Australia Facts
Australia is well-known for its diverse wildlife, from cuddly koalas to playful kangaroos. Furthermore, its history features gold rush-era remnants spread out over its landscape.
At its heart is a country characterized by an easygoing lifestyle where most residents live within 50 km of a beautiful beach.
Table of Contents
The climate
Australia lies in the Southern Hemisphere, so when winter rolls around in Europe or Latin America, Australia enjoys summer. Australia features four distinct seasons: hot and dry during “the wet” (December to February/March); mild but dry in autumn (March to May); and finally cold but dry winter conditions from June through August.
Temperatures differ across the country, with some regions experiencing extreme highs all year-round. Rainfall also varies widely by location – some receiving plenty of seasonal precipitation while others experience little.
Climate Change is negatively impacting Australia. Polluters worldwide are discharging heat-trapping emissions into the atmosphere, making the continent hotter and drying it out, leading to extreme weather events like bushfires and heat waves.
Australia consists of six states and the Australian Capital Territory, each with their own government. The federal government is accountable for taxation, defense, foreign policy, immigration, customs and post offices while state governments oversee matters such as education, health and local services.
The population
Australia is home to an extremely urbanized population, with the majority living in its major cities such as Sydney and Melbourne renowned for their cultural programs of dance, music, opera, and theatre.
Australians largely hail from European heritage, with significant immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe following World War II as well as Asia in the 1970s-1990s. Since Australia’s establishment in 1901, its demographic profile has changed, due to long-term changes in life expectancy and fertility patterns impacting population growth.
As a result, the country has an aging population, and deaths are expected to overtake births for many decades. This trend has had an impactful influence on immigration policy as skilled workers remain priority immigration target. Household sizes have become smaller over time with an increasing proportion of one-person households due to decreasing family sizes with children; furthermore, secularism rates in this nation outstripped any religious believers significantly.
The economy
Australia boasts a flourishing, Western-style capitalist economy that consistently places near the top in global comparisons for quality of life and economic freedom. Australia’s mining sector, driven by an unprecedented commodity boom, and services sector are major contributors to GDP.
Local governments (known as councils in Australia) levie taxes to fund roads, parks, garbage collection services, water supply management systems and planning and building services; planning and building services and public libraries. Furthermore they depend on state and federal funding for infrastructure and public services like healthcare provision, education and welfare provision.
Australia stands out in an increasingly global economy by having an agile labour market and low unemployment. However, its high dependence on trade with China poses risks as that country seeks to reduce foreign goods dependence in favor of investing domestically. Climate change is also becoming increasingly severe as extreme weather events such as heatwaves, bushfires and flooding occur more frequently – this impacts productivity significantly; so Australia’s government has implemented policies designed to address such challenges.
The culture
Australia is a multicultural nation, boasting diverse regional languages, cuisines, and architecture. Australians value sincerity, humor, informality and openness towards banter or sarcasm; they tend to dislike pretentiousness and are quick to downplay their achievements so as not to appear self-important.
They adhere to an egalitarian philosophy known as a ‘fair go”, believing all individuals deserve an opportunity to succeed. Australians are known for their love of beer and often dry and sarcastic humor exemplified by entertainers like Barry Humphries, Paul Hogan and Peter Carey.
Australians are enthusiastic and fiercely competitive sports fans, often supporting local teams whether that be rugby league, AFL, cricket or motor sports racing. If you’re new to Australia it would be beneficial to familiarise yourself with these sports so as to better integrate into its culture. Furthermore, many people often take turns buying drinks at pubs and bars – helping newcomers fit right in!
