petroleum

Land use: arable land: 6%

permanent crops: 0%

permanent pastures: 54%

forests and woodland: 19%

other: 21% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 21,070 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: cyclones along the coast; severe droughts

Environment - current issues: soil erosion from overgrazing,
industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices;
soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water;
desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the
natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great
Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the
world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a
tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources

Environment - international agreements: party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources,
Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note: world's smallest continent but sixth-largest
country; population concentrated along the eastern and southeastern
coasts; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as "the
Doctor" occurs along the west coast in the summer

Australia People

Population: 19,357,594 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 20.64% (male 2,045,892; female 1,948,949)

15-64 years: 66.86% (male 6,538,096; female 6,405,014)

65 years and over: 12.5% (male 1,059,107; female 1,360,536) (2001
est.)

Population growth rate: 0.99% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 12.86 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 7.18 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 4.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female

total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 79.87 years

male: 77.02 years

female: 82.87 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.77 children born/woman (2001