Country profile
Australia
General information
Flagge von Australien / Flag of Australia
Photo: Bundesregierung
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is situated in the southern hemisphere, north-west of New Zealand. Norfolk Island in the Pacific Ocean, the Cocos Keeling Islands, Christmas Island and the Ashmore and Cartier Islands in the Indian Ocean, and the sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island also belong to Australia. while Heard Island and the McDonald Islands are an Australian external territory.
Australia, with its 7.7 million square kilometres of landmass (22 times the size of Germany), is home to around 23.86 million people (mostly of European descent). The indigenous population of the Australian continent comprise the Aboriginal people on the mainland and the Torres Strait Islanders who live on the Torres Strait Islands between Queensland and Papua New Guinea.
The capital, Canberra, lies between Sydney and Melbourne.
The official language is English.
Economic data
Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, based on purchasing power parity (PPP): USD 47,644
Real change in GDP between 2010 and 2015: 14.1%
Gross national debt as percentage of GDP: 38 %
Percentage of women in gainful employment (women aged 15-64): 66.8 %
Youth unemployment rate (15-24 year-olds): 13.5 %
National currency: Australian dollar (AUD) / Rate of exchange: AUD 1 = EUR 0.6763 (average exchange rate for 2015)
Additional information: