Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great Britain. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. In recent decades, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally competitive, advanced market economy. It boasted one of the OECD's fastest growing economies during the 1990s, a performance due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s. Long-term concerns include climate-change issues such as the depletion of the ozone layer and more frequent droughts, and management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier Reef.

Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean

slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states

generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north

mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast

bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum

cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires

soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources

world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; the invigorating sea breeze known as the "Fremantle Doctor" affects the city of Perth on the west coast and is one of the most consistent winds in the world

21,262,641 (July 2010 est.)

12.47 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

6.74 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

6.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)

1.78 children born/woman (2010 est.)

fewer than 100 (2007 est.)

white 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1%

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%, none 18.7% (2006 Census)

English 78.5%, Chinese 2.5%, Italian 1.6%, Greek 1.3%, Arabic 1.2%, Vietnamese 1%, other 8.2%, unspecified 5.7% (2006 Census)

federal parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

6 states and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Macquarie Island, Norfolk Island

1 January 1901 (from the federation of UK colonies)

Australia Day, 26 January (1788); ANZAC Day (commemorated as the anniversary of the landing of troops of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I at Gallipoli, Turkey), 25 April (1915)

9 July 1900; effective on 1 January 1901

based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts International Criminal Court jurisdiction with conditions

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate (76 seats; 12 members from each of the six states and 2 from each of the two mainland territories; one-half of state members are elected every three years by popular vote to serve six-year terms while all territory members are elected every three years) and the House of Representatives (150 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve terms of up to three-years; no state can have fewer than 5 representatives)

High Court (the chief justice and six other justices are appointed by the governor general acting on the advice of the government)

Australian Greens [Bob BROWN]; Australian Labor Party [Julia GILLARD]; Family First Party [Steve FIELDING]; Liberal Party [Tony ABBOTT]; The Nationals [Warren TRUSS]

ADB, ANZUS, APEC, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, FATF, G-20, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, Paris Club, PCA, PIF, SAARC (observer), Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

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

Australia's abundant and diverse natural resources attract high levels of foreign investment and include extensive reserves of coal, iron ore, copper, gold, natural gas, uranium, and renewable energy sources. A series of major investments, such as the US$40 billion Gorgon Liquid Natural Gas project, will significantly expand the resources sector. Australia also has a large services sector and is a significant exporter of natural resources, energy, and food. Key tenets of Australia's trade policy include support for open trade and the successful culmination of the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations, particularly for agriculture and services. The Australian economy grew for 17 consecutive years before the global financial crisis. Subsequently, the Rudd government introduced a fiscal stimulus package worth over US$50 billion to offset the effect of the slowing world economy, while the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates to historic lows. These policies - and continued demand for commodities, especially from China - helped the Australian economy rebound after just one quarter of negative growth. The economy grew by 1.5% during the first three quarters of 2009 - the best performance in the OECD. Unemployment, originally expected to reach 8-10%, peaked at 5.7% in late 2009 and fell to 5.3% by February 2010. As a result of an improved economy, the budget deficit is expected to peak below 4.2% of GDP and the government could return to budget surpluses as early as 2015. The Australian financial system remained resilient throughout the financial crisis and Australian banks have rebounded. Australia was one of the first advanced economies to raise interest rates - three times since October 2009 - and the government removed the wholesale funding guarantee for financial institutions in March 2010. During 2010, the government will focus on raising Australia's economic productivity, managing the symbiotic, but sometimes tense, economic relationship with China, passing emissions trading legislation, and dealing with other climate-related issues such as drought and devastating bushfires. Australia is engaged in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks and ongoing free trade agreement negotiations with China and Japan.

$851.1 billion (2009 est.)

$840.1 billion (2008 est.)

$821.2 billion (2007 est.)

$997.2 billion (2009 est.)

11.45 million (2009 est.)

28.5% of GDP (2009 est.)

17.6% of GDP (2009 est.)

14.3% of GDP (2008 est.)

4.25% (3 December 2008)

8.91% (31 December 2008)

10.02% (31 December 2007)

$248.5 billion (31 December 2008)

$298.5 billion (31 December 2007)

$617 billion (31 December 2008)

$667.2 billion (31 December 2007)

$NA (31 December 2008)

$1.312 trillion (31 December 2007)

$NA (31 December 2009)

$675.6 billion (31 December 2008)

$1.298 trillion (31 December 2007)

wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry

mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel

239.9 billion kWh (2007 est.)

222 billion kWh (2007 est.)

589,200 bbl/day (2009 est.)

946,300 bbl/day (2009 est.)

332,400 bbl/day (2008 est.)

687,200 bbl/day (2008 est.)

1.5 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.)

42.33 billion cu m (2009 est.)

26.59 billion cu m (2009 est.)

22.3 billion cu m (2009 est.)

6.56 billion cu m (2009 est.)

849.5 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)

-$29.89 billion (2009 est.)

-$46.81 billion (2008 est.)

$160.5 billion (2009 est.)

$189.1 billion (2008 est.)

coal, iron ore, gold, meat, wool, alumina, wheat, machinery and transport equipment

China 21.81%, Japan 19.19%, South Korea 7.88%, India 7.51%, US 4.95%, UK 4.37%, NZ 4.1% (2009)

$163.9 billion (2009 est.)

$194 billion (2008 est.)

machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products

China 17.94%, US 11.26%, Japan 8.36%, Thailand 5.81%, Singapore 5.54%, Germany 5.3% (2009)

$41.74 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$32.92 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$920 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$799.8 billion (31 December 2008)

$295.9 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$270.8 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$226.7 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$196.5 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Australian dollars (AUD) per US dollar - 1.2894 (2009), 1.2059 (2008), 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005)

22.12 million (2008)

the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) runs multiple national and local radio networks and TV stations, as well as Australia Network, a TV service that broadcasts throughout the Asia-Pacific region and is the main public broadcaster; Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), a second large public broadcaster, operates radio and TV networks broadcasting in multiple languages; several large national commercial TV networks, a large number of local commercial TV stations, and hundreds of commercial radio stations are accessible; cable and satellite systems are available (2008)

13.361 million (2010)

15.17 million (2008)

gas 27,105 km; liquid petroleum gas 240 km; oil 3,258 km; oil/gas/water 1 km (2009)

2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2006)

Brisbane, Dampier, Fremantle, Gladstone, Hay Point, Melbourne, Newcastle, Port Hedland, Port Kembla, Port Walcott, Sydney

Australian Defense Force (ADF): Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, Special Operations Command (2006)

17 years of age for voluntary military service (with parental consent); no conscription; women allowed to serve in Army combat units in non-combat support roles (2010)

In 2007 Australia and Timor-Leste signed a 50-year development zone and revenue sharing agreement in lieu of a maritime boundary; dispute with Timor-Leste hampers creation of a revised maritime boundary with Indonesia in the Timor Sea; regional states continue to express concern over Australia's 2004 declaration of a 1,000-nautical mile-wide maritime identification zone; Australia asserts land and maritime claims to Antarctica; in 2004 Australia submitted its claims to Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) to extend its continental margins covering over 3.37 million square kilometers, expanding its seabed roughly 30 percent more than its claimed exclusive economic zone; since 2003, Australia has led the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) to maintain civil and political order and reinforce regional security

Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of licit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate; major consumer of cocaine and amphetamines