|
||||||
Australia
Relevant information about Australia.The Commonwealth of Australia is located in the southern hemisphere, bordered by New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the northeast, East Timor, Indonesia and Papua Nueva Guinea to the north, and New Zealand to the southeast. Australia’s capital is Canberra and it has a total area of 7,741,220 square miles. As a member of the G20, the United Nations, Pacific Islands Forum, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Australia is highly developed as regards quality of life, life expectancy, health care, economic freedom and public education. The country is ruled by a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system, with Queen Elizabeth as the head of state. The Commonwealth of Australia was created in 1901.
With a population of approximately 22 million inhabitants, Australia’s largest ethnic group is white, representing 92% of the inhabitants (descendent of Australian 37.13%; English 31.65%; Irish 9.08%; Scottish 7.56%; Italian 4.29%; German 4.09%; and Greek 1.84%); minority groups include Asian (7%) and aboriginal (1%). Vietnam, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Italy and China are the biggest immigrants groups. Sydney is the city with the largest population: 4,399,722 dwellers; followed by Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Gold Coast-Tweed, Newcastle and Canberra. In spite of having no state religion, 64% of the Australian citizens claim to be Christians (26% Roman Catholic and 19% Anglican); whereas 19% listed as “no religion”. Buddhism is the second largest religion, with 2.1% of Australians. Other religions include Islam (1.7%), Hinduism (0.8%) and Judaism (0.5%). Australia’s national language is English which is spoken with a distinguished accent: 78.5% of the population speaks it. Chinese, Italian, Greek, Arabic, Vietnamese and Cantonese are other languages that are spoken in the Commonwealth, along with 18 Indigenous Australian languages that survived out of 200. The life expectancy at birth is, in male 79.33 years, and in female 84.25 years. The infant mortality rate in Australia is of 4.67 deaths per 1,000 live births, whereas the total fertility rate is 1.78 children born per woman, estimated in 2010. Due to the country’s environment and Indigenous traditions, Australia has a multicultural society. Furthermore, it has been influenced by the American culture, (mainly through TV and cinema) by immigrants and by its bordering countries. Natural landscapes are said to be the main theme and inspiration of the Australian art, like in the works of Arthur Streeton, Albert Namatira, Fred Williams, and Clifton Pugh. A movement that emerged from Australia and has international recognition is the Contemporary Indigenous Australian art. Australian and foreign collections are collected in the National Gallery of Australia. Regarding gastronomy, the Australian cuisine has been influenced by the groups that settled in the country, and by the British and Irish cuisine. During the 20th century, the influences of Mediterranean and Asian cultures have been truly noted. Some traditional dishes or foodstuff are Vegemite, Macadamia nuts, violet crumble (honeycomb chocolate bar), Jaffas, Tim Tams, Fairy bread, the Vainilla slice, the Chiko roll (a fried roll), and the Cherry ripe. Australia has strong teams in field hockey, rugby, cricket and netball, in addition to track cycling, swimming and rowing (the country has been a consistent winner of medals at the Olympic and World Championships). Australia is one of the most powerful countries in swimming, since it has won an uncountable number of medals throughout Olympic history. Other popular sports are football, motor racing, horse racing and surfing.
The Commonwealth of Australia was ranked in the second place in the Human Development Index and in the sixth place of the Quality of life Index. Thanks to its natural resources, Australia has attracted a vast number of foreign investments, and, in addition, has included large reserves of iron, copper, coal, natural gas, uranium, and gold, as well as being an exporter of food, natural resources and energy. The services sector has the characteristic of being extensive. The unemployment rate in Australia is of 5.7% (estimated in 2009). The labor force by occupation is, in services 75%, in industry 21.1% and in agriculture 3.6%. The industrial sector is represented by transportation and industrial equipment, chemicals, mining, steel and chemicals, whereas the main agriculture products are barley, fruits, wheat, sugarcane, poultry, cattle and cheep. Increasing the economic productivity, passing emissions trading legislation, dealing with environmental problems are among the challenges that Australia has for the next years.
Australia is visited by thousands of tourists every year, mainly attracted by the diversity of landscapes (mountains, rainforests, sand dunes and lakes) and the cities where the metropolis culture is truly exciting. The Kangaroo Island is the home of a diverse wildlife: one can appreciate koalas in the trees, penguins, pelicans, cuttlefish, seahorses, possums, wallabies and kangaroos. There are also ducks and swans, sea lions at Seal Bay and more than 7,000 fur seals. Koalas are everywhere. However, their favorite spot to live is the Western Ki Caravan Park. The Namadgi National Park reflects the Aboriginal history and is located in the Australian Alps, where one can see glacial lakes and alpine meadows. Furthermore, at the top of Australia’s tallest peak, the Mount Kosciuszko, there is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve with twenty species of plants which cannot be found anywhere else in the world. In Tasmania there are several World Heritage Sites, which include various national parks. There are 17 national parks in Tasmania: the Freycinet National Park, the St. Clair National Park, the South West National Park, the Mount Field National Park and the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. The city of Sydney is the home of the world-famous harbor and more than 60 beautiful beaches. Canberra, the capital city, is a reflection of the country’s culture. There one can find the National Institute of Sport and Science, numerous galleries and monuments, festivals, lakes and parklands.
Australia is slowly entering the medical tourism business. The country’s numerous advantages include the comfortable and high-standard hospitals and the medical specialists which were trained primarily in the United Kingdom or North America. Some of the popular procedures or treatments are: orthopedic, general surgery, gynecological and fertility, cardiac, urological surgery and plastic reconstructive surgery. Clinics in Australia also offer luxurious resorts and spas.
|
?
