|
| |
|
|
 |
| The
continent of Australia, with the island state
of Tasmania, is approximately equal in area to
the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii).
Mountain ranges run from north to south along
the east coast, reaching their highest point in
Mount Kosciusko (7,308 ft; 2,228 m). The western
half of the continent is occupied by a desert
plateau that rises into barren, rolling hills
near the west coast. The Great Barrier Reef, extending
about 1,245 mi (2,000 km), lies along the northeast
coast. The island of Tasmania (26,178 sq mi; 67,800
sq km) is off the southeast coast. |
| People:
Most Australians are of British and Irish ancestry
and the majority of the country lives in urban areas.
The population has more than doubled since the end
of World War II, spurred by an ambitious postwar
immigration program. In the postwar years, immigration
from Greece, Turkey, Italy, and other countries
began to increase Australia's cultural diversity.
When Australia officially ended (1973) discriminatory
policies dating to the 19th cent. that were designed
to prevent immigration by nonwhites, substantial
Asian immigration followed. By 1988 about 40% of
immigration to Australia was from Asia, and by 2001
Asians constituted 5.5% of the population. By 2005
roughly one fourth of all Australians had been born
outside the country. The
indigenous population, the Australian aborigines,
estimated to number as many as 350,000 at the
time of the Europeans' arrival, was numbered at
366,429 in 2001. Although still more rural than
the general population, the aboriginal population
has become more urbanized, with some two thirds
living in cities. New South Wales and Queensland
account for just over half of the Australian aboriginal
population. In Tasmania the aboriginal population
was virtually wiped out in the 19th cent.
There is no state religion in
Australia. The largest churches are the Anglican
and Roman Catholic. Although education is not
a federal concern, government grants have aided
in the establishment of state universities including
the Univ. of Sydney (1852), the Univ. of Melbourne
(1854), the Univ. of Adelaide (1874), and the
Univ. of Queensland (in Brisbane, 1909). |
| Economy:
Most of the rich farmland and good ports are in
the east and particularly the southeast, except
for the area around Perth in Western Australia.
Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide are the
leading industrial and commercial cities. There
has been considerable industrial development in
the last two decades of the 20th cent., and the
standard of living has remained generally high.
While the Australian economy fell into a severe
recession in the late 1980s, but experience an extended
period of growth beginning in the 1990s, although
it suffered somewhat from the Asian economic slump
of the 1990s and from the drought of 2002–3
(lasting into 2005 in some areas).
Australia
is highly industrialized, and manufactured goods
account for most of the gross domestic product.
Its chief industries include mining (much of which
is accomplished with the aid of Japanese capital),
food processing, and the manufacture of industrial
and transportation equipment, chemicals, iron
and steel, textiles, machinery, and motor vehicles.
Australia has valuable mineral resources, including
coal, iron, bauxite, copper, tin, lead, zinc,
and uranium; the country is an important producer
of opals and diamonds. Some lumbering is done
in the east and southeast.
The country is self-sufficient
in food, and the raising of sheep and cattle and
the production of grain have long been staple
occupations. Tropical and subtropical produce—citrus
fruits, sugarcane, and tropical fruits—are
also important, and there are numerous vineyards
and dairy and tobacco farms.
Australia maintains a favorable
balance of trade. Its chief export commodities
are metals, minerals, coal, wool and beef (of
which it is the world's largest exporter), mutton,
cereals, and manufactured products. The leading
imports are manufactured raw materials, capital
equipment, and consumer goods. Australia's economic
ties with Asia and the Pacific Rim have become
increasingly important. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
