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The following information will give you most of the facts about Australia you need to know. |
Where we live, and how many of us there are |
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A little over 200 years ago Australia was sparsely inhabited by the aboriginal people. In 1788
the first European settlers arrived in the First Fleet. From that small party we now have a
population of around 25.5 million.The September 2021 census showed there were 25,750,198 people in Australia on census night, an increase of 0.3% from the 2016 figures. Current figures will be found in the table below. The population is ageing with an average age of 37 years (up from 34), with 14% (up from 12.1%) aged 65 years and over. Nearly 50% of people over 15 are married. Of all people, 69.8% were Australian born and of those born elsewhere, 10.2% came from the United Kingdom. New Zealand, China, India or Italy, the remainder coming from Vietnam, Greece, the US and Germany. People of aboriginal descent increased from 352,970 in 2006 to 548,370. Of these, over half were counted in New South Wales and Queensland. In the Northern Territory the indigenous proportion of the population was nearly 27%. In 2012, 8.2 million Australian residents travelled overseas. 7.8 million residents travelled abroad in 2011, and only 3.5 million residents travelled abroad in 2002. The average weekly household income was $1,234 with median weekly rent of $285.00. Around 40% of the occupied dwellings in Australia are owned by their occupants with 25.5% being purchased and 28.7% rented. There are more women (50.6%) than men (49.4%) in all areas except the Northern Territory. These figures were obtained from a news-sheet issued from the Bureau of Statistics home page. (See Below) |
AUSTRALIAN POPULATION BY STATE |
The figures below show persons living in the Australian States and Territories in August 2011.
There is also a projected list from the Bureau of Statistics for the year 2050. The Australia Population at the last census was 22,155.400. The next census is due in August 2016. |
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THE GEOGRAPHY OF AUSTRALIA |
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Australia is the earth's largest island and its smallest continent (Excluding Antarctica). The mainland comprises 5 states and 2 territories. The sixth state, Tasmania, is 200 kilometres south of Victoria and separated from the mainland by Bass Strait. To the east, Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands are governed from Australia, as is the Antarctic holding based around Mawson. It is the driest continent on earth with around 1/3rd considered desert. It is approximately 3,700 km. long (north to south) and 4,000 kilometres wide. The mainland section is roughly divided in the east by the Great Dividing Range which lies inland from the eastern seaboard and runs from the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland to Melbourne in Victoria. Included in the range is Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciusko (2,229 metres) near the New South Wales-Victoria border in the snow capped alpine region of the Great Dividing Range. West of the dividing range the land is mainly flat with a few low ranges including the Flinders Ranges in South Australia and the MacDonnell Ranges near Alice Springs. The centre of the continent is mainly desert and sparsely populated. Around 80% of the Australian population lives within the eastern seaboard or the coastal fringes of the continent. Massive salt lakes, often dry for long periods, will be found in the mid-north of South Australia and these are fed by a large river system which carries water for hundreds of kilometres to fill them. The largest of these, Lake Eyre (9,475 sq km.), was filled in 2010, 2011 and still holds water in 2012. Once a rare event, the centre of Australia is currently an oasis attracting large numbers of birds and providing prolific food for stock. What water does not evaporate from these lakes is fed into the Central Australian Artesian Basin, a vast natural underground series of aquifers from which occasional springs bubble in the most remote desert areas, and from which Alice Springs draws its water supply. |
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SOME INTERESTING FACTS AND STATISTICS |
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Some of the highest, lowest, oddest and interesting facts about Australia.
Some of the material on this page has been obtained from Geoscience Australia Geoscience Australia Home Page |
FLORAL EMBLEMS OF AUSTRALIA
For Further Information |