AUSTRALIA

BY:
SALMA MANZARAI
ZONASH HABIB

GEOGRAPHICAL OVERVIEW :
Officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country

comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the

island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is
the world's sixth-largest country by total area.
Neighboring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and
Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands and
Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the southeast.
Australia has many natural resources. These resources

include mineral resources, such as copper

, gold and diamonds, energy

resources, such as coal, oil, and
uranium, and land resources that
are used for farming and logging.
These resources are economically
important to Australia.

 Australia is among the world's largest producers of

minerals. The most important mineral resources in

Australia are bauxite, gold and iron ore. Other mineral
deposits in Australia include copper, lead, zinc, diamonds
and mineral sands.
Natural gas is also abundant in Australia. Some of this

natural gas is exported from where it is collected. Natural

gas collected in Western Australia, for example, is
exported directly to Japan in liquid form.

DEMOGRAPHICS :
POPULATION
The population of Australia is
estimated to be 23,604,000 as
of 20 September 2014. Australia is
the 52nd most populous country
in the world. Its population is
concentrated mainly in urban
areas and is expected to exceed 28
million by 2030.
Overall, Australia's population
density is 2.9 people per square
kilometer, making it one of the
least densely populated country in
the world.

 RELIGION
Minority religions practiced in Australia include

Buddhism (2.5% of the population), Islam (2.2%),

Hinduism (1.3%) and Judaism (0.5%).

Australia is a religiously diverse country and it

has no official religion. Christianity is the

predominant faith of Australia

English is the national language of Australia and

is spoken by the vast majority of the population.

Age structure:

0-14 years: 18% (male 2,075,316/female 1,969,645)

15-24 years: 13.3% (male 1,534,947/female 1,457,250)
25-54 years: 41.8% (male 4,783,473/female 4,626,603)
55-64 years: 11.8% (male 1,321,246/female 1,341,329)
65 years and over: 15.1% (male 1,569,197/female
1,828,611) (2014 est.)
Gross Domestic Product per capita in Australia was last recorded at

37492.85 US dollars in 2013.

Unemployment Rate in Australia increased 6.4 percent in July of

2014 from 6.00 percent in June of 2014.

 There are a number of

professional sport
leagues in Australia,
including the
Australian Football
League, National
Rugby League, Super
Rugby, the A-League
and W-League etc
Australians have
played cricket for
more than 200 years
and it's one of most
popular sports.
Other sports are
tennis, golf, car racing
and marathon.

 Australia has hosted

the Summer Olympic

games twice. In 1956
in Melbourne and in
2000 in Sydney and
finished 3rd and 4th in
the respective medal
counts.

Culture & Life In

Australia

12

CULTURAL ATTRACTIONS:
The culture of Australia is

essentially a Western culture

influenced by the unique
geography of the Australian
continent.

The oldest surviving cultural

traditions in Australia and

some of the oldest surviving
cultural traditions on earth
are those of Australia's
Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples.

 Their ancestors have inhabited Australia for

between 40,000 and 60,000 years, living a huntergatherer lifestyle.

The rest of Australias people are migrants or

descendants of migrants who have arrived in

Australia from about 200 countries since Great
Britain established the first European settlement at
Sydney Cove in 1788.

AUSTRALIAN FESTIVALS:
Festivals have become ubiquitous in Australia, with

hundreds held each year. Some are as small as the

community-based Apollo Bay Music Festival and
Thirroul Seaside and Arts Festival, while others,
such as the Falls Festival and Woodford Folk
Festival, are able to bring international performers
to Australian audiences and showcase Australian
works.
Each capital city has a festival. Major festivals are:

 Sydney Festival

(January)
Perth
International Arts
Festival
(February
March)
Ten Days on the
Island, Tasmania
(March)
Brisbane Festival
(September)
Chinese New Year
(February)

F.

Government structure of Australia

17

GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE :

The Government of the Commonwealth of

Australia, also referred to as Commonwealth

Government or the Federal Government is the
federal democratic administrative authority of
Australia.
The Australian federal system is a unique mixture
of the Westminster and U.S systems of
federal representative democracy.

 Government is undertaken by three inter-

connected arms of government:

Legislature: The Commonwealth Parliament

Executive: The Sovereign of Australia, whose
executive power is exercisable by the GovernorGeneral, the Prime Minister, Ministers and their
Departments
Judiciary: The High Court of Australia and
subsidiary Federal courts.

Govt. structure

LOCAL GOVERNMMENT:
Every state government recognizes local government

in their respective constitutions.[

There is only one level of local government in all
states, The local governing body is generally referred
to as a council, and the territories governed are
collectively referred to as "local government areas.

List of local governments :

Local government areas of New South Wales

Local government in Victoria

Local government in Queensland
Local government areas of Western Australia

Local government areas of South Australia

Local government areas of Tasmania
Local government areas of the Northern Territory

 Local government powers are determined by state

governments.
All local governments are approximately equal in
their theoretical powers.
Unlike local governments in many other countries,
services such as police, fire protection and schools
are provided by state or territory government rather
than by local councils.

Literacy rate
LITERACY RATE
96%
MALE LITERACY
96%
FEMALE LITERACY 96%

CRITERIA
AGE 15 AND OVER CAN READ
AND WRITE BRIEF TEXTS ON
FAMILIAR TOPICS (2012-3)

Health
THE GOVERNMENT INTRODUCED THE

HEALTH TRANSFORMATION PROGRAM

(HTP) IN TO REFORM THE WAY HEALTH
CARE WAS FINANCED, DELIVERED,
ORGANIZED, AND MANAGED.
MDG ON THIS INDICATOR ALREADY

ACHIEVED.

BY 2011, 98 PERCENT OF THE

POPULATION WAS COVERED BY SOME

FORM OF HEALTH INSURANCE, AND
THE ABILITY OF HOUSEHOLDS TO MEET
THE COSTS OF HEALTH CARE HAS
RISEN DRAMATICALLY.

Economy of Australia
26

Currency
AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR

Exchange rate
1 AUSTRALIAN
DOLLAR EQUALS
88.09 PAKISTANI RUPEE
1 AUSTRALIAN
DOLLAR EQUALS
0.8 US DOLLAR

AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY :
The economy of Australia is one of the largest

economies in the world with a GDP of US$1.5

trillion as of 2013.
In 2012, it was the 12th largest national economy
by nominal GDP and the 17th-largest measured by
PPP-adjusted GDP, about 1.7% of the world
economy.
Australia is the 19th-largest importer and 19thlargest exporter.

Australian economy ranked among

world's safest
according to an analysis of 131 countries on Dun &
Bradstreet's Global Risk

Indicator (GRI).

according to an analysis of 131 countries on Dun &

Bradstreet's Global Risk Indicator (GRI).

 The Australian economy is dominated by its service

sector, comprising 68% of GDP.

The total mining sector represents 19% of GDP.

The Australian Securities Exchange in Sydney is

the largest stock exchange in Australia and in the

South Pacific and ranks 9th in the world in terms of
market capitalization .

Service industry
contributes 68% to its total GDP

Mining industry
total mining sector is 19% of GDP.

Unemployment rate;
6.2% in october 2014

Unemployment in comparison to other countries

(2013)

Aurtralian stock exchange

ranks 9th among world's all countries' stock
exchanges

 Australia is home to
some of the largest
companies in the world:
BHP Billiton
National Australia Bank,
Commonwealth Bank
Rio Tinto Group
ANZ,
Telstra,
Macquarie Woolworths
and AMP which also are
the 10 largest companies
in Australia.

Tourism

Tourism

Industry in
Australia
42

AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY :
Main industries of

Australia are:
mining
transportation
equipments
food processing
Chemicals
steel.

 IMPORTS
Australian imports consists of
Machinery
Transport equipment
Computers
Office machines
Telecommunication equipment and parts;
Crude oil and
Petroleum products .

Exports
Australia exports
coal,
iron ore
gold
meat
wool
alumina
wheat
machinery
transport equipment

 IMPORT

PARTNERS
Main import

partners are:
China
18.2%
United States 11.6%
Japan
7.8%
Singapore
5.9%
Germany
4.6%
Thailand
4.2%
South Korea 4.0%

Infrastructure

CONCLUSION :
The Australian economy has experienced

continuous growth and features low

unemployment, contained inflation, very low
public debt, and a strong and stable financial
system.
By 2012, Australia had experienced more than 20
years of continued economic growth, averaging
3.5% a year.
Demand for resources and energy from Asia and
especially China has grown rapidly, creating a
channel for resources investments and growth in
commodity exports.

 Australia was comparatively unaffected by the

global financial crisis as the banking system has

remained strong and inflation is under control.
Australia is an open market with minimal

restrictions on imports of goods and services.

Australia plays an active role in the World Trade

Organization, APEC, the G20, and other trade

forums.

 Australia has bilateral free trade agreements

(FTAs) with Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand,

Singapore, Thailand, and the US,
Has a regional FTA with ASEAN and New Zealand,
Is negotiating agreements with China, India,
Indonesia, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, as
well as with its Pacific neighbors and the Gulf
Cooperation Council countries, and is also working
on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement with
Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico,
New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US, and
Vietnam.

continued
L E A D E R I N T H E A R E A O F I N F O R M A T I O N

AND COMMUNICATIONS

W O R L D S H I G H E S T I N T E R N E T

CONNECTIVITY OR ACCESS WITH ONE OF

THE FASTEST NETWORKS AS WELL.
A U S T R A L I A H A S G O O D R E L A T I O N S W I T H

ALL ITS NEIGHBORS AND HAS INCREASED

ITS TIES WITH ALL REGIONS OF THE
WORLD.
H A S A L R E A D Y M E T T H E M I L L E N N I U M

DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGS) FOR

MATERNAL AND INFANT MORTALITY