Fact file

Australia:

Government type: federal parliamentary democracy
Capital: Canberra

Geography:

Location: Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean
Climate: generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north
Terrain: mostly low plateau with deserts; fertile plain in southeast
Lowest point: Lake Eyre -15m
Highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229m

People:

Population: 20,434,176
Nationality: noun: Australian(s) adjective: Australian
Ethnic groups: white 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1%
Religions: Catholic 26.4%, Anglican 20.5%, other Christian 20.5%, Buddhist 1.9%, Muslim 1.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 12.7%, none 15.3% (2001 Census)
Languages: English 79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian 1.9%, other 11.1%, unspecified 5.8% (2001 Census)