Ruqayyah Snyder
Australia, 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 a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, with a highly urbanized population of almost 28 million people. Australia has a diverse culture and is one of the most multicultural countries in the world, with one of the highest foreign-born populations. Historically, Australia was part of the British Empire, and the Australian colonies were often referred to as the proud offspring of a grand old mother, referring to Britain as the mother country.
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What You'll Learn
Australia's history as British colonies
Australia was a collection of British colonies from 1788 until 1901. The British colonial period of Australia's history started with the arrival of the First Fleet of British ships in 1788 at Port Jackson, on the lands of the Eora. The First Fleet established the penal colony of New South Wales as part of the British Empire. The colony was also a place for criminals to live and work. Between 1788 and 1868, approximately 161,700 convicts were transported to the Australian colonies of New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land, and Western Australia.
In 1827, the western third of the continent was formally annexed as a British colony. In 1829, the Swan River colony was established at the sites of modern Fremantle and Perth, becoming the first convict-free and privatized colony in Australia. The Province of South Australia was established in 1836 as a privately financed settlement based on the theory of "systematic colonisation". The intention was to found a free colony based on private investment at little cost to the British government. However, the system of land grants and, later, land sales, led to the concentration of land in the hands of a few affluent settlers. Two-thirds of the migrants to Australia during this period received assistance from the British or colonial governments.
In the 1850s, gold was discovered, and the subsequent gold rush brought people to Australia from all over the world. In 1851, the Port Phillip District separated from New South Wales as the colony of Victoria. In 1857, the British government agreed to the separation of northern pastoralists and the government in Sydney, and in 1859 the colony of Queensland was proclaimed. Autonomous parliamentary democracies began to be established throughout the six British colonies from the mid-19th century. The colonies voted by referendum to unite in a federation in 1901, and modern Australia came into being. Australia fought as part of the British Empire and later Commonwealth in the two world wars and was a long-standing ally of the United States through the Cold War.
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$13.65
The country's diverse landscapes and climates
Australia is a megadiverse country, with a wide variety of landscapes and climates. It is the world's flattest and driest inhabited continent, with an average annual rainfall of 470 millimetres (19 inches). About 70% of the country is arid or semi-arid, and about 18% is desert.
The country can be divided into four major landform regions: the Coastal Plains, the Eastern Highlands, the Central Lowlands, and the Western Plateau. These landform regions have been created by physical processes such as movements in the Earth's crust, river erosion, and changes in climate and sea level. The Eastern Highlands, for example, include the Great Dividing Range, a chain of highlands that runs inland from the east coast. The Coastal Plains include the fertile and well-watered east coast, where the majority of Australians live.
The Australian climate ranges from wet tropical in the northeast and northwest to arid in the centre. The coastal south is temperate and humid, with winter freezing and snow in the southeastern highlands and Tasmania. The climate is influenced by various systems such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, the Indian Ocean Dipole, and the Southern Annular Mode. Australia has unusual variability in rainfall, leading to frequent droughts and flooding.
Australia has some of the oldest geological features in the world, with the oldest known rocks dating from more than 3 billion years ago and rare zircon crystals dating back 4.4 billion years. The country produces 19 useful minerals in significant quantities from more than 350 operating mines. It is one of the world's leading producers of bauxite (aluminium ore), iron ore, lithium, gold, lead, diamond, rare-earth elements, uranium, and zinc.
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Australia's democratic government
Australia is a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy comprising six states and ten territories. It has a democratic legislature, with a bicameral parliamentary system consisting of the monarch and two chambers of parliament: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The country has a stable liberal democratic political system, with a constitution that is among the world's oldest.
The Australian government is elected and answerable to the parliament for its actions. The Prime Minister, currently Anthony Albanese, leads a Cabinet of ministers, who are responsible for decisions made by their department. Australia's democracy is supported by key features such as freedom of speech, fair and free elections, inclusion, and the rule of law. Elections are run by an independent organisation, the Australian Electoral Commission, and voting is done in secret.
The country has a diverse and multicultural population, with over 30% of Australian residents born overseas and more than 300 languages spoken in Australian homes. It has a highly skilled workforce and is considered a global leader and innovator in sports. Australia also has one of the highest foreign-born populations in the world, with one of the highest per capita incomes globally.
The Australian party system has been described as more ideologically driven than other similar countries, with class interests historically playing a significant role in the division between parties. The Australian Labor Party (ALP) is a left-leaning social democratic party, while Australian conservatism is largely represented by the Liberal Party.
Australia has a federal system of government, with powers distributed between the national government and the states. The national government is known as the Commonwealth, and the six states are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia. Most local governments within the states have equivalent powers, and the country works towards an inclusive and equitable society, with respect and freedom for all.
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The country's highly developed economy
Australia has a highly developed and mixed-market economy, being the second wealthiest country in terms of wealth per adult after Switzerland, although it falls short when measured by GDP per capita, which is lower than other advanced economies such as those of the United States or Norway due to a lower rate of employment participation. Australia's total wealth is AUD $10.9 trillion. Australia's per capita GDP is AUD $55,000 and it had the second-highest human development index ranking globally in 2017. Australia was ranked third in the Index of Economic Freedom 2020, and its economic freedom score is higher than the regional average and the global average.
Australia's economy is dominated by its service sector, which in 2020 comprised 62.7% of the GDP and employed 78.8% of the workforce. Australia has a large services sector and industries that include education, financial services, health care, hospitality, tourism, and transport. Information technology, and creative industries such as film and entertainment, are also growing rapidly. Australia's education sector is its third-largest export, contributing $40.3 billion to the economy in 2020–21.
Australia has the world's ninth-largest banking sector, and its four largest banks are among the top 50 largest banks globally. Australia has a large superannuation sector, and it is the fourth-largest pension market in the world after the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan, with a total of AUD $3.3 trillion in superannuation assets. The Australian dollar is the fifth-most traded currency in the world, accounting for 6.9% of the world's daily share.
Australia is rich in natural resources and has a strong mining sector, supplying large quantities of coal, gold, iron ore, nickel, oil shale, and zinc, among other minerals. In 2019, Australia was the world's second-largest producer of gold, fourth-largest of coal, and iron ore, and the fifth-largest of bauxite and lithium. Australia was also the world's largest exporter of coal, iron ore, bauxite, lead, and zinc, and the second-largest of gold and uranium. In 2016, Australia was the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas in the Asia-Pacific region.
In recent decades, Australia has become an increasingly urbanized country, with its major cities playing key roles in the nation's economic landscape. Sydney is a financial hub and is recognized as an alpha world city. Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide are also major centers of commerce and industry, with strong sectors in finance, manufacturing, research, technology, and defense.
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Australia's diverse and multicultural population
Australia is a highly diverse and multicultural country, with people from almost 200 countries making up its population of 25 million. It is a megadiverse country with a wide variety of landscapes and climates, from tropical rainforests along the coast to deserts in the interior. The Australian mainland is relatively flat and arid, with the Great Dividing Range running along most of eastern Australia, dividing the central lowlands from the eastern highlands.
The country has one of the highest foreign-born populations in the world, with over 30% of Australian residents born overseas. The states with the highest proportions of overseas-born residents are Western Australia (32.2%), Victoria (29.9%), and New South Wales (29.3%). English is the national language, but more than 300 languages are spoken in Australian homes, including Mandarin, Arabic, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Italian.
Australia's cultural diversity is also reflected in its religious affiliations. While the country has no official religion, the Australian Bureau of Statistics collects data on religious affiliation, including secular beliefs such as atheism and other spiritual beliefs like New Age.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, who have the world's oldest continuing culture, increased by 25% between 2016 and 2021. Before colonisation, these Indigenous Australians traded with Macassans from the Indonesian archipelago, and Maningrida on Australia's north-central coast is one of the most linguistically diverse communities in the world.
Australia's diversity extends beyond culture and language. The country has a highly skilled and educated workforce, with one of the strongest performing economies and highest per capita incomes globally. Australia also ranks highly for quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, civil liberties, and political rights.
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Frequently asked questions
Britain is considered Australia's mother country, as Australia was formerly a part of the British Empire.
A mother country is a term used to refer to a country that has colonies or territories that are dependent on it.
Australia's written history commenced with Dutch exploration of most of its coastline in the 17th century. However, Britain is considered its mother country due to the length of colonisation and the depth of influence on Australian culture.
Australia is no longer a British colony and has been an independent nation since 1901. However, the two countries continue to share cultural ties and are constitutional monarchies with the same monarch.
The term "mother country" implies a sense of filial loyalty and dependence, suggesting that the colony or territory is an extension of the mother country. This was particularly evident during World War I, when Australia, as part of the British Empire, was expected to contribute troops to the war effort.
