Australia

federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

name: Canberra geographic coordinates: 35 16 S, 149 08 E time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins first Sunday in October; ends first Sunday in April time zone note: Australia has six time zones, including Lord Howe Island (UTC+11) etymology: the name may derive from the Aboriginal word nganbirra , meaning "meeting place"

chief of state: King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor General Samantha (Sam) MOSTYN (since 1 July 2024) head of government: Prime Minister Anthony ALBANESE (since 23 May 2022) cabinet: Cabinet nominated by the prime minister from among members of Parliament and sworn in by the governor general election/appointment process: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is sworn in as prime minister by the governor general

legislature name: Parliament legislative structure: bicameral

highest court(s): High Court of Australia (consists of 7 justices, including the chief justice); each of the 6 states, 2 territories, and Norfolk Island has a Supreme Court; the High Court is the final appellate court judge selection and term of office: justices appointed by the governor-general in council for life with mandatory retirement at age 70 subordinate courts: subordinate courts: at the federal level: Federal Court; Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia; at the state and territory level: Local Court - New South Wales; Magistrates' Courts Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory; District Courts New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia; County Court Victoria; Family Court Western Australia; Court of Petty Sessions Norfolk Island

history: approved in a series of referenda from 1898 through 1900 and became law 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901 amendment process: proposed by Parliament; passage requires approval of a referendum bill by absolute majority vote in both houses of Parliament, approval in a referendum by a majority of voters in at least four states and in the territories, and Royal Assent; proposals that would reduce a state s representation in either house or change a state s boundaries require that state s approval prior to Royal Assent

ADB, ANZUS, APEC, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, C, CD, CP, EAS, EBRD, EITI (implementing country), FAO, FATF, G-20, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NEA, NSG, OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club, PCA, PIF, SAARC (observer), Quad, SICA (observer), Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNMISS, UNMIT, UNOOSA, UNRWA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

2% of GDP (2024 est.) 2% of GDP (2023 est.) 2% of GDP (2022 est.) 2% of GDP (2021 est.) 2% of GDP (2020 est.)

Australian Defense Force (ADF): Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Air Force (2025) note: the Australian Federal Police (AFP) is an independent agency of the Attorney-General s Department; the AFP, state, and territorial police forces are responsible for internal security; the Australian Border Force (ABF) is under the Department of Home Affairs

17 years of age (with parental consent; 18 years of age to deploy) for voluntary military service for men and women; no conscription (abolished 1972) (2025) note 1: as of July 2024, New Zealanders who are permanent residents and have lived in Australia for at least 12 months could apply to join the ADF; from January 2025, eligible permanent residents from Canada, the UK, and the US were also to be allowed to apply note 2: women have served in all roles, including combat arms, since 2013; in 2024, they comprised slightly more than 20% of the military

the ADF's missions include protecting Australia s borders and maritime interests, responding to domestic natural disasters, and deploying overseas for humanitarian, peacekeeping, and other security-related missions; in 2024, it established a cyber command; the ADF regularly participates in bi-lateral and multi-lateral exercises with foreign militaries Australia has been part of the Australia, New Zealand, and US Security (ANZUS) Treaty since 1951; Australia is also a member of the Five Powers Defense Arrangements (FPDA), a series of mutual assistance agreements reached in 1971 embracing Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the UK Australia has long-standing bi-lateral defense and security ties to the UK, including defense and security cooperation treaties in 2024 and 2013; the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations (AUKMIN) is their premier bilateral forum on foreign policy, defense, and security issues Australia also has a long-standing military relationship with the US; Australian and US forces first fought together in France in 1918 and have fought together in every major US conflict since; Australia and the US signed an agreement in 2014 that allowed for closer bi-lateral defense and security cooperation, including rotations of US military forces and equipment to Australia; Australian military forces train often with US forces; Australia has Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA) status with the US, a designation under US law that provides foreign partners with certain benefits in the areas of defense trade and security cooperation in 2021, Australia, the UK, and the US announced an enhanced trilateral security partnership called AUKUS which would build on existing bilateral ties, including deeper integration of defense and security-related science, technology, industrial bases, and supply chains, as well as deeper cooperation on a range of defense and security capabilities (2025)

note: the number of Australian military forces varies by mission; since the 1990s, Australia has deployed more than 30,000 personnel on nearly 100 UN peacekeeping and coalition military operations around the World

$1.635 trillion (2024 est.) $1.611 trillion (2023 est.) $1.558 trillion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

$60,100 (2024 est.) $60,500 (2023 est.) $59,900 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

1.4% (2024 est.) 3.4% (2023 est.) 4.2% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

3.2% (2024 est.) 5.6% (2023 est.) 6.6% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices

58% of GDP (2022 est.) note: central government debt as a % of GDP

$425.16 billion (2024 est.) $448.507 billion (2023 est.) $465.99 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

$405.336 billion (2024 est.) $389.211 billion (2023 est.) $379.981 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

4.1% (2024 est.) 3.7% (2023 est.) 3.8% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

revenues: $431.27 billion (2022 est.) expenditures: $453.105 billion (2022 est.) note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel

wheat, sugarcane, barley, rapeseed, milk, cotton, sorghum, beef, lentils, grapes (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

total: 27,490,921 (2025 est.) male: 13,685,935 female: 13,804,986

1.59% (2025 est.)

0-14 years: 18.3% (male 2,526,772/female 2,369,425) 15-64 years: 64.7% (male 8,688,023/female 8,640,671) 65 years and over: 17% (2024 est.) (male 2,090,315/female 2,453,392)

10.75 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

6.81 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

11.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

total population: 83.5 years (2024 est.) male: 81.3 years female: 85.7 years

urban population: 86.6% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 1.27% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) note: data include Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island

English 33%, Australian 29.9%, Irish 9.5%, Scottish 8.6%, Chinese 5.5%, Italian 4.4%, German 4%, Indian 3.1%, Australian Aboriginal 2.9%, Greek 1.7%, unspecified 4.7% (2021 est.) note: data represent self-identified ancestry, with the option of reporting two ancestries

English 72%, Mandarin 2.7%, Arabic 1.4%, Vietnamese 1.3%, Cantonese 1.2%, other 15.7%, unspecified 5.7% (2021 est.) note: data represent language spoken at home

Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant 18.1% (Anglican 9.8%, Uniting Church 2.6%, Presbyterian and Reformed 1.6%, Baptist 1.4%, Pentecostal 1%, other Protestant 1.7%), other Christian 3.5%, Muslim 3.2%, Hindu 2.7%, Buddhist 2.4%, Orthodox 2.3% (Eastern Orthodox 2.1%, Oriental Orthodox 0.2%), other 2.1%, none 38.4%, unspecified 7.3% (2021 est.)

alumina, coal, iron ore, copper, lithium, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, rare earth elements, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, opals, natural gas, petroleum note 1: Australia is the world's largest net exporter of coal accounting for 26.5% of global coal exports in 2021; coal is the country s most abundant energy resource, and coal ranks as the second-largest export commodity from Australia in terms of revenue; in 2020, Australia held the third-largest recoverable coal reserves in the world behind the United States and Russia note 2: Australia is by far the world's largest supplier of opals note 3: Australia holds the largest uranium reserves in the world and was the second-largest global uranium producer behind Kazakhstan in 2020 note 4: Australia was the largest exporter of LNG in the world in 2020

Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide

refugees: 120,789 (2024 est.) IDPs: 185 (2024 est.) stateless persons: 6,922 (2024 est.)

2,257 (2025)

total: 32,606 km (2022) 3,448 km electrified standard gauge: 18,007 km (2022) 1.435 mm narrow gauge: 11,914 km (2022) 1.067 mm broad gauge: 2,685 km (2022) 1.600 mm

total: 604 (2023) by type: bulk carrier 2, general cargo 76, oil tanker 6, other 520

total subscriptions: 30.1 million (2024 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 113 (2024 est.)

percent of population: 97% (2023 est.)