Australia – country information

Country name	Australia
Official name	Australian Union
Capital	Canberra
continent	Australia and Oceania
Area	7,741,220 km
Population	23 414 552 (2014)
Foundation of a state	1. 1. 1901
The highest mountains	Mount Kosciusko 2 230 m
Longest rivers	Murray-Darling 3 780 km
State system	a federal state – a constitutional monarchy – with a bicameral parliament
The biggest cities	Sydney 3,715,000, Melbourne 3,125,000, Perth 1,960,000 (conurbation), Brisbane 1,370,000, Adelaide 1,050,000, Newcastle 445,000, Canberra (capital) 318,000
Official language	English
Ethnicity/National Composition	European 91.2%, Indigenous 1.5%, Asian 5.3%, Other 2%
Religious affiliation	Roman Catholic 26.5%, Anglicans 24%, other Protestant 17.5%, no religion 12.5%, other Christian 5.5%, other 14%
Currency	1 Australian dollar (A$) = 100 cents
gross domestic product (GDP)	US$41,954 (2012)
Average life expectancy of the population	80.50 let (2006)
Structure of GDP	agriculture and fishing 3%, mining 5%, industry 18.5%, construction 8%, services 65.5%

Country overview

According to Abbreviationfinder, Australia is a federation of six states, two mainland and other island territories. The union states include Queensland in the northeast, New South Wales and Victoria in the southeast, South Australia in the south, Western Australia, occupying the western third of the continent, and Tasmania, an island state to the south of Victoria. Mainland territories include the Northern Territory (northern and central Australia) and the Capital Territory of Canberra in New South Wales. Only a few island territories are inhabited.

Australia is one of the world’s largest exporters of raw materials. Their important customer is industrially very advanced, but poor in natural resources, Japan. Australia’s own industrial production suffers from strong competition from neighboring Southeast Asian countries.

Natural conditions

The Australian island continent is washed by the waters of the Indian Ocean (the Arafura and Timor Seas in the north, the Great Australian Bight in the south), the Tasman Sea and the Coral Sea of ​​the Pacific Ocean. Its land area is almost as large as the United States without Alaska. As a whole, this continent is the least mountainous and also the driest in the entire world; almost a third of its surface is occupied by deserts, but the rest of the territory is also quite dry.

State system

Australia is a federated state, formally a constitutional monarchy. The head of state is the British Queen represented by the Governor General. The highest legislative body is a bicameral parliament: the lower chamber – the House of Representatives has 148 deputies elected for three years, the upper chamber – the Senate consists of 76 senators elected for six years. Both the federal parliament and the government headed by the prime minister, formed from both houses of parliament, are based in Canberra.

Australia has a three-tier system of government and public administration: a federal parliament, six state parliaments and around 900 local government authorities.

The Northern Territory became a self-governing unit in 1978 and the Canberra Capital Territory in 1989. The six overseas territories do not have their own self-governing authorities. Australia is a fully independent state within the British Commonwealth of Nations; maintains strong traditional ties with Great Britain.

Country data

Location: Central between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean, Europe

Time zone: CET – 7 to – 9 (during summer time CET – 8 to – 10)

Total area: 7,741,220 km²

Land area: 7,682,300 km²

Water area: 58,920 km²

Length of the state border: 0 km

Coastline: 25,760 km

Capital: Canberra

> Territories (with capital): 8
New South Wales (Sydney / Canberra), Northern Territory (Darwin), Queensland (Brisbane), South Australia (Adeleide), Tasmania (Hobart), Victoria (Melbourne), Western Australia (Perth)

Electric current: 220/240 V / 50 Hz

Telephone code: 00 61 (Source: Allcitycodes)

Highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m

Population

Population: approx. 22.5 million residents (Countryaah, 2021)

Population growth: 1.1% per year

Population density (residents per km²): 3

Life expectancy: 80 (male), 85 (female)

Official language: English

Religions:

• 29% Protestants
• 25% Roman Catholic
• 2% Buddhists
• 2% Muslim
• 42% other

Climate

The tropical north is replaced in the interior by a moderate desert climate and changes to a high mountain climate in the south.

The seasons are opposite to those in Europe.

Currency / finance

Currency unit: Australian dollar (AUD)

Division: 1 dollar = 100 cents

ATMs: widely available in the larger cities.

International credit cards: These are accepted by many hotels and shops in the larger cities.

Regulations: Foreign currencies can be imported and exported in unlimited amounts. A declaration is required from a total value of AUD 10,000.

There is no limit to the amount of local currency that can be imported and exported up to AUD 2,000. If a higher amount is to be exported, approval must first be obtained from customs.

In many small towns and in the central inland areas, you almost always have to pay cash.

Customs regulations

The following may be carried duty-free:

• 50 cigarettes or 50 g of tobacco products
• 2 liters of alcoholic beverages

(Information applies to people aged 18 and over)

Tourists and people in transit can bring items of personal use with them duty-free.

Travel advice

In the south and east of the country there are frequent bush and forest fires in the hot summer months.

Please observe the safety instructions from the local authorities.

Behavioral advice

There are isolated cases of pickpockets and car break-ins in the major tourist centers. You should therefore not show valuable things visibly.

Otherwise, Australia is a fairly safe country to travel to.

Economy

The strongest industries have long been mineral extraction and agriculture.

The development of the technical industry and the tourism sector are being promoted by the strong state funding.

Industries: chemistry, ore mining, industrial and transport accessories, agriculture, food production, steel

Natural resources: diamonds, natural gas, coal, copper, nickel, silver

Land use:

• Usable land: 6%
• Grain cultivation: 0%
• Pasture area: 54%
• Forests: 19%
• other: 21%