About Australia

Australia is a stable, democratic and culturally diverse nation with a highly skilled
workforce and one of the strongest performing economies in the world.
With spectacular landscapes and a rich ancient culture, Australia is a land like no
other. It is the earth's sixth-largest country in land area and is the only nation to
govern an entire continent.

Australia in Brief publication

Australia in Brief provides an authoritative overview of Australia's history, the land, its
people and their way of life. It also looks at Australia's economic, scientific and
cultural achievements and its foreign, trade and defence policies.
Australia in Brief

Australia is a country of striking landscapes, a rich ancient culture and one

of the world's strongest economies. It is the sixth-largest country in land
area and is the only nation to govern an entire continent.

With a spectacular natural environment, high quality of life and great diversity,
Australia is a sought after destination for international tourists. It has 10 per cent of
the world's biodiversity and a great number of its native plants and animals exist
nowhere else on earth. From tropical rainforests in the north to the red deserts of the
centre, from the snowfields of the south-east to the Australian Antarctic Territory, it is
a vast and varied land. Australia has many World Heritage sites including the Great
Barrier Reef, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and the Sydney Opera House.
Sydney Harbour (Ellenor Argyropoulos, Tourism Australia)

Did you know?

Australia is the world's third most popular destination for international students.
Australia is home to one of the world's oldest living cultures, with Aboriginal
communities established nearly 60,000 years before European settlement. Today,
Australia is one of the world's most multicultural countries, rich in Indigenous and
immigrant cultures. Australia is a successful and prosperous nation, ranked second
in the United Nations Development Programme's Human Development Report 2015.
Australia's economy is consistently ranked among the strongest of advanced
economies in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. It is the
world's twelfth largest economy and a top performing nation on almost every
measure of excellence, from health to wealth, from ease of doing business to
educational attainment.
With low unemployment, low inflation and a highly skilled workforce, and with strong
links with the fastest-growing region in the world — the Indo-Pacific — Australia's
economy is set to prosper well into the future.

Did you know?

Australia is the fourth largest economy in the Asian region and is the 12th largest
economy in the world.
Australia is a nation of boundless opportunity in a country of endless potential—a
nation that is 'open for business'.
Australia's foreign and trade policy promotes its security and long-term prosperity. It
seeks to protect and advance its national interests in a rapidly changing
environment, while supporting a stable global order. Australia has been integrally
involved in global efforts to build peace and security for decades, just as it has in
promoting global trade and investment liberalisation. Australia is a good international
citizen, helping in times of crisis and supporting economic development in its region.

SNAPSHOT OF AUSTRALIA
FULL TITLE
Commonwealth of Australia
POPULATION
23.94 Million (December 2015)
PROPORTION OF POPULATION BORN OVERSEAS
28.2% (June 2015)
PROPORTION OF POPULATION WHO IDENTIFY AS BEING OF ABORIGINAL OR TORRES
STRAIT ISLANDER ORIGIN
2.5% (2011)
CAPITAL CITY
Canberra
LARGEST CITY
Sydney Population 4.92 million (June 2015)
SURFACE AREA
7.69 million sq kms (2.96 million sq miles)
MAIN LANGUAGE
English + more than 300 others
CURRENCY
Australian dollar (AUD)
LIFE EXPECTANCY
84 years (women) 80 years (men)
GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT PER CAPITA
A$64,660 (2013)
WORKFORCE
11.9 million (May 2016)
INFLATION RATE
1% (June 2016)
VALUE OF EXPORTS OF GOODS AND SERVICES
A$316.6 billion
MAJOR GOODS AND SERVICES EXPORTS
Iron ores and concentrates, coal, natural gas, education travel services, gold
MAJOR IMPORTS
Passenger motor vehicles, refined petroleum, crude petroleum, telecom equipment
and parts, computers
MAIN TRADING PARTNERS
China, Japan, United States, Republic of Korea
NATIONAL DAY
Australia Day: 26 January
TIME
Eastern: GMT+10hrs Central: GMT+9.5hrs Western: GMT+8hrs
HOUSEHOLDS WITH INTERNET ACCESS
83% (June 2013)
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
440,949 (May 2016)

Sunset at Mindil Beach, Darwin (Allan Dixon, Tourism Australia)

History
Australia's Aboriginal people, the original inhabitants of the Australian
continent, arrived at least 60,000 years ago.

Indigenous rock art, Arnhem Land (James Fisher, Tourism Australia)

DID YOU KNOW?

Australian Indigenous art is the oldest ongoing tradition of art in the world.
Parts of the continent were mapped by Dutch navigators in the 17th century and by
French and British navigators the following century, but it was not until 1770 that
Captain James Cook charted the east coast and claimed it for Great Britain.
From 1788, Britain established penal colonies in New South Wales, Tasmania and
Western Australia. Free settlers followed in increasing numbers, gradually
outnumbering convicts. A colony made up entirely of free settlers was established in
South Australia in the 1830s.
Queensland and Victoria separated from New South Wales in the 1850s, by which
time gold had been discovered in New South Wales and Victoria. The gold rush
brought immigrants to Australia from all over the world.
In 1901, the six colonies united to form the federal Commonwealth of Australia.
From 1914 to 1918, more than 400,000 Australians volunteered in World War I.
Although Australia's first major campaign in Gallipoli in 1915 was a failure, with
almost 9,000 Australian soldiers losing their lives, its commemoration came to be an
important element in the emergence of an Australian national identity.
The signing of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles by the Prime Minister was the first time
Australia had signed an international treaty. In World War II (1939–45), Australian
troops were deployed against the Axis powers in Europe, North Africa and the Middle
East, and allied with the United States in the Pacific War against Japan. On 1
November 1945, Australia became a founding member of the United Nations. In
1951, Australia entered into the ANZUS Treaty with the United States and New
Zealand, and in 1957 signed an agreement on commerce with Japan which
underpinned Australia's increasing engagement with Asia.
Over the past 50 years, Australia has developed a highly diversified economy with
considerable strengths, particularly in the mining and agricultural sectors as well as
manufacturing and services, and it has become increasingly economically integrated
with the countries of East Asia.

Convict era building, Kingston and Arthurs Vale Historic Area, Norfolk Island (Mark Mohell,
Department of the Environment)
Australia's National Symbols
The Australian Flag
The stars of the Southern Cross represent Australia's geographic position in the
Southern Hemisphere. The large Commonwealth star symbolises the federation of
the states and territories, and the Union Jack reflects Australia's early ties to Great
Britain.

Our National Colours

Australia's national colours are green and gold, the colours of its national floral
emblem, the Golden Wattle.

The Coat of Arms

The Australian coat of arms consists of a shield containing the badges of the six
Australian states symbolising federation, and the national symbols of the Golden
Wattle, the kangaroo and the emu. By popular tradition, the kangaroo is accepted as
the national animal emblem. The Golden Wattle was proclaimed the national floral
emblem in August 1988.

National Anthem
Advance Australia Fair has been Australia's official national anthem since 19 April
1984.
Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are young and free;
We've golden soil and wealth for toil;
Our home is girt by sea;
Our land abounds in nature's gifts
Of beauty rich and rare;
In history's page, let every stage
Advance Australia Fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing,
Advance Australia Fair.
Beneath our radiant Southern Cross
We'll toil with hearts and hands;
To make this Commonwealth of ours
Renowned of all the lands;
For those who've come across the seas
We've boundless plains to share;
With courage let us all combine
To Advance Australia Fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing, Advance Australia Fair.
National Day
Australia Day is celebrated each year on 26 January. The date is the anniversary of
the unfurling of the British flag at Sydney Cove in 1788.

National Holidays
Australia has 12 public holidays a year, including New Year's Day, Australia Day and
Anzac Day.

An Australian soldier carries a wounded comrade near North Beach, Gallipoli (AWM
H10363)

DID YOU KNOW?

Anzac Day, 25 April, is a national day of commemoration for all Australians who have
fought in wars. It is the day the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC)
landed at Gallipoli in Turkey in 1915 during World War I. To mark Anzac Day,
Australians and New Zealanders attend ceremonies at home and around the world,
including in Gallipoli. In 2015, Australia marked the centenary of the Anzac landing
with a ceremony at Gallipoli.
Australian Flag

Acacia pycnantha Benth

Australian Coat of Arms

Environment
Australia has around 10 per cent of the world's biodiversity and is one of
the 17 megadiverse countries that together account for almost 70 per cent
of the world's species. It is a land like no other.

Snow gums in Mount Buller (Tourism Australia)

More than 80 per cent of Australia's mammals, reptiles, frogs and flowering plants
are unique to Australia, along with many of its freshwater fish and almost half its
birds. There are more than 140 species of marsupials (animals that carry their young
in a pouch) such as kangaroos, koalas, wombats and the Tasmanian Devil. Australia
is also home to two monotremes, the platypus and the echidna. These egg-laying
mammals are so unusual that they are sometimes referred to as 'living fossils'.
Australia's national reserve system covers 17.88 per cent of Australia's land mass—
more than 137 million hectares (39 million acres) across 10,000 properties—and
includes a range of habitats from lush rainforests to savannas and deserts. The
Commonwealth marine reserve estate, with 60 reserves, including the Great Barrier
Reef Marine Park, covers 3.1 million square kilometres, approximately one third of
Commonwealth waters.

Great Ocean Road, Victoria (Chris Kapa, Tourism Australia)

A Leading Antarctic Nation
Australia is a leading Antarctic nation, driving international efforts to preserve
Antarctica as a natural reserve devoted to peace and science. About 80 scientists
and support staff live and work on Australia's Antarctic stations during winter and as
many as 200 in the summer months. Marine scientists also work on Australian
research vessels in the Southern Ocean. Australia's world-class Antarctic research
program contributes to understanding environmental systems in Antarctica and the
effects of global climate change. It involves cooperation with hundreds of institutions
in more than 25 countries.

19 Australian sites are listed on the UNESCO World

Heritage List.
Great Barrier Reef
One of Australia’s most iconic World Heritage sites is the Great Barrier Reef. The
Reef was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1981 and is one of the best
managed marine areas in the world. Spanning 348,000 square kilometres, it is a
maze of some 3,000 coral reefs and around 1,050 islands. Australia protects the
Great Barrier Reef through a number of government bodies including the Department
of Environment and theGreat Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. The Australian and
Queensland governments are jointly investing a projected $2 billion over the next
decade in the Reef’s health.

Australia’s actions to protect the Reef

In its last four sessions, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee (WHC) has
considered the state of conservation of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.
The WHC requested a series of measures be undertaken to ensure that the
Outstanding Universal Value of the property is not compromised to which Australia
has responded to. Details of their decision can be found on the Department of
Environment’s website.
Australia’s Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan, additional recently-
announced funding to protect the Reef and the progress Australia has made to
in responding to World Heritage Committee concerns demonstrates the
unprecedented action taken by the Australian and Queensland governments to
ensure that the Great Barrier Reef remains healthy for decades to come.
Link: What Australia is doing to manage the Great Barrier Reef

UNESCO
The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) is a
specialised agency of the United Nations which implements its activities through the
five program areas of education, natural sciences, social and human sciences,
culture, and communication and information. Through the WHC, UNESCO manages
the listing of World Heritage sites across the globe, including Australia’s 19 listed
properties.
World Heritage sites are places that are important to and belong to everyone,
irrespective of where they are located. To find out more information about Australia’s
World Heritage sites, please visit theDepartment of Environment’s website.

Tasmanian Wilderness—one of the three largest temperate wilderness areas

remaining in the Southern Hemisphere (Graham Freeman, Tourism Australia)

Great Barrier Reef, Queensland— the world's largest coral reef system (D.
Bergmark, Tourism Australia)
Shark Bay, Western Australia—2.2 million hectares of unspoilt coastal landscape
(Anson Smart, Tourism Australia)

Australian fossil mammal site, Naracoorte, South Australia—some of the richest

fossil deposits in the world (SA Department of Environment, Water and Natural
Resources)
Fraser Island, Queensland— the world's largest sand island (Maxime Coquard,
Tourism Australia)

Royal Exhibition Building, Victoria— one of the last remaining world fair buildings
which is still used for exhibitions (Tourism Victoria)

Sydney Opera House— an internationally significant building (Camille Nuttall,

Tourism Australia)
Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park, Northern Territory— a culturally sacred landscape
for Aboriginal people (Masaru Kitano snaK Productions, Tourism Australia)

Kangaroos (Tourism Australia)

Penguins in Antarctica (Todor Iolovski, Australian Antarctic Division)