Australia ( Ã, ( listen ) ), officially Commonwealth of Australia , is a sovereign state composed of continental mainland Australia, the island of Tasmania and many small islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the sixth largest country in the world by total area. Neighboring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor in the north; Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the northeast; and New Zealand in the southeast. The capital of Australia is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney.
For about 60,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by native Australians, who in the documented period had spoken language that could be classified into about 250 groups. After the discovery of the European continent by the Dutch explorers in 1606, the eastern half of Australia was claimed by the British in 1770 and originally settled by transport to the New South Wales colony from 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily over the next few decades, and in the 1850s most of the continents have been explored and another five self-ruled crown royalty was established. On January 1, 1901, six colonies formed a federation, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal liberal political system that serves as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy composed of six states and territories.
Australia has the 13th largest economy and the 10th highest per capita income (IMF). With the second highest human development index globally, the country has a high ranking in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, and civil liberties and political rights. Australia is a member of the ASEAN Plus mechanism, the United Nations, the G20, the Commonwealth of Nations, the ANZUS, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organization, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and the Pacific Islands Forum. The population of 25 million is highly urbanized and highly concentrated on the east coast. Australia has the 9th largest immigrant population in the world, with immigrants accounting for 26% of the population.
Video Australia
Name
Name Australia (pronounced [? 'st? ÃÆ'Â|? lj?, - li?] in Australian English) is derived from Latin Terra Australis ("south land"), a name used for a hypothetical continent in the Southern Hemisphere since ancient times. When the Europeans first visited and charted Australia in the 17th century, the name
Until the early nineteenth century, Australia was better known as "New Holland", a name first imposed by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1644 (such as Nieuw-Holland ) and later persecuted. Terra Australis still sees the occasional use, as in the scientific texts. The name Australia was popularized by the explorer Matthew Flinders, who said it was "more suitable for the ears, and assimilated to the names of other large parts of the earth". The first time that Australia appeared to have been used officially was in April 1817, when Governor Lachlan Macquarie recognized the receipt of Flinders' chart from Australia from Lord Bathurst. In December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office to be formally adopted. In 1824, Admiralty agreed that the continent should be officially known by that name. The first official use of this new name was published in 1830 at the The Australian Directory by the Hydrographic Office.
Colloquial names for Australia include "Oz" and "Land Down Under" (usually shortened to "Down Under"). Other nicknames include "Big South Land", "Lucky Country", "State of Sunburnt", and "Chocolate Wide Land". The latter is derived from Dorothea Mackellar's poem in 1908 "My Country".
Maps Australia
History
Pre-colonial history
Human settlements in the Australian continent are estimated to have started around 65,000 to 70,000 years ago, with the migration of people through land bridges and short sea crossings from what is now Southeast Asia. This first inhabitant is the ancestor of the modern Indigenous Australians. At the time of European settlement at the end of the 18th century, most of the Indigenous Australians were hunter-gatherers with complex economies and societies. Indigenous Australians have an oral culture with spiritual values ​​based on homage to the land and belief in Dreamtime. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, get their livelihood from seasonal horticulture and their coral and marine resources. The northern coast and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Southeast Asia.
European Arrival
The first recorded European sightings in mainland Australia, and the first European landings recorded on the Australian continent (1606), were associated with the Netherlands. The first ship and crew to map the coast of Australia and meet the Aboriginal people were Duyfken photographed by Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon. He saw the coast of the Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, and landed on February 26 on the Pennefather River near the modern city of Weipa in Cape York. The Dutch charted all the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent "New Holland" in the 17th century, but did not attempt to solve it. William Dampier, an English explorer and officer, landed on the northwest coast of New Holland in 1688 and returned in 1699 on his way back. In 1770, James Cook sailed together and charted the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain.
With the loss of American colonies in 1783, the British Government sent a fleet of ships, the "First Fleet", under Captain Arthur Phillip's command, to establish a new prison colony in New South Wales. A camp was established and the flag was raised in Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, on January 26, 1788, the date which became Australia's national day, Australia Day, although the Royal Crowns Colony in New South Wales was not formally enacted until 7 February 1788. The first settlement led to the foundations of Sydney, and the exploration and completion of other territories.
A British settlement was established in Van Dien Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and became a separate colony in 1825. The British Empire officially claimed the western part of Western Australia (Swan River Colony) in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from the New South Wales: South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859. The Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was cut from South Australia. South Australia was established as a "free province" - it has never been a penal colony. Victoria and Western Australia were also established "free", but later received inmates who were transported. Campaigns by New South Wales settlers led to the end of transport of inmates to the colony; the last inmate ship arrived in 1848.
The indigenous population, estimated at between 750,000 and 1,000,000 in 1788, declined for 150 years after settlement, mainly due to infectious diseases. Thousands more died as a result of the border conflict with the settlers. The government's policy of "assimilation" beginning with the 1869 Aboriginal Protection Act resulted in the dismissal of many Aboriginal children from their families and communities - often referred to as Stolen Generations - a practice that may have also contributed to the decline indigenous populations. As a result of the 1967 referendum, the power of the Federal government to enact special laws in respect of certain races was extended to allow for the enactment of laws with respect to Aborigines. Traditional land tenure ("original title") was not recognized in law until 1992, when the High Court of Australia was convened at Mabo v Queensland (No 2) that the legal doctrine that Australia had terra nullius ("anyone's land") does not apply to Australia at the time of the British settlement.
Colonial expansion
The golden invasion began in Australia in the early 1850s and the Eureka Uprising against the mining license fee in 1854 was an early expression of civil disobedience. Between 1855 and 1890, six colonies individually gained a responsible government, managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire. The Colonial Office in London maintains control over several things, especially international affairs, defense, and international shipping.
Nationhood
On 1 January 1901, the colony federation was achieved after a decade of planning, consultation, and voting. This establishes the Commonwealth of Australia as the territory of the British Empire. The Federal Capital Territory (later renamed the Australian Capital Territory) was formed in 1911 as a location for Canberra's future federal capital. Melbourne was the seat of the interim administration from 1901 to 1927 while Canberra was under construction. The Northern Territory was transferred from the control of the South Australian government to the federal parliament in 1911. In 1914, Australia joined the British in World War I battles, with the support of both the Commonwealth Liberal Party going out and the upcoming Australian Labor Party. Australians take part in many of the great battles that take place on the Western Front. Of the approximately 416,000 who served, about 60,000 were killed and another 152,000 were wounded. Many Australians consider the defeat of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) in Gallipoli as the birth of the nation - the first major military action. The Kokoda Track campaign was regarded by many as an event that defined the nation during World War II.
The United Kingdom Statute of Westminster 1931 formally ended most of the constitutional relationship between Australia and Britain. Australia adopted it in 1942, but returned to 1939 to confirm the legitimacy of legislation passed by the Australian Parliament during World War II. The shock of England's defeat in Asia in 1942 and the threat of Japanese invasion caused Australia to turn to the United States as a new ally and patron. Since 1951, Australia has become an official US military ally, under the ANZUS agreement. After World War II Australia encouraged immigration from mainland Europe. Since the 1970s and after the abolition of the White Australia policy, immigration from Asia and elsewhere has also been promoted. As a result, Australia's demography, culture, and self-image changed. The passage of the 1986 Australian Act puts an end to all possibilities for the vestigial role of the British government in government in Australia and removes the rarely used option for a judicial appeal to the Privy Council in London. In the 1999 referendum, 55% of voters and the majority in each country rejected the proposal to become a republic with a president appointed by two-thirds of the vote in both Houses of Parliament Australia. Since the Whitlam Government election in 1972, there has been an increased focus on foreign policy on relations with other Pacific Rim countries, while maintaining close ties with traditional allies and trading partners of Australia.
Geography
General characteristics
Australia's land area of ​​7,617,930 square kilometers (2,941,300 square meters) is on the Indo-Australian Plate. Surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans, it is separated from Asia by Arafura and the Timor Sea, with the Coral Sea located off the coast of Queensland, and the Tasman Sea lies between Australia and New Zealand. The world's smallest continent and sixth largest country by total region, Australia - because of its size and alienation - is often dubbed the "continent island", and is sometimes considered the largest island in the world. Australia has 34,218 kilometers (21,262Ã, mi) of coastline (excluding all offshore islands), and claims an Exclusive Economic Zone covering an area of ​​8,148,250 square kilometers (3,146,060 sqÃ, mi). This exclusive economic zone does not include Australia's Antarctic Territory. In addition to Macquarie Island, Australia lies between latitude 9 ° and 44 ° S, and longitude lines 112 ° and 154 ° east.
The Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef in the world, lies not far from the northeast coast and extends over 2,000 kilometers (1,240 mi). Mount Augustus, claimed to be the largest monolith in the world, is located in Western Australia. At 2,228 meters (7,310 ft), Mount Kosciuszko on the Great Boundary Range is the highest mountain in mainland Australia. Even higher is the Mawson Peak (at 2,745 meters or 9,00 feet), in remote areas of Heard Island, and, in the Australian Antarctic Territory, Mount McClintock and Mount Menzies, at 3,492 meters (11,457 feet) and 3,355 meters (11,007 feet). Ã, ft) respectively.
The size of Australia gives it a variety of landscapes, with tropical rain forests to the northeast, mountains to the southeast, southwest and east, and the dry desert in the middle. It is the most flat continent, with the oldest and most fertile land; desert or semi-arid soil known as the interior is the largest part of the land. Australia is the driest inhabited continent; the average annual rainfall above the continent is less than 500 mm. Population density, 2.8 people per square kilometer, is among the lowest in the world, although most of the population lives along the temperate southeastern coastline.
East Australia is characterized by the Great Divide Range, which stretches parallel to the beaches of Queensland, New South Wales and most of Victoria. The name is not entirely accurate, since its parts consist of low hills, and the plateau is usually no more than 1,600 meters (5,249 feet) in height. The coastal highlands and Brigal meadows belt are located between the beach and the mountains, while the inland limits range is a vast area of ​​grassland. These include the western plains of New South Wales, and the Einasleigh Plateau, Barkly Tableland, and Mulga Lands in the interior of Queensland. The northernmost point of the east coast is the tropical woodland Cape York.
Top End landscape and Gulf State - with their tropical climate - including forests, forests, wetlands, grasslands, rain forests and deserts. In the northwest corner of the continent is the sandstone cliffs and canyons of The Kimberley, and underneath Pilbara. To the south of this and inland, there are more grassland areas: the Ord Victoria Plains and the grasslands of Mulga Western Australia. In the heart of the country is the central highlands of Australia. The prominent features of the center and south include Uluru (also known as Ayers Rock), the famous sandstone monolith, and Simpson land, Tirari and Sturt Stony, Gibson, Great Sandy, Tanami, and Great Victoria deserts, with the famous Nullarbor Plain on the beach South.
Climate
Australia's climate is significantly influenced by ocean currents, including the Indian Ocean Dipole and El Nià ± a South Oscillation, which is correlated with periodic droughts, and the seasonal, seasonal low-pressure system that produces cyclones in northern Australia. These factors cause rainfall to vary from year to year. Most of the northern part of the country has tropical rainfall (rainy season) which is dominated by summer (monsoon). The southwest corner of the country has a Mediterranean climate. The southeastern region of the ocean (Tasmania and the Victoria coast) to the subtropical moist (upper part of New South Wales). The interior is dry to semi-dry.
According to the Australian Meteorological Bureau's 2011 Climate Report, Australia has lower than average temperatures in 2011 as a consequence of the La Nià ± a weather pattern; However, "the 10-year average of the country continues to show an upward trend in temperature, with 2002-2011 likely to rank above two of the hottest 10-year periods in record for Australia, at 0.52 Ã,  ° C (0.94Ã,  ° F) above the long-term average ". Furthermore, 2014 is the third hottest year in Australia since national temperature observations began in 1910. Water restrictions are frequent in many areas and cities in Australia in response to chronic shortages due to increased urban populations and localized drought. On many continents, massive floods regularly follow long periods of drought, watering out the inland river systems, overflowing dams and flooding large terrestrial floodplains, as occurred throughout East Australia in 2010, 2011 and 2012 after the 2000- an.
Australia's per capita carbon dioxide emissions are among the highest in the world, lower than just a few other industrialized countries. The carbon tax was introduced in 2012 and helped reduce Australia's emissions but was removed in 2014 under the Liberal Government. As carbon taxes are lifted, emissions continue to rise.
Biodiversity
Although most of Australia is semi-arid or desert, it includes a diverse habitat from alpine mountains to tropical rainforest, and is recognized as a megadiverse country. Mushrooms represent the diversity; about 250,000 species - of which only 5% have been described - occur in Australia. Due to the exceptional continental age, highly variable weather patterns, and long-term geographic isolation, many unique Australian biota. About 85% of flowering plants, 84% of mammals, more than 45% of birds, and 89% of fish in coastal areas are endemic. Australia has the largest number of reptiles in any country, with 755 species. In addition to Antarctica, Australia is the only continent developing without cat species. Wildcat may have been introduced in the 17th century by the Dutch shipwrecks, and later in the 18th century by European settlers. They are now considered a major factor in the decline and extinction of many vulnerable and endangered native species.
Australia's forests are composed mostly of green species, especially eucalyptus trees in less dry areas; pial replaced it as the dominant species in the dry and desert regions. Among the famous Australian animals are monotremata (platypus and echidna); a number of marsupials, including kangaroos, koalas, and wombats, and birds like emu and kookaburra. Australia is home to many dangerous animals including some of the most venomous snakes in the world. Dingo was introduced by Australians who traded with the Indigenous Australians around 3000 BC. Many animal and plant species became extinct soon after the first human settlement, including the Australian megafauna; others have disappeared since the European settlement, among them the Tasmanian tiger.
Many Australian ecoregions, and species in the region, are threatened by human activity and introduce animal species, chromystes, fungi, and plants. All of these factors have caused Australia to have the highest extinction rate of mammals in any country in the world. The federal Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is the legal framework for the protection of threatened species. Many protected areas have been created under the National Strategy for the Conservation of Biological Diversity Australia to protect and preserve unique ecosystems; 65 wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention, and 16 natural World Heritage Sites have been established. Australia is ranked third of 178 countries in the world on the 2014 Environmental Performance Index.
Government and politics
Australia is a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy with Elizabeth II at its peak as Queen of Australia, a different role from her position as king of other Commonwealth kingdoms. The Queen is represented in Australia by the Governor-General at the federal level and by the Governor at the state level, who by convention acts on the advice of his ministers. Thus, in practice the Governor-General has neither actual decision-making nor de facto role of the government, and only acts as a legal figure for the actions of the Prime Minister and Federal Executive Council. The Governor-General does have an extraordinary reserve power that can be done beyond the Prime Minister's request in rare and limited circumstances, most notably the dismissal of the Whitlam Government in the 1975 constitutional crisis.
The federal government is separated into three branches:
- Legislature: Bicameral parliament, defined in section 1 of the constitution as composed of the Queen (represented by the Governor-General), the Senate, and the House of Representatives;
- Executives: Federal Executive Council, which in practice gives legal influence to cabinet decisions, consisting of prime ministers and ministers of state advising the Governor-General;
- The Judiciary: The High Court of Australia and other federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Federal Executive Board.
In the Senate (upper house), there are 76 senators: twelve each from the state and two from the mainland (Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory). The House of Representatives (lower house) has 150 members elected from a single member election division, commonly known as a "voter" or "chair", allocated to the country on a population basis, with each native state guaranteed a minimum of five seats. Selection for both rooms is usually held every three years simultaneously; Senators have an overlapping six-year tenure except those from territories, whose requirements are not fixed but bound to the electoral cycle for the lower house; so only 40 out of 76 places in the Senate are put into each election unless the cycle is interrupted by double dissolution.
The Australian electoral system used a preferential vote for all lower house elections with the exception of Tasmania and the ACT which, together with the Senate and most state assemblies, combined it with proportional representation in a system known as a single transferable ballot. Voting is mandatory for all citizens registered 18 years and above in any jurisdiction, such as registration (with the exception of South Australia). The Party with the majority support in the House of Representatives establishes the government and its leader to become Prime Minister. In cases where no party has a majority support, the Governor-General has the constitutional power to appoint the Prime Minister and, if necessary, ignore the one who has lost the Parliament's confidence.
There are two main political groups that usually form the government, federal and in the states: the Australian Labor Party and the Coalition which is the formal group of the Liberal Party and its small partner, the National Party. In Australia's political culture, the Coalition is considered the center-right and the Labor Party is considered the center-left. Independent members and several small parties have reached representation in the Australian parliament, mostly in the upper house.
In September 2015, Malcolm Turnbull successfully challenged Tony Abbott for the leadership of the Coalition, and was sworn in as Australia's 29th Prime Minister. The most recent federal election was held on July 2, 2016 and resulted in the Coalition forming a majority government.
State and territory
Australia has six states - New South Wales (NSW), Queensland (QLD), South Australia (SA), Tasmania (TAS), Victoria (VIC) and Western Australia (WA) - and two mainland regions - Australia Capital Territory ACT) and the Northern Territory (NT). In many ways these two regions function as states, except that the Commonwealth Parliament has the power to modify or revoke laws passed by the territorial assembly.
Under the constitution, States basically have plenary legislative powers to enact laws on any matter, whereas the Commonwealth Parliament can only legitimize in the subject areas mentioned under section 51. For example, the state parliament has the power to make laws regarding education. , criminal law and state police, health, transport and local government, but the Commonwealth Parliament does not have any special powers to legislate in these areas. However, the Commonwealth law prevails over State laws insofar as such inconsistencies. In addition, the Commonwealth has the power to levy an income tax which, coupled with the power to grant to the State, has given it financial means to incentivize States to undertake a special legislative agenda within territories where the Commonwealth has no legislative powers.
Each major state and territory has its own parliament - unicameral in the Northern Territory, ACT and Queensland, and bicameral in other states. States are sovereign entities, although subject to certain powers of the Commonwealth as defined by the Constitution. The lower houses are known as the Legislative Assembly (House of Assembly in South Australia and Tasmania); the upper chamber is known as the Legislative Council. Head of government in every state is Prime Minister and in each region, Chief Minister. The Queen is represented in every state by the Governor; and in the Northern Territory, Administrator. In the Commonwealth, the representative of the Queen is the Governor-General.
The Commonwealth Parliament also directly administers the following external areas: Ashmore and Cartier Islands; Australian Antarctic Region; Christmas Island; Cocos (Keeling) Islands; Coral Sea Islands; Heard Island and McDonald Islands; and Jervis Bay Territory, naval bases and seaports for the national capital on land formerly part of New South Wales. The Norfolk Island external territory previously exercised sufficient autonomy under the Norfolk Island Act 1979 through its own legislative assembly and the Administrator to represent the Queen. By 2015, the Commonwealth Parliament abolished self-government, integrating Norfolk Island into Australia's tax and welfare system and replacing its legislative council with the council. Macquarie Island is managed by Tasmania, and Lord Howe Island by New South Wales.
Foreign relations
Over the last few decades, Australia's foreign relations have been driven by close ties with the United States through the ANZUS pact, and by the desire to develop relations with Asia and the Pacific, particularly through ASEAN and the Pacific Islands Forum. In 2005 Australia gained the premier seat at the East Asia Summit after the Treaty and Cooperation Agreement in Southeast Asia, and in 2011 attended the Sixth East Asia Summit in Indonesia. Australia is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, where the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting provides the main forum for cooperation. Australia has been pursuing the cause of international trade liberalization. It leads the formation of the Cairns Group and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Australia is a member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Trade Organization, and has pursued several major bilateral free trade agreements, most recently the Australia-Australia Free Trade Agreement and Nearer Economic Relations with New Zealand, with other free trade agreements negotiated with China - the Australia-China Free Trade Agreement - and Japan, South Korea in 2011, the Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement, and by November 2015 has placed the Trans-Pacific Partnership before parliament for ratification.
Together with New Zealand, Britain, Malaysia and Singapore, Australia is the party of Five Power Defense Arrangements, a regional defense agreement. As a founding member of the United Nations, Australia is strongly committed to multilateralism and maintains an international aid program in which about 60 countries receive assistance. The 2005-06 budget provides A $ 2.5 billion for development assistance. Australia is ranked fifteen overall in the Center for Developing the 2012 Index for Global Development.
Military
The Australian Armed Forces - Australian Defense Force (ADF) - consists of the Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and Australian Air Force (RAAF), with a total of 81,214 personnel (including 57,982 regulars and 23,232 reserves) as November 2015. titular The Supreme Commander is in the hands of the Governor-General, who appoints a Chief of the Defense Force from one of the military services on the advice of the government. The day-to-day operations of the forces are under the command of the Chief, while the wider administration and the formulation of defense policies are undertaken by the Minister and the Department of Defense.
In the 2016-17 budget, defense spending consists of 2% of GDP, representing the 12th largest defense budget in the world. Australia has been involved in UN and regional peacekeeping, disaster relief and armed conflict, including the 2003 invasion of Iraq; currently has deployed approximately 2,241 personnel in various capacities to 12 international operations in areas including Iraq and Afghanistan.
Economy
Australia is a rich country; this generates revenue from various sources including exports related to mining, telecommunications, banking and manufacturing. It has a market economy, relatively high per capita GDP, and relatively low poverty rates. In terms of average wealth, Australia ranks second in the world after Switzerland in 2013, although the nation's poverty rate rose from 10.2% to 11.8%, from 2000/01 to 2013. This was identified by Credit Suisse Research Institute as the world's highest median wealth and the second highest average wealth per adult by 2013.
The Australian dollar is the currency of the nation, including Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as independent Pacific Island nations Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu. With the merger of the Australian Stock Exchange in 2006 and the Sydney Futures Exchange, the Australian Stock Exchange became the ninth largest in the world.
Ranked fifth in the Economic Freedom Index (2017), Australia is the twelfth largest economy in the world and has the sixth (nominal) GDP per capita of US $ 56,291. The country ranks second in the United Nations' Human Development Index by 2016. All major Australian cities work well in a global comparative feasibility survey; Melbourne topped the fourth consecutive year on 2014's The Economist list of the world's most livable cities, followed by Adelaide, Sydney and Perth in fifth, seventh, and ninth consecutive places -raw.. Total government debt in Australia is about A $ 190 billion - 20% of GDP in 2010. Australia has one of the highest house prices and some of the highest rates of household debt in the world.
Emphasis on commodity exports rather than manufactured goods has supported a significant increase in Australian trade since the beginning of the 21st century, as commodity prices are rising. Australia has a balance of payments of more than 7% of negative GDP, and has had a large current account deficit for more than 50 years. Australia has grown at an average annual rate of 3.6% for more than 15 years, compared to the OECD's annual average of 2.5%.
Australia is the only developed economy that is not experiencing a recession because of the global financial crisis in 2008-2009. However, the economies of six of Australia's major trading partners have experienced a recession, which in turn has affected Australia, significantly hampering economic growth in recent years. From 2012 to early 2013, Australia's national economy is growing, but some non-mining and non-mining Australian economies are in recession.
The Hawke government floated the Australian dollar in 1983 and partly regulated the financial system. The Howard Government is followed by a partial deregulation of the labor market and further privatization of state-owned businesses, particularly in the telecommunications industry. The indirect tax system substantially changed in July 2000 with the introduction of 10% GST of Goods and Services Tax (GST). In the Australian tax system, personal and corporate income taxes are the main source of government revenue.
As of May 2012, there were 11,537,900 people employed (either full or part-time), with a 5.1% unemployment rate. Youth unemployment (15-24) reached 11.2%. Data released in mid-November 2013 shows that the number of welfare recipients has increased by 55%. In 2007 228,621 Newstart unemployed unemployment beneficiaries were registered, the total increased to 646,414 in March 2013. According to the Graduate Graduate Survey, full-time employment for newly qualified professionals from various jobs has declined since 2011 but increased for graduates three years after graduation.
Since 2008, inflation is usually 2-3% and the base rate is 5-6%. The economic services sector, including tourism, education, and financial services, accounts for about 70% of GDP. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, especially wheat and wool, minerals such as iron ore and gold, and energy in the form of liquefied natural gas and coal. Although agriculture and natural resources account for only 3% and 5% of GDP, they contribute substantially to export performance. Australia's largest export markets are Japan, China, US, South Korea, and New Zealand. Australia is the fourth largest wine exporter in the world, and the wine industry contributes A $ 5.5 billion per year to the country's economy.
Demographics
Until World War II, most settlers and immigrants came from the British Isles, and the majority of Australians had British or Irish descent. These Australians formed an ethnic group known as Anglo-Celtic Australia. In the Australian census of 2016, the most commonly nominated ancestors were English (36.1%), Australia (33.5%), Ireland (11.0%), Scotland (9.3%), China (5.6 %), Italy (4.6%), Germany (4.5%), India (2.8%), Greece (1.8%), and the Netherlands (1.6%).
Australia's population has quadrupled since the end of World War I, largely increasing this from immigration. After World War II and until 2000, nearly 5.9 million new immigrants arrived and settled in the country. Most immigrants are skilled, but immigration quotas fall into categories for family members and refugees. By 2050, Australia's current population is projected to reach about 42 million. However, its population density, 2.8 people per square kilometer, remains among the lowest in the world.
In 2016, more than a quarter (26%) of Australia's population was born overseas; The five largest immigrant groups are those born in the UK (3.9%), New Zealand (2.2%), Mainland China (2.2%), India (1.9%), and Philippines (1%). After the abolition of the White Australia policy in 1973, various government initiatives have been established to encourage and promote racial harmony under a multiculturalism policy. In 2015-16, there are 189,770 permanent immigrants received in Australia, mainly from Asia.
Indigenous people - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders - counted at 649,171 (2.8% of the total population) by 2016. This increase was in part due to the many people with previous Indigenous relics who had been ignored by the census because of less than the number and cases in which the status Their natives are not listed in the form. Indigenous Australians experience higher than average rates of imprisonment and unemployment, lower education, and life expectancy for men and women respectively, 11 and 17 years lower than non-indigenous Australians. Some remote indigenous communities have been described as having a "failed state" state.
In general with many other developed countries, Australia is experiencing a demographic shift toward an older population, with more retirees and fewer working-age people. In 2004, the average age of the civilian population was 38.8 years. A large number of Australians (759,849 for the 2002-03 period, 1 million or 5% of the total population in 2005) live outside their home country.
Language
Although Australia has no official language, English has always been the de facto national language . Australian English is a major variation of the language with distinctive accents and lexicon, and is slightly different from other English in grammar and spelling. The Australian General serves as a standard dialect.
According to the 2016 census, English is the only language spoken at home to almost 72.7% of the population. The most common home-use languages ​​are Mandarin (2.5%), Arab (1.4%), Cantonese (1.2%), Vietnamese (1.2%) and Italian (1.2%). A large number of first and second generation migrants are bilingual.
More than 250 Australian Indigenous languages ​​are considered to exist at the time of the first European contact, of which less than 20 are still used daily by all age groups. About 110 others are spoken exclusively by older people. At the 2006 census, 52,000 Indigenous Australians, representing 12% of Indigenous population, reported that they spoke Indigenous languages ​​at home. Australia has a sign language known as Auslan, which is the main language of about 5,500 deaf people.
Religion
Australia has no state religion; Article 116 of the Australian Constitution prohibits the federal government from enacting laws to establish any religion, impose religious observance, or prohibit any religious freedom. In the 2016 census, 52.1% of Australians were counted as Christians, including 22.6% as Roman Catholics and 13.3% as Anglican; 30.1% of the population reported "no religion"; 7.3% identify with non-Christian religions, the largest being Islam (2.6%), followed by Buddhism (2.5%), Hinduism (1.9%) and Judaism (0.4%). The remaining 9.6% of the population did not provide adequate answers. Those who reported no religion increased markedly from 19% in 2006 to 30% by 2016. The biggest change was between 2011 (22%) and 2016 (30.1%), when 2.2 million people reported no religion.
Prior to European settlement, animist beliefs of indigenous Australians have been practiced for thousands of years. Australian Spirituality Australian Aborigines are known as Dreamtime and it places a heavy emphasis on the property of the land. The collection of stories it contains forms Aboriginal laws and customs. Aboriginal art, stories and dance continue to capitalize on this spiritual tradition. The spirituality and customs of the Torres Islands Strait, which inhabits the islands between Australia and New Guinea, reflects their Melanesian origins and dependency at sea. The 1996 Australian Census counted more than 7000 respondents as followers of Aboriginal traditional religion.
Since the arrival of the First Fleet of the British ship in 1788, Christianity has developed into a major religion practiced in Australia. Christian churches have played an integral role in the development of Australian education, health and welfare services. For much of Australia's history, the Church of England (now known as the Anglican Church of Australia) is the largest religious denomination. However, multicultural immigration has caused a decline in its relative position, and the Roman Catholic Church has benefited from recent immigration to become the largest group. Similarly, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism have been growing in Australia for the past half century.
Australia has one of the lowest levels of religious adherence in the world. In 2001, only 8.8% of Australians attended church every week.
Health
Australia has the third and seventh highest life expectancy of each man and woman in the world. Life expectancy in Australia in 2010 was 79.5 years for men and 84.0 years for women. Australia has the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, while smoking is the leading cause of death and the most preventable disease, responsible for 7.8% of total deaths and illnesses. The second rank in preventable causes is hypertension of 7.6%, with third obesity at 7.5%. Australia is ranked 35th in the world and near developed countries for the proportion of obese adults and nearly two-thirds (63%) of the adult population whether either overweight or obese.
Total expenditure on health (including private sector spending) is about 9.8% of GDP. Australia introduced universal health care in 1975. Known as Medicare, now funded nominally by the additional income tax known as the Medicare levy, is currently set at 2%. State administered hospitals and outpatient services are attached, while the Commonwealth funds the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (subsidizing the cost of medicines) and general practice.
Education
School attendance, or enrollment for a home school, is required throughout Australia. Education is the responsibility of individual states and territories so that the rules vary between states, but in general children are required to attend school from about 5 years to about 16 years of age. In some states (eg, Western Australia, Northern Territories and New South Wales), children aged 16-17 are required to attend school or attend vocational training, such as apprenticeship.
Australia has an adult literacy rate estimated at 99% in 2003. However, the 2011-12 report for the Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that Tasmania has a literacy rate of only 50%. In the International Student Assessment Program, Australia regularly scores among the top five of the thirty major developed countries (member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). Catholic education is responsible for the largest non-government sector.
Australia has 37 government-funded universities and two private universities, as well as a number of other specialist agencies that provide approved courses at higher levels of education. The OECD places Australia among the most expensive countries for university entrance. There is a state-based vocational training system, known as TAFE, and many trades do internships to train new traders. About 58% of Australians aged 25-64 years have vocational or tertiary qualifications, and tertiary graduation rates of 49% are the highest among OECD countries. The international ratio for local students in higher education in Australia is the highest in OECD countries. In addition, 30.9 percent of Australians have achieved higher educational qualifications, which is one of the highest percentages in the world.
Culture
Since 1788, the main influence behind Australian culture is Anglo-Celtic Western culture, with some Indigenous influences. The deviations and evolutions that have taken place in subsequent centuries have produced a distinctive Australian culture. Since the mid-20th century, American popular culture has greatly affected Australia, especially through television and cinema. Other cultural influences come from neighboring countries in Asia, and through large-scale immigration from non-English speaking countries.
Art
Australian native rock art is the oldest and richest in the world, dating 60,000 years and spread across hundreds of thousands of sites. Traditional designs, patterns and stories inject contemporary Australian Native art, "the last major art movement of the 20th century"; its exponents include Emily Kame Kngwarreye. Early colonial artists, trained in Europe, showed interest in unknown land. Impressionistic works of Arthur Streeton, Tom Roberts, and others related to the nineteenth-century Heidelberg School - the first "typical Australian" movement in Western art - give expression to the growing Australian nationalism ahead of the Federation. While schools remain influential in the new century, modernists like Margaret Preston, and, later, Sidney Nolan and Arthur Boyd, explore new artistic trends. Landscape remains a central subject for Fred Williams, Brett Whiteley, and other post-World War II artist whose work, eclectic in style but unique to Australia, moves between figurative and abstract. National and state galleries maintain local and international art collections. Australia has one of the world's highest art galleries and museums per head of the population.
Australian literature grew slowly in the decades after the settlement of Europe despite the oral tradition of the Natives, many of which have since been recorded in writing, much older. Nineteenth-century writers such as Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson caught the bush experience using a distinctive Australian vocabulary. Their works are still popular; Paterson's poem about "Waltzing Matilda" (1895) is considered an unofficial Australian anthem. Miles Franklin is the name of the most prestigious literary prize in Australia, which is given annually to the best novel about Australian life. His first recipient, Patrick White, later won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1973. The winners of the Australian Prize winners include Peter Carey, Thomas Keneally and Richard Flanagan. Author David Malouf, playwright David Williamson and poet Les Murray are also well-known literary figures.
Many Australian performing arts companies receive funding through the federal government's Australian Council. There is a symphony orchestra in each state, and a national opera company, Opera Australia, famous for the famous soprano Joan Sutherland. At the beginning of the 20th century, Nellie Melba was one of the world's leading opera singers. Ballet and dance are represented by The Australian Ballet and various state companies. Each country has a publicly funded theater company.
Media
The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), the world's first long film, spurred an explosion in Australian cinemas during the silent film era. After World War I, Hollywood monopolized the industry, and by the 1960s Australian film production had effectively ceased. With the benefit of government support, the Australian New Wave of the 1970s brought provocative and successful films, exploring many of the national identity themes, such as Wake in Fright and Gallipoli , while Crocodile Dundee and the Ozploitation Movement became Madden's international film. In the film market flooded with foreign content, Australian films produce a 7.7% share of local box office by 2015. AACTA is Australia's premier Australian film and television awards, and renowned Academy Award winners from Australia include Geoffrey Rush, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett and Heath Ledger.
Australia has two broadcasting institutions (Australian Broadcasting Corporation and a multicultural Special Broadcasting Service), three commercial television networks, several pay TV services, and a number of public and non-profit public television and radio stations. Each major city has at least one daily newspaper, and there are two national daily newspapers, The Australian and The Australian Financial Review. In 2010, Reporters Without Borders ranked Australia 18th out of 178 countries ranked by press freedom, behind New Zealand (8) but above the UK (19) and the United States (20). This relatively low rating is mainly due to the limited diversity of commercial media ownership in Australia; most print media are under the control of News Corporation and Fairfax Media.
Cuisine
Most indigenous groups live with simple hunter-feeder hunts from native fauna and flora, or so-called bush tuckers. The first settlers introduced English food to the continent, most of which are now regarded as typical Australian food, such as roast beef on Sundays. Multicultural immigration changes Australian cuisine; Post-World War II, European migrants, especially from the Mediterranean, helped build a thriving Australian coffee culture, and Asian cultural influences have led to Australian staple food variants, such as Chinese sim and Chiko Roll. Vegemite, pavlova, lamingtons and meat pies are considered to be typical Australian food. Australian wine is produced mainly in the southern, colder country.
Australia is also known for its coffee café and culture in urban centers, which have influenced overseas coffee culture, including New York City. Australia and New Zealand are responsible for flat white coffee.
Sports and leisure
About 24% of Australians over the age of 15 regularly participate in organized sports events.
Australia is unique because it has a professional league for four football codes. The rules of Australian football, the world's oldest football code and the most popular sport in Australia in terms of revenue and audience, originated in Melbourne in the late 1850s, and dominated in all countries except New South Wales and Queensland, where the rugby league holds power, rugby union. Football, while ranking fourth in popularity and resources, has the highest overall participation rate.
The Australian national cricket team has participated in every Cricket World Cup edition. Australia has been very successful in the event, winning the tournament five times, the record number.
Australia is a powerhouse in water sports, such as swimming and surfing. The life-saving movement comes from Australia, and the volunteer rescue is one of the country's icons. Nationally, other popular sports include horse racing, basketball, and motor racing. The annual Melbourne Cup horse race and Sydney cruise to Hobart race attract intense interest. In 2016, the Australian Sports Commission revealed that swimming, cycling, and football are the three most popular sports participation.
Australia is one of five countries that have participated in every Summer Olympics in the modern era, and has held two Olympics: 1956 in Melbourne and 2000 in Sydney. Australia has also participated in every Commonwealth Games, hosting the event in 1938, 1962, 1982, 2006 and 2018. Australia made its first appearance at the Pacific Games in 2015. In addition to being a regular FIFA World Cup participant, Australia has won the OFC Nations Cup four times and the AFC Asian Cup once - the only country that has won the championship in two different FIFA confederations. The country regularly competes among the world's elite basketball teams as it is among the top three global teams in terms of qualifying for the Basketball Tournament in the Summer Olympics. Other major international events held in Australia include the Australian Open tennis grand slam tournament, international cricket match, and the Australian Formula One Grand Prix. The highest-rating television program includes live shows such as the Summer Olympics, the FIFA World Cup, The Ashes, the Rugby League State of Origin, and the grand finals of the National Rugby League and Football League Australia. Skiing in Australia began in the 1860s and snow sports took place in the Australian Alps and parts of Tasmania.
See also
- Outline of Australia
- Index of related Australian articles
Note
References
Bibliography
Further reading
External links
- Wikimedia Atlas of Australia
- Geographic data related to Australia in OpenStreetMap
- About Australia from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website
- The Australian Government website (federal, state and territory)
- The Australian Government website
- Australian Bureau of Statistics
- Tourism Australia
- "Australia". The World Factbook . Central Intelligence Agency.
- Why are we called 'Commonwealth of Australia'? , Australian Constitutional Education Fund, March 10, 2017
- Australia in Curlie (based on DMOZ)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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