Introducing AUSTRALIA

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English

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22/05/24
10:51 AM

At least 60,000 years ago, Aboriginal Australians immigrated to the continent and established sophisticated hunter-gatherer cultures and oral traditions. The first Europeans to set foot on Australian soil were Dutch navigators under the command of Abel TASMAN in 1606. They explored the western and northern coasts. Despite not attempting to permanently occupy the continent, they gave it the name New Holland. James COOK, an English captain, visited Australia's east coast in 1770, gave it the name New South Wales, and declared it to be British territory. Great Britain created New South Wales and then Tasmania as penal colonies in 1788 and 1825, respectively. Before ceasing the practice in 1868, Great Britain and Ireland shipped more than 150,000 convicts to Australia. Aboriginal Australians came into closer touch with Europeans when they moved inland and started to settle. Additionally, Europeans cleared land for cultivation, affecting the way of life of Aboriginal Australians. Along with sickness and a policy that forcibly separated Aboriginal children from their parents in the 1900s, these problems caused the Aboriginal Australian population to decline from over 700,000 before European contact to a low of 74,000 in 1933. Midway through the 1800s, Western Australia (1829), South Australia (1836), Victoria (1851), and Queensland became new colonies in Australia (1859). Gold rushes, which started in the 1850s, brought thousands of new immigrants to New South Wales and Victoria, helping Australia move on from its past as a penal colony. Throughout the second part of the 1800s, the colonies experienced varying degrees of self-government; in 1901, they federated to create the Commonwealth of Australia. Australian troops played a significant part in the defeat of Japanese forces in the Pacific during World War II. During World War I, Australia provided more than 400,000 troops to the allied cause. In 1951, Australia signed Australia, New Zealand, and US (ANZUS) Treaty, solidifying its military partnership with the US. Australia renounced most of its constitutional ties to the UK in 1942. The AUKUS enhanced trilateral security alliance was declared by Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States in 2021 with the goal of preserving and enhancing the three nations' military and vital technology advantages. Australia's post-war economy flourished, and by the 1970s, racial restrictions that prevented the majority of non-white immigrants from entering the country had been lifted. As a result, Asian immigration to Australia increased significantly. Due in major part to economic changes implemented in the 1980s and its closeness to East and Southeast Asia, Australia has recently developed into a highly competitive, advanced market economy. With repeated attempts to remove party leaders in the early 2000s, including five changes of prime minister between 2010 and 2018, Australian politics became unstable. So, to make it more difficult to depose a party head, both main parties implemented regulations.

Oceania, the continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean

total: 7,741,220 sq km land: 7,682,300 sq km water: 58,920 sq km

generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north

26,141,369 (2022 est.)

Australia has few restrictions on the import of products and services and is an open market. Opening up has boosted GDP, improved productivity, and made the economy more adaptable and dynamic. Australian participation in the WTO, APEC, G20 and other trade organizations is active. In addition to already-existing FTAs with the US, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, the Republic of Korea, and the US, as well as a regional FTA with ASEAN and New Zealand, Australia's free trade agreement (FTA) with China went into effect in 2015. Australia is still negotiating bilateral agreements with Indonesia as well as bigger Pacific and Gulf Cooperation Council accords as well as an Asia-wide Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership that includes all 10 ASEAN nations as well as China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, and India. Australia exports a lot of energy, food, and natural resources. High levels of foreign investment are attracted by Australia's diverse and rich natural resources, which include significant quantities of coal, iron, copper, gold, natural gas, uranium, and renewable energy sources. The resources industry will grow dramatically as a result of numerous large investments, such as the US$40 billion Gorgon Liquid Natural Gas Project. Up until 2017, Australia had benefited from a sharp increase in its terms of trade for nearly 20 years. The economy had consistent growth, low unemployment, controlled inflation, extremely low levels of state debt, and a robust and stable financial system as export prices rose more quickly than import prices. Australia came into 2018 with several growth restrictions, primarily brought on by the significant decline in the price of major export commodities globally. Sharp declines in export prices have affected growth, and there is a slower-than-expected increase in demand for resources and energy coming from Asia, particularly China.

Australian

English 36.1%, Australian 33.5%, Irish 11.0%, Scottish 9.3%, Chinese 5.6%, Italian 4.6%, German 4.5%, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 2.8%, Indian 2.8%, Greek 1.8%, Dutch 1.6%

5.16% (2019 est.) 5.29% (2018 est.) country comparison to the world: 83

English 72.7%, Mandarin 2.5%, Arabic 1.4%, Cantonese 1.2%, Vietnamese 1.2%, Italian 1.2%, Greek 1%, other 14.8%, unspecified 6.5% (2016 est.)

Protestant 23.1% (Anglican 13.3%, Uniting Church 3.7%, Presbyterian and Reformed 2.3%, Baptist 1.5%, Pentecostal 1.1%, Lutheran .7%, other Protestant .5%), Roman Catholic 22.6%, other Christian 4.2%, Muslim 2.6%, Buddhist 2.4%, Orthodox 2.3% (Eastern Orthodox 2.1%, Oriental Orthodox .2%), Hindu 1.9%, other 1.3%, none 30.1%, unspecified 9.6% (2016 est.)

0-14 years: 18.72% (male 2,457,418/female 2,309,706) 15-24 years: 12.89% (male 1,710,253/female 1,572,794) 25-54 years: 41.15% (male 5,224,840/female 5,255,041) 55-64 years: 11.35% (male 1,395,844/female 1,495,806) 65 years and over: 15.88% (2020 est.) (male 1,866,761/female 2,177,996)

Cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires

$1,250,900,000,000 (2020 est.) $1,254,480,000,000 (2019 est.) $1,227,940,000,000 (2018 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars country comparison to the world: 18

1.84% (2019 est.) 2.77% (2018 est.) 2.45% (2017 est.) country comparison to the world: 145

$48,700 (2020 est.) $49,500 (2019 est.) $49,200 (2018 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars country comparison to the world: 30

$1,390,790,000,000 (2019 est.)

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