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 of the east coast in the name of Great Britain (all of Australia was claimed as British territory in 1829 with the creation of the colony of Western Australia). 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 ageing of the population, pressure on infrastructure, and environmental issues such as frequent droughts.

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, rare earth elements, 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 freshwater resources

world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; the only continent without glaciers; 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

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

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)

Protestant 27.4% (Anglican 18.7%, Uniting Church 5.7%, Presbyterian and Reformed 3%), Catholic 25.8%, 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)

22,015,576 (July 2012 est.)

12.28 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

6.94 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

5.93 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

Sydney 4.429 million; Melbourne 3.853 million; Brisbane 1.97 million; Perth 1.599 million; CANBERRA (capital) 384,000 (2009)

7 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

1.77 children born/woman (2012 est.)

2.991 physicians/1,000 population (2009)

3.82 beds/1,000 population (2009)

urban: 100% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 100% of population

fewer than 100 (2009 est.)

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 (commemorates 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 1 January 1901

common law system based on the English model

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

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 Party [Christine MILNE]; Australian Labor Party [Julia GILLARD]; Family First Party [Steve FIELDING]; Liberal Party [Tony ABBOTT]; National Party of Australia [Warren TRUSS]

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

Southern Cross constellation (five, seven-pointed stars); kangaroo; emu

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 former 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 1.4% during 2009 - the best performance in the OECD - by 2.5% in 2010, 2.1% in 2011, and 3.3% in 2012. Unemployment, originally expected to reach 8-10%, peaked at 5.7% in late 2009 and fell to 5.2% in 2012. As a result of an improved economy, the budget deficit dropped to 0.8% of GDP in 2012 and the government could return to budget surpluses before 2015. Australia was one of the first advanced economies to raise interest rates, with seven rate hikes between October 2009 and November 2010. The GILLARD government is focused on raising Australia's economic productivity to ensure the sustainability of growth, and continues to manage the symbiotic, but sometimes tense, economic relationship with China. Australia is engaged in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks and ongoing free trade agreement negotiations with China, Japan, and Korea.

$960.7 billion (2012 est.)

$930 billion (2011 est.)

$910.5 billion (2010 est.)

$1.542 trillion (2012 est.)

12.27 million (2012 est.)

28.2% of GDP (2012 est.)

33.5% of GDP (2012 est.)

-0.8% of GDP (2012 est.)

26.9% of GDP (2012 est.)

26.7% of GDP (2011 est.)

4.35% (31 December 2010 est.)

3.28% (31 December 2009 est.)

7.3% (31 December 2012 est.)

7.74% (31 December 2011 est.)

$544 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$492.3 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$1.708 trillion (31 December 2012 est.)

$1.501 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)

$2.303 trillion (31 December 2012 est.)

$2.061 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)

$1.198 trillion (31 December 2011)

$1.455 trillion (31 December 2010)

$1.258 trillion (31 December 2009)

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

-$47.1 billion (2012 est.)

-$29.5 billion (2011 est.)

$263.9 billion (2012 est.)

$271.1 billion (2011 est.)

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

China 27.4%, Japan 19.2%, South Korea 8.9%, India 5.8% (2011)

$258.1 billion (2012 est.)

$242.2 billion (2011 est.)

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

China 18.5%, US 11.4%, Japan 7.9%, Singapore 6.2%, Germany 4.7% (2011)

$47.7 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$46.83 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$1.466 trillion (31 December 2012 est.)

$1.367 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)

$598.7 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$549 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$496.4 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$442.6 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

Australian dollars (AUD) per US dollar -

241.5 billion kWh (2010 est.)

228.8 billion kWh (2009 est.)

56.94 million kW (2009 est.)

79% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

13.7% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

4.7% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

482,500 bbl/day (2011 est.)

250,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

380,900 bbl/day (2009 est.)

1.426 billion bbl (1 January 2012 est.)

674,700 bbl/day (2009 est.)

1.023 million bbl/day (2011 est.)

64,730 bbl/day (2009 est.)

332,900 bbl/day (2009 est.)

44.99 billion cu m (2011 est.)

27.56 billion cu m (2011 est.)

25.53 billion cu m (2011 est.)

8.102 billion cu m (2011 est.)

788.6 billion cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

405.3 million Mt (2010 est.)

10.57 million (2011)

24.49 million (2011)

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)

17.081 million (2012)

15.81 million (2009)

gas 27,900 km; liquid petroleum gas 240 km; oil 3,257 km; oil/gas/water 1 km (2010)

2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2011)

Brisbane, Cairns, Dampier, Darwin, Fremantle, Gladstone, Geelong, Hay Point, Hobart, Jervis Bay, Melbourne, Newcastle, Port Adelaide, Port Dalrymple, Port Hedland, Port Kembla, Port Lincoln, 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 noncombat support roles (2012)

In 2007, Australia and Timor-Leste agreed to a 50-year development zone and revenue sharing arrangement and deferred a maritime boundary; Australia asserts land and maritime claims to Antarctica; Australia's 2004 submission to Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) extends its continental margins over 3.37 million square kilometers, expanding its seabed roughly 30 percent beyond its claimed exclusive economic zone; all borders between Indonesia and Australia have been agreed upon bilaterally, but a 1997 treaty that would settle the last of their maritime and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) boundary has yet to be ratified by Indonesia's legislature; Indonesian groups challenge Australia's claim to Ashmore Reef; Australia closed parts of the Ashmore and Cartier reserve to Indonesian traditional fishing

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