Sovereign: Queen Elizabeth II (1952)
Governor-General: Peter Cosgrove (2014)
Prime Minister: Tony Abbott (2013)
Area: 2,941,283 sq mi (7,617,931 sq km)
Population (2014 est.): 22,507,617 (growth rate: 1.09%); birth rate: 12.19/1000; infant mortality rate: 4.43/1000; life expectancy: 82.07.
Capital (2011 est.): Canberra, 399,000
Largest cities (2003 est.): Sydney 4.543 million; Melbourne 3.961 million; Brisbane 2.039 million; Perth 1.649 million; Adelaide 1.198 million; CANBERRA (capital) 399,000 (2011).
Monetary unit: Australian dollar
Language: English 76.8%, Mandarin 1.6%, Italian 1.4%, Arabic 1.3%, Greek 1.2%, Cantonese 1.2%, Vietnamese 1.1%, other 10.4%, unspecified 5% (2011 est.)
Ethnicity/race: Caucasian 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1%.
Religions: Protestant 28.8% (Anglican 17.1%, Uniting Church 5.0%, Presbyterian and Reformed 2.8%, Baptist, 1.6%, Lutheran 1.2%, Pentecostal 1.1%), Catholic 25.3%, Eastern Orthodox 2.6%, other Christian 4.5%, Buddhist 2.5%, Muslim 2.2%, Hindu 1.3%, other 8.4%, unspecified 2.2%, none 22.3%(2006 est.)
Literacy rate: 99% (2011 est.)
National Holiday: Australia Day, January 26
Economic summary:
- GDP/PPP $998.3 billion (2011 est.); per capita $43,000.
- Real growth rate: 2.5%.
- Inflation: 2.4%.
- Unemployment: 5.7%.
- Arable land: 6.16%.
- Agriculture: wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruit, cattle, sheep, poultry.
- Labor force: 12.44 million; agriculture 3.6%, industry 21.1%, services 70.4% (2011 est.).
- Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel.
- Natural resources: bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum.
- Exports: $251.7 billion (2013 est.): coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment.
- Imports: $245.8 billion (2013 est.): machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products.
- Major trading partners: China, US, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, India, Germany (2012).
