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Facts & Figures
- Australia is the world's 6th largest country by total land area and the world's smallest continent. Together with New Zealand, the wider region is known as Oceania or Australasia.
- Settled by the British in 1788, the Commonwealth of Australia is the 50th most populous country in the world with an estimated population of 22.7 million.
- Due to immigration, the European component of the population is declining as a percentage. Multiculturalism is embraced in Australia and reflected in the food culture of the country.
- One of the most urbanised countries in the world, Australia has scarcely more than 2 persons/km² of total land area. 89% of the population live in urban areas with most concentrated on the eastern foreshore.
- Australia is divided into 6 states and 2 territories with the most populous being New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland respectively – all lying to the east. For each state and territory, the majority of the population reside in the capital cities.
- Australia enjoys relatively low unemployment at 4.9% (Mar 2011) and a GDP growth of 2.7% (2010 estimate). The GDP (PPP) per capita is A$ 54,868 (nominal 2010). Inflation (CPI) as at Q3 2010 was 2.8%.
The Australian dollar
- The Australian dollar (A$ or AUD) is the 5th most traded currency in the world behind the US dollar, the Euro, the Yen and the Pound Sterling.
- In December 1983 it was floated allowing its value to fluctuate dependent on supply and demand on international money markets. In the two decades that followed the highest value it reached relative to the US dollar was $0.881 in December 1988 and the lowest was $0.478 in April 2001.
- It briefly reached parity with the US dollar for the first time since the float in October 2010 and fluctuated around that mark into 2011. In May 2011 it hit a record high of $1.1011. Some economists have suggested the dollar could rise as high as $1.70 by 2014.
- Some commentator's claim the value of the Australian dollar in 2011 is related to Europe's sovereign debt crisis and Australia's strong ties with material importers in Asia and in particular China.
- Economists posit that commodity prices are the dominant driver of the Australian dollar. This means changes in exchange rates of the Australian dollar occur in ways opposite to many other currencies. For decades, Australia's balance of trade has depended primarily upon commodity exports such as minerals and agricultural products. This means the relative value of the dollar varies significantly during the business cycle, rallying during global booms as Australia exports raw materials, and falling when mineral prices slump or when domestic spending overshadows the export earnings outlook. This movement is in the opposite direction to reserve currencies, which tend to be stronger during market slumps as traders move value from falling stocks into cash.
Goods & Services Tax
- In July 2000, the Australian Federal government replaced the previous wholesale sales tax system with a goods and services tax of 10% on most goods and services transactions in Australia. It is a value-added tax, not a sales tax, in that it is refunded to all parties in the chain of production other than the final consumer.
Information on this page is taken from various internet sources and is of a general nature only.
