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Australia Facts and Figures from Encarta Go to article
Basic Facts
Official name Commonwealth of Australia
Capital Canberra
Area 7,692,024 sq km
2,969,907 sq mi
Australia: Flag and Anthem
Australia: Flag and Anthem
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People
Population 21,262,641 (2009 estimate)
Population growth
Population growth rate 1.20 percent (2009 estimate)
Projected population in 2025 25,053,669 (2009 estimate)
Projected population in 2050 29,012,740 (2009 estimate)
Population density 2.8 persons per sq km (2009 estimate)
7.3 persons per sq mi (2009 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution
Share urban 93 percent (2005 estimate)
Share rural 7 percent (2005 estimate)
Largest cities, with population
Sydney 4,119,190 (2006)
Melbourne 3,592,591 (2006)
Brisbane 1,763,131 (2006)
Perth 1,445,078 (2006)
Adelaide 1,105,839 (2006)
Ethnic groups
White 91 percent
Asian 7 percent
Aboriginal and other 2 percent
Languages
English (official), indigenous languages
Religious affiliations
Roman Catholic 29 percent
Anglican 22 percent
Protestants 14 percent
Other Christian 15 percent
nonreligious 14 percent
Other 6 percent
Health and Education
Life expectancy
Total 81.6 years (2009 estimate)
Female 84.1 years (2009 estimate)
Male 79.2 years (2009 estimate)
Infant mortality rate 5 deaths per 1,000 live births (2009 estimate)
Literacy rate
Total 100 percent (1995)
Female Not available
Male Not available
Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) $821 billion (2007)
GDP per capita (U.S.$) $39,066.10 (2007)
GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 2.4 percent (2007)
Industry 29 percent (2007)
Services 68.6 percent (2007)
Monetary unit
1 Australian dollar ($A), consisting of 100 cents
Agriculture
Wheat and other grains, wool, beef, vegetables, fruits, cotton, sugarcane
Mining
Coal, bauxite, alumina, iron ore, gold, silver, diamonds, petroleum, natural gas, zinc, copper, manganese, titanium, nickel, tin, lead, uranium, zircon, tungsten
Manufacturing
Metals and metal products, food products, transportation equipment, machinery, chemicals and chemical products, textiles and clothing, wood and paper products, printed materials
Major exports
Metal ores, coal, gold, nonferrous metals, meat and meat products, textile fibers, petroleum and petroleum products, cereals
Major imports
Road vehicles and other transportation equipment, machinery, office equipment, petroleum and petroleum products, textiles
Major trade partners for exports
Japan, United States, South Korea, China, New Zealand
Major trade partners for imports
United States, Japan, China, Germany, United Kingdom
Sources
Basic Facts and People sections
Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org).
Health and Education section
Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).
Economy section
Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the statistical bureaus of individual countries, latest Europa World Yearbook, and various United Nations and International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications.
Note
Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding.
© 2009 Microsoft