Australia - Society

Population: 20,951,000 (2008); density is one of the lowest in the world; 89% lives in urban areas and 61% in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million people; growth 1.5% p.a. 1970–90 and 1.2% p.a. 1990–2006; birth rate (2006) 12 per 1,000 people; life expectancy 81 years (71 in 1970); life expectancy in the Aboriginal population about 62 years. Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island peoples constitute 2% of the population. Of those not born in Australia, 57% come from Europe (mainly the UK and Ireland), 22% from Asia and 5% from Middle East/North Africa. Asia is currently the major source of immigration (most from Vietnam and Hong Kong). Population distribution is uneven, with over half living in New South Wales (more than 6m) and Victoria (some 4.4m). However, Queensland (3,368,850) is now the fastest growing state.

Religion: Christians 70% (Roman Catholics 27%, Anglicans 22%), small minorities of Muslims, Buddhists and Jews (1996 census).

Language: English. In rural areas, Aboriginal languages are the first tongue of 33%.

Media: The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) operates national and regional public radio and TV stations. The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is the other principal public broadcaster, running radio and TV networks that broadcast in many languages. Pay TV networks are gaining popularity, and digital TV is available via satellite and cable.

Newspapers have a high circulation rate throughout the country. National dailies are The Australian and Australian Financial Review. Regional newspapers include The Advertiser (Adelaide), The Age (Melbourne), The Courier-Mail (Brisbane), The Daily Telegraph (Sydney), Herald-Sun (Melbourne), The Sydney Morning Herald and The West Australian (Perth).

There are 665 TV sets (2005), 689 personal computers (2004) and 545 internet users (2007) per 1,000 people.

Education: Responsibility for education lies with the states and systems vary slightly. Public spending on education was 4.5% of GDP in 2005/06. There are 11 years of compulsory education starting at age five. Net enrolment ratios are 96% for primary and 87% for secondary (2006). The school year starts in January.

About 73% of the relevant age group is enrolled in tertiary education (2006). There is virtually no illiteracy among people age 15–24.

Health: Health facilities are a responsibility of the states, although the federal government administers the Medicare insurance scheme, introduced in 1984. Infant mortality was 5 per 1,000 live births in 2006 (20 in 1960).

Communications: Country code 61. Payphones are red, green, gold or blue. Only local calls can be made from red phones. Green, gold and blue phones also have international direct dialling (IDD) and subscriber trunk dial (STD). Multimedia payphones, where visitors can access and print off tourist information, are available in parts of Melbourne and Sydney.

Roaming agreements exist with most international companies, and mobile phone coverage is good – although it may be patchy in some of the more isolated areas.

Internet use is high in Australia and internet cafes are prevalent in all the main cities. Many hotels will have high-speed connections.

There are 471 main telephone lines and 1,025 mobile phone subscriptions per 1,000 people (2007).

Public holidays: New Year’s Day, Australia Day (26 January), ANZAC Day (25 April), Queen’s Official Birthday (June, except Western Australia), Labour Day (early October in most states, otherwise in March), Christmas Day and Boxing Day. States have additional public holidays.

Religious and other festivals whose dates vary from year to year include Good Friday and Easter Monday.