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AUSTRALIA
Map of AUSTRALIA
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Location:
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Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean |
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Geographic coordinates:
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27 00 S, 133 00 E |
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Area:
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total: 7,686,850 sq km
land: 7,617,930 sq km
water: 68,920 sq km
note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than the US contiguous 48 states |
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Land boundaries:
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0 km |
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Coastline:
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25,760 km |
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
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Climate:
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generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north |
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Terrain:
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mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m
highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229 m |
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Natural resources:
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bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum |
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Land use:
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arable land: 6.15% (includes about 27 million hectares of cultivated grassland)
permanent crops: 0.04%
other: 93.81% (2005) |
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Irrigated land:
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25,450 sq km (2003) |
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Total renewable water resources:
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398 cu km (1995) |
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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total: 24.06 cu km/yr (15%/10%/75%)
per capita: 1,193 cu m/yr (2000) |
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Natural hazards:
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cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires |
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Environment - current issues:
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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 fresh water resources |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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Population:
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20,600,856 (July 2008 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 19.1% (male 2,014,230/female 1,920,604)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 7,005,588/female 6,895,817)
65 years and over: 13.4% (male 1,226,432/female 1,538,185) (2008 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun: Australian(s)
adjective: Australian |
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Ethnic groups:
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white 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1% |
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Religions:
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Catholic 26.4%, Anglican 20.5%, other Christian 20.5%, Buddhist 1.9%, Muslim 1.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 12.7%, none 15.3% (2001 Census) |
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Languages:
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English 79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian 1.9%, other 11.1%, unspecified 5.8% (2001 Census) |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99% (2003 est.) |
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
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total: 20 years
male: 20 years
female: 21 years (2006) |
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Education expenditures - percent of GDP:
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4.5% (2005) |
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia
conventional short form: Australia |
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Government type:
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federal parliamentary democracy |
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Capital:
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name: Canberra
geographic coordinates: 35 17 S, 149 13 E
time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in October; ends last Sunday in March
note: Australia is divided into three time zones |
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Administrative divisions:
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6 states and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia |
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Dependent areas:
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Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island, Macquarie Island |
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Independence:
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1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies) |
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National holiday:
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Australia Day, 26 January (1788); ANZAC Day (commemorated as 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)
Source: http://cia.gov
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