Official Name: Commonwealth of Australia

Flag:

Capital: Canberra

Large Cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane

Official Language: English

Religion: Christianity

Ethnic Groups: European, Asian, Aboriginal

Form of Government: Parliamentary Democracy, Constitutional Monarchy

Prime Minister: John Howard

Governor-General: Margaret Reid

Speaker of House of Representatives: Neil Andrew

Population Estimate in the Year of 2000: 19,222,000

Population Density: 6 people per sq. mi.

Location: Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean

Area: 2,978,147 sq. mi

Comparative area: slightly smaller than the US

Coastline: 25,760 km

Climate: generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north

Terrain: mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast

Natural resources: bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum

Land use:

Arable land: 6%

Permanent crops: 0%

Meadows and pastures: 58%

Forest and woodland: 14%

Other: 22%

Irrigated land: 18,800 sq. km (1989 est.)

Environment:

Current issues: soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources

Natural hazards: cyclones along the coast; severe droughts international agreements: party to - Antarctic Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified -Desertification

Note: Australia is the world's smallest continent but sixth largest country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as "the Doctor" occurs along the west coast in the summer.

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