Land of opportunity

With a strong economy, low inflation rates and a high standard of living, the future looks bright for Australia, one of the world's wealthiest countries.

World famous for its natural wonders and wide open spaces, Australia is also one of the world's most urbanised countries. It is well known for the cosmopolitan attractions of its globally significant cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart and the capital city, Canberra.

Australia is also a major tourist destination and is one of the world's wealthiest countries, renowned for its vast, untouched landscapes and its unique culture. The Commonwealth of Australia is located in the southern hemisphere, comprising the mainland of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania and a number of other islands in the Indian and Pacific oceans. The Australian mainland has been inhabited for more than 42,000 years by indigenous Australians. After sporadic visits by fisherman from the north and then European discovery by the Dutch in 1606, the eastern half of Australia was then claimed by the British in 1788. The country was initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales.

Australia has six states, two mainland territories and other minor territories. The states are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. The two mainland territories are the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. In many respects, these territories act like the states, but the Commonwealth parliament can override any legislation of their individual parliaments.

Australia has one of the strongest economies in the world. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has commended the country on the sound macroeconomic management and continuing structural reform efforts that have underpinned its sustained strong economic performance. During the past 15 years, Australia's standard of living has risen substantially. According to the 2006 Economic Survey by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), living standards in Australia now surpass those of all Group of Eight countries (G8) except the US. The country's strong economic growth has been coupled with low inflation. The inflation rate has been stable during the past 15 years, averaging around 2.5 per cent over this period.

Unemployment has fallen from a peak of nearly 11 per cent in 1992 to below five per cent, its lowest level since the 1970s.

Australia is a major regional financial centre, with a sophisticated financial system and transparent markets offering a wide range of innovative products (including equities, bonds and options), world-class telecommunications, a multilingual and highly skilled workforce and a sound system of regulation.

The Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange merged in July 2006 to create the world's eighth largest listed exchange. More than 2,000 companies, with a total market capitalisation of A$1.4 trillion (Dh4.81 trillion), were listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2006.

Australia's traditional export strengths — primary products in agriculture, minerals and energy — continue to make a strong contribution to national prosperity. Exports of Australian primary products have grown by an average 9.2 per cent a year since 2001-02.

Companies looking to export overseas are able to benefit from experienced advisers at Austrade, which assists in identifying international partners and explaining foreign regulations and business practices.

Australia has recently been ranked as the third best country to live in by The Human Development Index, which is used by the United Nations to measure quality of life. The promise
of a new life in a country full of opportunities attracts thousands of migrants every year; during 2004-05 it is estimated that more than 431,100 people arrived. The influx of skilled workers from all corners of the world is putting a new multicultural face on the country.

Australia's diverse culture and lifestyle reflect its liberal democratic traditions and values, geographic closeness to the Asia-Pacific region and the social and cultural influences of the millions of migrants who have settled there since the Second World War. Australia is a product of a unique blend of established traditions and new influences. The country's original inhabitants, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, are the custodians of one of the world's oldest continuing cultural traditions. The rest of Australia's people are migrants or descendants of migrants who have arrived in Australia from about 200 countries since England established the first European settlement at Sydney Cove in 1788.

Australia's 7,619,930 square kilometres of landmass is on the Indo-Australia plate. Surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans, Australia is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas. The country has 34,218 km of coastline. By far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid land, commonly known as the outback. Australia is the world's flattest continent, with the oldest and least fertile soils. Only the south-east and south-west corners of the continent have a temperate climate. Most of the population lives along the temperate south-east coastline. The landscapes of this part of the country consist of a rainforest, woodland, grassland, mangrove, swamps and desert.

Although most of the country is semi-arid, it includes a diverse range of habitats, from alpine heaths to tropical rainforests. Because of Australia's variable weather patterns and its long-term geographic isolation, much of its biota is unique and diverse. Many of the country's eco-regions and the species within those regions are threatened by human activity. The Federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is a legal framework for the protection of threatened species. Among well-known Australian fauna are the monotremes, a host of marsupials including the kangaroo, the koala and the wombat, the saltwater and freshwater crocodiles and birds such as the emu and kookaburra.