Australia is a country in the Southern Hemisphere that comprises of the mainland of Australia continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is considered to be the world’s 6th largest country by total
area. It has six states and includes New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. It has two major mainland territories, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Australia is a constitutional monarchy with a federal division of powers. Parliamentary systems of government is in use with King Charles III at its apex as the King of Australia. Ranked fth in the Index of Economic Freedom (2017), Australia is the world’s 13th largest economy and has the tenth highest per capita GDP (nominal) at US $55,692. The country was ranked third in the United Nations 2017 Human Development Index. Australia ranks high position in many international comparisons of national performances, such as quality of life, health, education, economic freedom and the protection of civil liberties and political rights.
Climate & Environment
The variety of Australia’s geography, ecology, vegetation and landforms has given rise to a wide variety of climates throughout the country. Average winter and summer high temperatures across Australia di er according to the location. The climate of Australia is signi cantly in uenced by ocean currents which cause rainfall to vary markedly from year to year. Much of the northern part of the country has a tropical predominantly summer rainfall (monsoon) climate. Just under three quarters of Australia lies within a desert or semi-arid zone. The southwest corner of the state has a Mediterranean climate. Much of the southeast (including Tasmania) is temperate.
Economy
Australia is a highly developed country with a mixed-market economy. As of 2021, Australia was the 13th-largest national economy by nominal GDP, the 18th-largest by PPP-adjusted GDP, and was the 25th-largest goods exporter and 20th-largest goods importer.
The Australian economy is dominated by its service sector, which in 2017 comprised 62.7% of the GDP and employed 78.8% of the labor force. Australia has the tenth-highest total estimated value of natural resources, valued at $19.98 trillion in 2017.
The country has also entered into free trade agreements with ASEAN, Canada, Chile, China, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and the United States .
In the second half of the 20th century, Australian trade shifted away from Europe and North America to Japan and other East Asian markets. Regional franchising businesses, now a $128 billion sector, have been operating co-branded sites overseas for years with new investors coming from Western Australia and Queensland.
In the late 19th century, Australia’s economic strength relative to the rest of the world was reflected in its GDP. According to the Reserve Bank of Australia, Australian per capita GDP growth is higher than that of New Zealand, US, Canada and The Netherlands. The past performance of the Australian economy has been heavily influenced by US, Japanese and Chinese economic growth.
