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Australia
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Location :
Map references :
Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean Oceania
Total Area :
Land Area :
7,686,850 sq km 7,617,930 sq km
Comparative Area :
Note :
slightly smaller than the US includes Macquarie Island
Land boundaries :
Coastline :
 0 km  25,760 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive economic zone:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
200 nm
Territorial sea:
International disputes:
12 nm territorial claim in Antarctica (Australian Antarctic Territory)
Climate:
Terrain:
generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north  mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast
Natural resources:
Land use - arable land:
bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum  6%
Permanent crops:
Meadows and pastures :
0% 58%
forest and woodland :
other:
14% 22%
Irrigated land:
18,800 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:       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
Natural hazards:
 cyclones along the coast; severe droughts
International agreements :
 
party to - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Desertification
Note :
 
world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as "the Doctor" occurs along the west coast in the summer
Overview :
 
Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP comparable to levels in industrialized West European countries. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels. Primary products account for more than 60% of the value of total exports, so that, as in 1983-84, a downturn in world commodity prices can have a big impact on the economy. The government is pushing for increased exports of manufactured goods, but competition in international markets continues to be severe. Australia has suffered from the low growth and high unemployment characterizing the OECD countries in the early 1990s. In 1992-93 the economy recovered slowly from the prolonged recession of 1990-91, a major restraining factor being weak world demand for Australia's exports. Growth picked up so strongly in 1994 that the government felt the need for fiscal and monetary tightening by yearend. Australia's GDP grew 6.4% in 1994, largely due to increases in industrial output and business investment. A severe drought in 1994 is expected to reduce the value of Australia's net farm production by $825 million in the twelve months through June 1995, but rising world commodity prices are likely to boost rural exports by 7.7% to $14.5 billion in 1995/96, according to government statistics.
National product:
National product real growth rate:
 GDP - purchasing power parity - $374.6 billion (1994 est.) 6.4% (1994)
National product per capita:
Inflation rate (consumer prices)::
 $20,720 (1994 est.)  2.5% (1994)
Unemployment rate:
Budget::Revenues:
8.9% (December 1994) $83.8 billion
Expenditures:
Exports:
 $92.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY93/94)  $50.4 billion (1994)
Commodities:
Partners:
coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, wheat, machinery and transport equipment  Japan 25%, US 11%, South Korea 6%, NZ 5.7%, UK, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong (1992)
Imports:
Commodities:
$51.1 billion (1994)  machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, crude oil and petroleum products
Partners:
External debt:
 US 23%, Japan 18%, UK 6%, Germany 5.7%, NZ 4% (1992)  $147.2 billion (1994)
Industrial production:
Electricity:
growth rate 3.9% (FY93/94); accounts for 32% of GDP capacity: 34,540,000 kW
production: 155 billion kWh
consumption per capita:  8,021 kWh (1993)
Industries:
Agriculture:
mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel accounts for 5% of GDP and over 30% of export revenues; world's largest exporter of beef and wool, second-largest for mutton, and among top wheat exporters; major crops - wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruit; livestock - cattle, sheep, poultry
Illicit drugs:
Economic aid:
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 donor:  ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $10.4 billion
Currency:
Exchange rates:
1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents  Australian dollars ($A) per US$1 - 1.3058 (January 1995), 1.3667 (1994), 1.4704 (1993), 1.3600 (1992), 1.2835 (1991), 1.2799 (1990)
Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June