Introduction & Facts
Australia is a culturally diverse, racially tolerant society that welcomes and offers opportunity to those who wish to settle there. From the vast landscape, 7000 beaches and the exotic flora and fauna to the cosmopolitan cities, Australia is a beautiful and varied place of contrasts, and a vital destination for business development and growth in the 21st Century. Boasting world standard universities, education, and a health system that receives considerable government funding, Australia enjoys economic and political stability, and a legal system based in Common Law.
Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have an enormously diverse and complex culture that traces its roots back at least 40,000 years. Since British settlement in Australia in 1788, Aboriginal people have suffered systematic and discriminatory measures. Only recently has the Australian government begun to deal with elements of its discriminatory history with legislation including the Native Title Act, which theoretically can return crown land to their rightful Aboriginal owners. However, legal proceedings have shown the limitations of such legislation.
Since 1945 nearly 5.6 million people from over 160 countries migrated to Australia. Approximately 1 in 4 Australian residents are born outside Australia enhancing the existing multicultural population. Between July 2017 and June 2018, the Australian government issued approximately 185,000 immigration visas – the largest number of immigration visas issued to date.
Full country name: Commonwealth of Australia
Federation of States and Territories: January 1 1901
Population of Australia according to its states (as at June 2017)
New South Wales pop: 7.86 million Capital City – Sydney pop: 5.13 million
Victoria pop: 6.32 million Capital City – Melbourne pop: 4.85 million
South Australia pop: 1.72 million Capital City – Adelaide pop: 1.33 million
Queensland pop: 4.92 million Capital City -Brisbane pop: 2.41 million
Western Australia pop: 2.58 million Capital City – Perth pop: 2.04 million
Tasmania pop: 520,900 Capital City – Hobart pop: 266,000
Territories
Australian Capital Territory 410,300 Capital City – Canberra pop: 447,457
Northern Territory pop: 246,100 Capital City Darwin pop: 146,612
Area: 7,682,300 square km
Population: 25.6 million (June 2017)
Capital city: Canberra (pop: 447,457 as at June 2017)
People: European descent – 94%, Asian – 4%, Aboriginal – 1.5%
Languages: English, secondary languages: various Aboriginal, European, and Asian languages
Currency: Australian Dollar ($A) $A 1 = $ U.S. 0.75 (as at May 2018)
Religion: Christian – 75%, Muslim – 1%, Buddhist – 1%, Jewish – 0.5%
Government: Independent member of the British Commonwealth
Prime Minister: Mr. Scott Morrison since 24 August 2018
Head of State: Governor-General Designate (British Queen’s representative): Mr. Peter Cosgrove since 2014.
Army: Voluntary – The Royal Australian Army consists of professional soldiers only
Weekend: 2 days – Saturday, Sunday
Major Industries: Minerals, oil, coal, gold, wool, cereals, meat, tourism