Commonwealth of Australia

Sovereign: Queen Elizabeth II (1952)

Governor-General: Michael Jeffery (2003)

Prime Minister: John Howard (1996)

Area: 2,967,893 sq mi (7,686,850 sq km)

Population (2005 est.): 20,090,437 (growth rate: 0.9%); birth rate: 12.3/1000; infant mortality rate: 4.7/1000; life expectancy: 80.4; density per sq mi: 7

Capital (2003 est.): Canberra, 327,700

Largest cities: Sydney, 4,250,100; Melbourne, 3,610,800; Brisbane, 1,545,700; Perth, 1,375,200; Adelaide, 1,087,600

Monetary unit: Australian dollar

Language: English, native languages

Ethnicity/race: Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal (353,000) and other 1%

Religions: Anglican 26.1%, Roman Catholic 26%, other Christian 24.3%

Literacy rate: 100% (1980 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2004 est.): $611.7 billion; per capita $30,700. Real growth rate: 3.5%. Inflation: 2.3%. Unemployment: 5.1% (Dec. 2004 est.). Arable land: 7%. Agriculture: wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry. Labor force: 10.35 million; agriculture 3.6%, industry 26.4%, services 70%. Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel. Natural resources: bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum. Exports: $86.89 billion (2004 est.): coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment. Imports: $98.1 billion (2004 est.): machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products. Major trading partners: Japan, US, China, South Korea, New Zealand, UK, Germany (2003).

Member of Commonwealth of Nations

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 10.05 million (2000); mobile cellular: 8.6 million (2000). Radio broadcast stations: AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998). Radios: 25.5 million (1997). Television broadcast stations: 104 (1997). Televisions: 10.15 million (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 603 (2001). Internet users: 10.06 million (2001).

Transportation: Railways: total: 33,819 km (2,540 km electrified) (1999est.). Highways: total: 913,000 km; paved: 353,331 km (including 13,630 km of expressways); unpaved: 559,669 km (1996). Waterways: 8,368 km; mainly used by small, shallow-draft craft. Ports and harbors: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport (Tasmania), Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart (Tasmania), Launceston (Tasmania), Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville. Airports: 421 (2001).

International disputes: Australia-East Timor-Indonesia are working to resolve maritime boundary and sharing of seabed resource.