KEY FACTS
Joined Commonwealth: 1931 (Statute of Westminster)
Population: 23,050,000 (2012)
GDP p.c. growth: 1.8% p.a. 1990–2012
UN HDI 2012: world ranking 2
Official language: English
Time: GMT plus 8–11hr
Currency: Australian dollar (A$)
Geography
Area: 7,682,395 sq km
Coastline: 25,800 km
Capital: Canberra
The term ‘Australia’ is derived from Terra Australis, the name given to a southern landmass whose existence geographers deduced before it was discovered. Papua New Guinea (to the north) and New Zealand (to the east) are Australia’s closest neighbours. To the south lie the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. The Commonwealth of Australia is a Federation with six states – New South Wales (state capital Sydney), Victoria (Melbourne), Queensland (Brisbane), South Australia (Adelaide), Western Australia (Perth) and Tasmania (Hobart) – and two territories, Northern Territory (capital Darwin) and the Australian Capital Territory, where the federal capital, Canberra, is situated. Australia also has external territories (described in the profiles following this one). These have small populations or are uninhabited and, apart from the vast Australian Antarctic Territory, are small islands.
Main towns:
Canberra (capital, Australian Capital Territory, pop. 334,300 in 2010), Sydney (New South Wales, 3.75m), Melbourne (Victoria, 3.55m), Brisbane (Queensland, 1.83m), Perth (Western Australia, 1.32m), Adelaide (South Australia, 1.06m), Gold Coast–Tweed Heads (Queensland, 504,800), Newcastle (New South Wales, 295,600), Hobart (Tasmania, 228,700) and Darwin (Northern Territory, 63,800).
Society
KEY FACTS 2012
Population per sq km: 3.0
Life expectancy: 82 years
Net primary enrolment: 96% (2011)
Population:
23,050,000 (2012); density is one of the lowest in the world; 89 per cent of people live in urban areas and 58 per cent in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million people; growth 1.4 per cent p.a. 1990–2012; birth rate 13 per 1,000 people (20 in 1970); life expectancy 82 years (71 in 1970); life expectancy in the Aboriginal population about 62 years. People of Asian origin comprise 8.7 per cent of the population, and Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island peoples 2.5 per cent. 70 per cent of the population were born in Australia (2006 census).
Language:
English, the official language, is spoken at home by 78.5 per cent of the population. The largest other home languages are Italian, Greek, Cantonese, Arabic and Mandarin (2006 census).
Education:
Public spending on education was six per cent of GDP in 2010. Responsibility for education lies with the states and education systems vary. There are 11 years of compulsory education starting at the age of five. The school year starts in January. There are 39 universities with more than one million students enrolled, 37 of which are public institutions (2013). The female–male ratio for gross enrolment in tertiary education is 1.40:1 (2010). There is virtually no illiteracy among people aged 15–24. In 1971 Australia hosted the Fifth Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers in Canberra. Commonwealth Education Ministers meet every three years to discuss issues of mutual concern and interest.
