Australia
|
| Basic Facts |
| Country name |
conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia
conventional short form: Australia |
| Gevernment type | federal parliamentary democracy |
| Capital |
name: Canberra
geographic coordinates: 35 17 S, 149 08 E time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in October; ends last Sunday in March note: Australia is divided into three time zones |
| Flag description | 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 |
| Currency | Australian dollar (AUD) |
| Internet country code | .au |
| Ports and terminals | Brisbane, Dampier, Fremantle, Gladstone, Hay Point, Melbourne, Newcastle, Port Hedland, Port Kembla, Port Walcott, Sydney |
| Agriculture products | wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits, cattle, sheep, poultry |
| Industries | mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel |
| Geography |
| Location | Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 27 00 S, 133 00 E |
| Continent | Oceania |
| Area |
total: 7,686,850 sq km
land: 7,617,930 sq km water: 68,920 sq km note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island |
| Boundaries | 0 km |
| Coastline | 25,760 km |
| 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, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum |
| Natural hazards | cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires |
| People |
| Population | 20,264,082 (July 2006 est.) |
| Ethnic groups | Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1% |
| Religions | Catholic 26.4%, Anglican 20.5%, other Christian 20.5%, Buddhist 1.9%, Muslim 1.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 12.7%, none 15.3% (2001 Census) |
| Languages | English 79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian 1.9%, other 11.1%, unspecified 5.8% (2001 Census) |
