| Chief of State |
Queen Elizabeth II – February 6, 1952 |
| Head of Government |
Prime Minister John Winston Howard – March 11, 1996 |
| Location |
Oceania, continent between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean |
| Independence |
1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies) |
| Population (2006E) |
20,264,082 |
|
| Minister of Trade |
The Honorable Warren Truss, MP |
| Currency/Exchange Rate (1/3/2007) |
1 Australian dollar (AUS) = 0.7915 USD |
| Inflation Rate (2006E) |
3.5% |
| Gross Domestic Product (GDP, 2006E) |
$753 billion |
| Real GDP Growth Rate (2006E) |
2.5% |
| Unemployment Rate (2005E) |
5.1% |
| External Debt (2005E) |
$323.4 billion |
| Exports (2006E) |
$124.6 billion |
| Exports - Commodities |
coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment |
| Exports - Partners (2006E) |
Japan 20.3%, China 11.5%, South Korea 7.9%, US 6.7%, NZ 6.5%, India 5% |
| Imports (2006E) |
$134.2.6 billion |
| Imports - Commodities |
machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products |
| Imports - Partners (2006E) |
US 13.9%, China 13.7%, Japan 11%, Singapore 5.6%, Germany 5.6% |
| Current Account Balance (2006E) |
-$33.7 billion |
|
| Minister of Industry, Tourism and Resources |
The Honorable Ian Macfarlane, MP |
| Proven Oil Reserves (January 1, 2007E) |
1.6 billion barrels |
| Oil Production (2006E) |
562 thousand barrels per day, of which 77% was crude oil. |
| Oil Consumption (2006E) |
925 thousand barrels per day |
| Crude Oil Refining Capacity (2006E) |
705 thousand barrels per day |
| Proven Natural Gas Reserves (January 1, 2007E) |
30.4 trillion cubic feet |
| Natural Gas Production (2004E) |
1.3 trillion cubic feet |
| Natural Gas Consumption (2004E) |
931.3 billion cubic feet |
| Recoverable Coal Reserves (2003E) |
86,531.4 million short tons |
| Coal Production (2004E) |
391 million short tons |
| Coal Consumption (2004E) |
150.1 million short tons |
| Electricity Installed Capacity (2004E) |
48.6 gigawatts |
| Electricity Production (2004E) |
225.3 billion kilowatt hours |
| Electricity Consumption (2004E) |
209.5 billion kilowatt hours |
| Total Energy Consumption (2004E) |
5.3 quadrillion Btus*, of which Coal (45%), Oil (33%), Natural Gas (19%), Hydroelectricity (3%), Nuclear (0%), Other Renewables (0%) |
| Total Per Capita Energy Consumption ((Million Btu)E) |
264.5 million Btus |
| Energy Intensity (2004E) |
8,921.6 Btu per $2000-PPP** |
|
| Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions (2004E) |
386.2 million metric tons, of which Coal (56%), Oil (30%), Natural Gas (14%) |
| Per-Capita, Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions ((Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide)E) |
19.4 metric tons |
| Carbon Dioxide Intensity (2004E) |
0.7 Metric tons per thousand $2000-PPP** |
| Environmental Issues |
soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources |
| Major Environmental Agreements |
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
|
| Organization |
Woodside Petroleum, Santos Inc., BHP Billiton, Shell Australia, ExxonMobil Australia (The government does not own any of the oil or natural gas businesses) |
| Major Oil/Gas Ports |
Sydney; Melbourne; Geelong; Fremantle; Adelaide; Brisbane |
| Foreign Company Involvement |
ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron, Shell, ConocoPhillips, Anglo American, Rio Tinto (partially Australian owned) and Xstrata |
| Major Oil Fields |
Roller, Skate, Bass Strait, Wanea-Cossack Laminaria, Corallina |
| Major Natural Gas Fields |
Bass Strait, Cooper Basin, North Rankin, Goodwyn, Gorgon |
| Major Refineries |
BP Amoco – Bulwer Island (85,500 bbl/d), BP Amoco – Kwinana (132,050 bbl/d), Caltex – Kurnell (105,500 bbl/d), Caltex – Lytton (108,609 bbl/d), ExxonMobil – Altona (78,000 bbl/d), Shell – Clyde (85,000 bbl/d), Shell – Geelong (110,000 bbl/d) |
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* The total energy consumption statistic includes petroleum, dry natural gas, coal, net hydro, nuclear, geothermal, solar, wind, wood and waste electric power. The renewable energy consumption statistic is based on International Energy Agency (IEA) data and includes hydropower, solar, wind, tide, geothermal, solid biomass and animal products, biomass gas and liquids, industrial and municipal wastes. Sectoral shares of energy consumption and carbon emissions are also based on IEA data.
**GDP figures from OECD estimates based on purchasing power parity (PPP) exchange rates.
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