperous Western-style mixed economy, with a per capita
GDP on par with the four dominant Western European economies. In recent
years, the Australian economy has been resilient in the face of global
economic downturn, with steady growth.

Demographics

Most of the Australian population descends from 19th and 20th century
immigrants, most from the United Kingdom to begin with, but from other
sources in later years. Many inhabitants are of Greek, Italian or Asian
descent. Descendants of the original population, the Australian Aborigines,
make up less than 1% of the population. In common with many other developed
countries, Australia is currently experiencing a demographic shift towards
an older population, with more retired people and fewer of working age.

English is the spoken language in Australia, although some of the surviving
Aboriginal communities maintain their native languages, and a considerable
number of first and sometimes second-generation migrants are bi-lingual.
Although the nation is broadly secular and few are church-goers,
three-quarters of Australians are nominally Christian, mostly Catholic or
Anglican. A diverse range of other religions is practised.

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