home Repair Pgp Australia. Natural conditions and resources Australia impact of the EGP on development

Pgp Australia. Natural conditions and resources Australia impact of the EGP on development

Introduction

Geographical position.

1.Australia.

2.Oceania.

Natural resources and conditions.

Population. Demographic situation.

Population of Oceania

Farm

Industry of Australia

Light industry in Australia

Mechanical engineering

Geography of transport

External economic relations

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

Australia and Oceania are becoming increasingly attractive destinations for international tourism. Australia is a country that occupies an entire continent. The country has a relatively small population (about 19 million people), endemic species of flora and fauna, and high standards and standards of living.

IN last years Tourism is one of the promising sectors of the Australian economy. The development of tourism is facilitated by an ideal climate for recreation. It is never cold or hot here. The average summer temperature is plus 26°C, and the winter temperature is plus 18°C. The tourist centers of Australia include the business capital - the city of Sydney, the cultural capital - the city of Melbourne and the administrative capital - the city of Canberra.

A significant part of foreign tourists, and these are mainly Japanese and people from other countries of the Asia-Pacific region, come to Australia to look at the unique animals living on this continent: kangaroos, koalas, etc.

In recent years, along with traditional industries of specialization, viticulture has developed in Australia. It has become a major wine-producing country. Winemaking traditions came here from Europe back in the 19th century. Now almost every state in Australia grows grapes and produces wine. Most of the vineyards are located in South Australia, centered in Adelaide. And in the state of New South Wales, wine festivals are held annually in October.

Australia's main seaports: Dampier, Port Hedland, Newcastle, Sydney, Gladstone, Hay Point.

Geographical position

1.Australia

Australia is the only state in the world that occupies the territory of an entire continent, so Australia has only maritime borders. Australia's neighboring countries are New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and other island states of Oceania. Australia is remote from the developed countries of America and Europe, large markets for raw materials and sales of products, but many sea routes connect Australia with them, and Australia also plays an important role in the Asia-Pacific region.

Australia has a federal structure and includes 6 states.

The capital of Australia is Canberra.

A state located on the mainland of Australia and a number of nearby islands, the largest of which is the island of Tasmania. total area-7,682,300 km2 (land area -7,617,930 km2). The length of the coastline is 25,760 km. Along the northeastern coast of the Kara Sea lies the Great Barrier Reef, which is 2,500 km long. Along the eastern coast, leaving a narrow coastal strip, from Cape York in the north to Bass Strait in the south and continuing on the island of Tasmania, stretches the Great Dividing Range, 3,300 km long. Its average height is 300-400, the highest part is the southern Australian Alps (Mount Kosciusha 2,228 m). In the center of the mainland there is a vast zone of lowlands, most of which are the basins of the Murray River (Mary) and Lake Eyre, as well as the Nullarbor Plain. In the west of the country is the Great Western Plateau with four deserts: the Great Victoria Desert, the Great Sandy Desert, the Gibson Desert and the Simson Desert. Australia is very poor in fresh water. The main part of the rivers is located in the north: the Murray (Murray), Darling and others. The rivers located in the center and in the west dry up during the summer season. Most of the country's lakes are salty. The largest Lake Eyre is no exception, with a water level 12m below sea level. Australia has mineral resources: coal, iron ore, copper, tin, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas and oil. Meadows and pastures occupy most of the country's territory (58%), 6% is allocated for arable land.

2.Oceania

Oceania is the world's largest collection of islands in archipelagos in the central and southwestern Pacific Ocean. The islands and archipelagos of Oceania are located in a vast area of the Pacific Ocean between 290 N latitude. and 530 S. w. and 1300 E. and 1090 W. All of Oceania, except for two relatively large land masses - New Guinea (829 thousand sq. km.) and New Zealand (265 thousand sq. km.), consists of almost 7 thousand islands. The total area of Oceania is only about 1.3 million square meters. km.

Melanesia, located in the western part of Oceania, includes New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, the D'Entrecasteaux Islands, the Louisiades Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, the Santa Cruz Islands, the New Hebrides, New Caledonia, the Loyalty Islands, the Fiji Islands and several others. The total area of Melanesia (Black Island) is 969 thousand square meters. km, of which almost 6/7 is in New Guinea - this micro-continent of Melanesia.

Polynesia (multi-island), stretching from the extreme southwest to the eastern limits of Oceania, includes the islands: New Zealand, Tonga, Samoa, Wallis, Horn, Tuvalu, Tokelau, Cook, Tubuai, Society, Tuamotu, Marquesas, Hawaiian Islands, Easter Island etc. The area of Polynesia without New Zealand is only 26 thousand square meters. km, and 17 thousand of them are in the Hawaiian Islands.

Micronesia (small island), occupying the north western part Oceania is a collection of small tiny islands and archipelagos, mainly of coral, but also of volcanic origin. The most important island groups of Micronesia are the Caroline, Mariana, Marshall and Gilbert Islands. The total area of the islands of Micronesia is only about 2.6 thousand square meters. km, but these islands are scattered over a huge expanse of water with an area of 14 million square meters. km.

On most islands of Oceania, natural conditions are generally favorable for human life. It is not surprising that people populated almost all of Oceania, developed even the most remote and small pieces of land, having had a significant impact on the natural world of the islands over the past millennia.

The total population of Oceania is currently about 10 million people. Of these, 5 million live in Melanesia, 4.5 million in Polynesia and over 0.3 million in Micronesia.

The modern population of Oceania consists of three main components. The first component is the indigenous people, whose ancestors settled the archipelagos of Oceania a thousand years ago. The second is for the newcomer population. These descendants come from Europe, Asia and America, whose migration continues to this day. And the third - the most various groups mixed origin.

The basis of the modern political map of Oceania was formed as a result of the long and persistent struggle of the colonial powers for the division of ocean archipelagos and individual islands among themselves. Until the early 60s of our century, there was only one independent state in Oceania - New Zealand, created by colonists from England, Scotland and Ireland. In the last decade, in the context of the general crisis of capitalism and the collapse of the world colonial system, Oceania has intensified the national liberation movement.

Oceania is an ethnographic concept rather than a geographical one. Many of the oceanic islands differ significantly from one another in their size, vegetation, soils, and natural resources. These differences are primarily related to their origin. Islands in the ocean are special natural-territorial complexes, including various rocks, fresh ground or surface water, soils, terrestrial vegetation and animal world. These are peculiar micromeres scattered on the surface of the ocean waters and representing ecological systems.

By origin, the islands of Oceania belong to four types: volcanic, biogenic, geosynclinal and continental. Volcanic islands range in size from a few square kilometers to several thousand kilometers. Biogenic islands are formed by animal organisms. These are coral reefs, including. Geosynclinal islands are found in the western part of the ocean, in continuation of the earth's crust of the transitional continent. The mainland islands are entire mountainous countries.

Islands in Oceania are washed by warm seas. Almost all of it lies in tropical zone, and only New Zealand and its neighboring islands in the subtropics. At the same time, the aquatic environment is diverse in its properties, and these differences are clearly manifested in the landscapes of the islands and affect the lives of the peoples inhabiting them. Water currents not only carry heat or cold, but also contribute to the dispersal of organisms. The main direction of movement of surface water masses in Oceania is from east to west. The waters of the seas and oceans washing the islands of Oceania are rich in biological resources. The mineral resources of the seabed are significant.

Climate. Warm, even, mild - this climate can be characterized in Oceania. The position of the islands in equatorial and tropical latitudes causes high air temperatures. At the same time, winds from the ocean significantly soften the heat, so the climate of the tropical islands is one of the most comfortable on the globe. It is no coincidence that the Pacific Islands attract huge numbers of tourists. There are two climatic regions in Oceania: trade wind and monsoon. The first occupies the eastern and central parts of this territory of the Pacific Ocean, the second - its western part, including the island of New Guinea.

And yet the climate is different on different islands. Within the vast expanse of Oceania, there are large differences in the temperature conditions of winter and summer, in the amount of precipitation and its consistency, and in the susceptibility of the islands to tropical hurricanes.

Natural resources and conditions.

Australia is rich in a variety of mineral resources. New discoveries of mineral ores made on the continent over the past 10-15 years have propelled the country to one of the first places in the world in reserves and production of minerals such as iron ore, bauxite, and lead-zinc ores.

The largest deposits of iron ore in Australia, which began to be developed in the 60s of our century, are located in the Hamersley Range in the north-west of the country (the Mount Newman, Mount Goldsworth, etc. deposits). Iron ore is also found on the islands of Kulan and Kokatu in King's Bay (in the north-west), in the state of South Australia in the Middleback Range (Iron Knob, etc.) and in Tasmania - the Savage River deposit (in the valley of the Savage River).

Large deposits of semimetals (lead, zinc with an admixture of silver and copper) are located in the western desert part of the state of New South Wales - the Broken Hill deposit. An important center for the extraction of non-ferrous metals (copper, lead, zinc) developed near the Mount Isa deposit (in Queensland). Deposits of semimetals and copper are also found in Tasmania (Reed Rosebery and Mount Lyell), copper in Tennant Creek (Northern Territory) and in other places.

The main gold reserves are concentrated in the ledges of the Precambrian basement and in the southwest of the mainland (Western Australia), in the area of the cities of Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie, Northman and Wiluna, as well as in Queensland. Smaller deposits are found in almost all states.

Bauxite occurs on the Cape York Peninsula (Waipa deposit) and Arnhem Land (Gove deposit), as well as in the southwest, in the Darling Range (Jarrahdale deposit).

Uranium deposits have been discovered in various parts of the mainland: in the north (Arnhem Land Peninsula) - near the South and East Alligator rivers, in the state of South Australia - near Lake. Frome, in Queensland - the Mary Catlin field and in the western part of the country - the Yillirri field.

The main deposits of hard coal are located in the eastern part of the mainland. The largest deposits of both coking and non-coking coal are developed near the cities of Newcastle and Lithgow (New South Wales) and the cities of Collinsville, Blair Athol, Bluff, Baralaba and Moura Keanga in Queensland.

Geological surveys have established that in the bowels of the Australian continent and on the shelf off its coast there are large deposits of oil and natural gas. Oil is found and produced in Queensland (Mooney, Alton and Bennett fields), on Barrow Island off the northwest coast of the mainland, as well as on the continental shelf off the southern coast of Victoria (Kingfish field). Gas deposits (the largest Ranken field) and oil were also discovered on the shelf off the northwestern coast of the continent.

Australia has large deposits of chromium (Queensland), Gingin, Dongara, Mandarra (Western Australia), and Marlin (Victoria).

Non-metallic minerals include clays, sands, limestones, asbestos, and mica, which vary in quality and industrial use.

The water resources of the continent itself are small, but the most developed river network is on the island of Tasmania. The rivers there are fed with mixed rain and snow and are full of water throughout the year. They flow down from the mountains and are therefore stormy, rapids and have large reserves of hydroelectric power. The latter is widely used for the construction of hydroelectric power stations. The availability of cheap electricity contributes to the development of energy-intensive industries in Tasmania, such as the smelting of pure electrolyte metals, the production of cellulose, etc.

The rivers flowing from the eastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range are short and flow in narrow gorges in the upper reaches. Here they may well be used, and in part they are already used for the construction of hydroelectric power stations. When entering the coastal plain, rivers slow down their flow and their depth increases. Many of them in estuarine areas are even accessible to large ocean-going vessels. The Clarence River is navigable for 100 km from the mouth, and the Hawkesbury for 300 km. The flow volume and regime of these rivers are different and depend on the amount of precipitation and the time of its occurrence.

Australia (English Australia, from Latin austrālis “southern”) is a state in the Southern Hemisphere, a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The capital of the state is the city of Canberra. Located on the mainland of Australia, the island of Tasmania and several other islands in the Indian and Pacific oceans. The sixth largest state in the world by area, the only state that occupies an entire continent. To the north of the Commonwealth of Australia are East Timor, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, to the northeast are Vanuatu, New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands, to the southeast is New Zealand. The shortest distance between the main island of Papua New Guinea and the mainland of the Commonwealth of Australia is only 145 km, and the distance from the Australian island of Boigu to Papua New Guinea is only 5 km.
Economy
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, Christmas Island, Cocos Islands and Norfolk Island. In addition, this currency is in circulation in the independent states of Oceania - Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu. The Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange are the country's largest trading platforms.
Australia is one of the few capitalist countries that most fully embodies the principle of laissez-faire in economic management, according to the World Economic Freedom Index. Australia's gross domestic product per capita is slightly higher than the UK, Germany and France on a purchasing power parity basis. The country was ranked second out of 170 (2009) by the Human Development Index and sixth in quality of life by the Economist magazine (2005). In 2008, a record number of Australian cities were included in the top ten (en: World's Most Livable Cities) of the most comfortable cities in the world for living in the same magazine, where Melbourne took 2nd, Perth - 4th, Adelaide - 7th and Sydney - 9th place respectively.
The significant dominance of the extractive sector of the economy over industrial production led to significant growth in the Australian economy at the beginning of the century due to high resource prices. Australia's negative balance of payments exceeds 7% of GDP and there have been significant current account deficits over the past 50 years. Over the past 15 years, the Australian economy has grown by an average of 3.6% per year, while the global average the economic growth was 2.5% during the same period.
In 1983, the country's government converted the Australian dollar into a freely convertible currency and partially relaxed the regulation of the economic system. This was followed by a series of reforms leading to partial deregulation of the labor market and further privatization of state-owned enterprises, primarily in the telecommunications sector. The indirect tax system underwent significant changes in July 2000 with the introduction of a special value added tax (en:Goods and Services Tax), which somewhat reduced the dependence on corporate and personal income taxes that characterized the Australian tax system prior to these changes.
In January 2007, the total number of people employed in all sectors of the Australian economy was 10,033,480, and the unemployment rate reached 4.6%. Over the past decade, inflation has not exceeded 2-3%, and base interest rates have fluctuated between 5-6%. At the beginning of 2008, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.9%, however, it again reached 4.4% in December of the same year. The services sector, which includes tourism, education and banking, accounts for 69% of GDP. Although Agriculture and production natural resources constitute only 3% and 5% of GDP, respectively, but at the same time form a significant share of exports. In the second half of the 20th century, the country's economy reoriented towards Japan and other East Asian countries, which became Australia's main foreign trade partners. The main buyers of Australian products are

Australia is located in the southeast of the mainland, Oceania is in the central part of the Pacific Ocean. Australia is washed by the waters of the Indian and. Main feature The economic and geographical position of Australia and Oceania is isolation, isolation from other continents.

At the beginning of the 17th century. The Dutch navigator W. Janszoon was the first to visit its shores, and after him in 1770, an English navigator visited its shores and declared Australia an English possession. The English Parliament passed a law establishing a convict settlement in Australia. For the period 1788-1850. 146 thousand convicts and 187 thousand people arrived on the continent. free settlers. It follows from this that the population of the country is mainly from Europe and forms an Anglo-Australian nation.

The state of the Commonwealth of Australia is named after the mainland, on which over 99% of its territory is located, including about. Tasmania and many small islands. Australia - part of the British Commonwealth, consists of six states: New South Wales, Victoria, Queenland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania. The head of state is the Queen, represented by the Governor-General, who is appointed on the recommendation of the Australian government. The formation of the state took place in 1901, when six separate English colonies united into the Australian Union, which received dominion status, and in 1931, under the Westminster status, Australia received complete independence from the mother country in external and internal affairs.

Oceania is a cluster of islands in the Pacific Ocean that are of continental, coral, and volcanic origin. The region is located in the equatorial and, except for the extreme northern and southern islands. ranges from +23° to +30°С, precipitation falls from 3000 to 14000 mm per year. The exception is that this is the driest continent on Earth. Deserts occupy vast areas and extend for 2.5 thousand km from the coast to the foothills of the Great Dividing Range, with a temperature of 35°C and 200-300 mm of precipitation. It was generally accepted that almost 1/3 of the continent was generally useless, unpromising from the point of view economic development. However, deposits of manganese, lead-zinc ores, uranium, bauxite, gold, etc. were discovered in places, which brought Australia to one of the first places in the world and as one of the largest producers and exporters of mineral raw materials.

Australia has gone through a difficult path of economic development in a short period of time. From an agricultural and raw materials appendage of the metropolis, which the country was at the beginning of the 20th century, it has turned into an economically developed state. Industry, initially mining and then manufacturing, and partly agriculture, began to develop at the level technical development England, which was the highest in the world at the time when the settlement of Australia began. In the person of settlers from England, Australia received highly skilled workers and engineers. At the same time, the fifth continent has remained one of the largest producers of agricultural raw materials (wool) and food (wheat, meat, sugar, fruits) for a hundred years; occupies one of the first places in the export of raw sugar and honey; First place in the world in terms of sheep population (200 million heads - 12 per person), export of wool and sheepskin, and is the world's largest exporter of beef, lamb and veal. More than 60% of agricultural products

There are no states in the modern world that, like Australia, could boast that their area occupies an entire continent. The “Green Continent” (as is often said about the Commonwealth of Australia) is the only country completely isolated from neighboring powers by ocean waters on all sides. Towards the southeast of Eurasia, the continent occupies a fairly favorable EGP. Australia is characterized by isolation and distance from everything modern world, however, this fact does not in any way prevent the country from being considered one of the most developed in the world.

Geographical location of the mainland

The waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans wash its shores. About 99% of the territory of the Commonwealth of Australia is located on the mainland. The islands, including Tasmania, occupy the remainder of the area covered by the state's sovereignty. About 7.7 million sq. km allow Australia to be among the top ten large countries in the world, confidently occupying 6th place in the corresponding ranking. Russia, the Republic of China, and the North American states - the USA, Canada, and Brazil - are ahead of it.

To cross Australia by car from east to west and from south to east, you will have to spend about a week. After all, the length of the continent is almost 4.5 thousand kilometers, and the width is slightly more than 3 thousand km. In the central part of the continent passes

Australia is an economically developed country

The EGP of Australia deserves special attention. The pros and cons of its remoteness from other modern states significantly affect all spheres of the country’s life. Australia's relatively close location to the powers in southern Asia and Oceania has a largely positive impact on the maintenance of international relations and trade partnerships of this state with world leaders. The continent is a full member of many influential international organizations, including the UN, IMF and others.

But the fact that the country does not have land borders is an obstacle to the implementation of many trade projects and maintaining economic ties with other powers. In addition, it is the costs of transporting products from Australia that make up the majority of logistics costs.

It is immediately worth noting that Australia is undoubtedly highly developed, modern country, whose economy is exemplary for many of today's powers that are in transition to market economy. GNP indicators allow it to occupy leadership positions in the global division of labor. At the same time, the main specialized sector of the Union is the agricultural and raw materials sector.

Climatic features of the continent and a brief history of its settlement

The characteristics of Australia's EGP make it possible to analyze the advantageousness of its location relative to other states and understand how the location of the mainland influenced the emergence of such a successful and leading country in many respects. The “Green Continent” extends across several climate zones. If we consider their sequence from north to south, it will look like this:

Subequatorial (in the northern regions of the mainland).
Tropical (occupies the central part of the country).
Subtropical (southern regions of Australia).
Moderate (Tasmania Island).

Also in XVII century features of the EGP Australia became interested in seafarers. The continent was discovered in 1606 by the Dutchman Willem Janszoon, although most historians believe that the discoverer of the continent was James Cook, who proclaimed the English kingdom as the owner of Australian lands. His ships first landed on the coast in 1770.

The Parliament of England did not hesitate to appropriate areas of the mainland and Oceania. The law on the formation of a prison settlement on its territory finally extended the ownership of Europeans to lands that had been wild until recently.

During the period from 1788 to the 50s of the 19th century, about 340 thousand people arrived in Australia, half of whom were convicts, and the other half were free migrants. Thus, the population of the country was formed and the Anglo-Australian nation was formed.

Government structure and economic-geographical position of Australia

The main features of Australia's EGP determined its administrative and political division. The federal state that it is is part of the Commonwealth of Great Britain and includes 6 states, including:

Western Australia;
South Australia;
Victoria;
Queensland;
Tasmania;
N.S.W.

Officially, the Queen of Great Britain is considered the head of the Australian continent. The Governor-General, who carries out his activities on behalf of the monarch, is appointed at the insistence of the local government.

In 1931, Australia received almost complete freedom and sovereignty. Both in internal affairs and in the country's activities on the international stage, Australia has gained sufficient autonomy.

Oceania in the economic and geographical position of Australia

Oceania occupies a significant place in Australia's EGP. Briefly it can be described as a complex of islands of various origins. The largest and most developed is Tasmania, and the islands of Ashmore and Cartier are uninhabited. Located in tropical and equatorial latitudes, the air temperature in these areas varies between +23-30°C. A large number of precipitation on the islands (up to 15,000 mm per year) contributes to the presence of a rich flora and fauna. However, the same cannot be said about Australia. It is called the driest continent of the entire globe.

Minerals on the continent

Deserts play a huge role in Australia's EGP. Vast expanses of sand, which stretch more than 2.5 km from the Indian Ocean coast to the Great Dividing Range, are considered uninhabitable and have not been used by humans for a long time. Heat air, which is about +35°C according to the average annual indicators, and the almost complete absence of precipitation did their job - until the middle of the last century, about 35% of the continent’s territory was empty and considered useless.

But the discovered mineral deposits radically changed the situation. Work to extract valuable resources continues to this day. Gold deposits coal, uranium, iron ore, manganese and lead allowed Australia to “fly up” to the top of the rankings of world countries in terms of mineral wealth. Today Australia is one of the largest producers and suppliers of natural raw materials.

Finally about Australia

Thus, in a fairly short period of time, the state has gone through a very difficult path of development. Australia's EGP allowed the state to go from a colonial appendage of the English empire to an independent country with a high standard of living for its population. A huge role in this belongs to the flow of immigrants from the European part, because it was their fate that fell to the task of raising and developing the newly created state. Highly qualified specialists, including representatives of blue-collar professions and engineers, made their most valuable contribution to the formation of the modern Commonwealth of Australia.

Australia's EGP, despite its isolation from the rest of the world, has remained the best producer of food and agricultural commodities for a century. More than 60% of the country's total production is exported. Dairy production, industry, winemaking and brewing are also considered developed in the country.

Commonwealth of Australia, Australia (English Australia, from the Latin austrālis “southern”) is a state in the Southern Hemisphere, located on the mainland of Australia, the island of Tasmania and several other islands of the Indian and Pacific oceans. The sixth largest state in the world by area, the only state that occupies an entire continent. To the north of the Commonwealth of Australia are East Timor, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, to the northeast are Vanuatu, New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands, to the southeast is New Zealand. The shortest distance between the main island of Papua New Guinea and the mainland of the Commonwealth of Australia is only 145 km, and the distance from the Australian island of Boigu to Papua New Guinea is only 5 km.

The mainland of the Commonwealth of Australia was inhabited by Australian Aborigines more than 42 thousand years ago. The discovery of Australia by Europeans was made by the Dutch traveler Bill Janszoon in 1606. On April 29, 1770, Captain James Cook stopped off the coast of the mainland on the ship Endeavor. The eastern part of Australia was declared the territory of the British Empire. On January 26, 1788, the first colony, New South Wales, was founded there. As the population grew in the 19th century, five more self-governing crown colonies were founded in Australia.

On January 1, 1901, these six colonies became a federation, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Since that time, Australia has maintained a stable democratic system of government, remaining part of the Commonwealth Realms. The capital of the state is the city of Canberra. The population of the Commonwealth of Australia exceeds 21 million people, with 60% of the population living in the country's largest cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and their suburbs.

Total information
Capital
Canberra

Largest cities
Sydney,
Melbourne,
Brisbane,
Perth,
Adelaide

Form of government
A constitutional monarchy

Territory
7,692,024 km²

Population
22,265,526 people (2010)

GDP
Total (2008)
$800.200 billion (18th)
Per capita
$37 302

Geography

The northern and eastern coasts of Australia are washed by the Pacific Ocean: the Arafura, Coral, Tasman, Timor Seas; western and southern - Indian Ocean. Near Australia are the large islands of New Guinea and Tasmania. Along the northeastern coast of Australia, the world's largest coral reef, the Great Barrier Reef, stretches for more than 2,000 kilometers.
Waterfall in the blue mountains

Australia is a huge country, stretching almost 4,000 kilometers from west to east, and 3,700 kilometers from north to south. Extreme points mainland are: in the north - Cape York (10° S), in the south - South East Cape (39° S), in the west - Cape Steep Point (114° E) , in the east - Cape Byron (154° E).

The length of the Australian coastline is 59,736 km (of which the mainland is 35,877 km, the island is 23,859 km), and the area of the exclusive economic zone is 8,148,250 km².

Relief
Most of the country's territory is occupied by vast deserts and low-lying areas. Famous deserts: Great Sandy Desert, Great Victoria Desert. To the east of the Victoria Desert lies the semi-desert Great Artesian Basin. In the east of the continent there are heavily destroyed, low mountains of the Hercynian fold - the Great Watershed Range with a maximum height in the south (Mount Kosciuszko, 2228 m; Townsend, 2209 m). Faults and river valleys divide the mountains into separate massifs. The peaks of the mountains are dome-shaped. The eastern slopes of the mountains drop steeply to the sea, while the western slopes are more gentle. Australia is the only continent without active volcanoes and modern glaciation.

The lowest point in Australia is Lake Eyre (-20 m), whose area is about 15,000 km².

Mount Kosciuszko is the highest point on the Australian continent. The country's highest point (Mawson Volcano) is located on the subantarctic Heard Island.

Geological structure
The country's territory is based on the ancient Australian Plate, which represents part of the Gondwana continent in the southern hemisphere of the Earth.

Natural resources

Basics natural wealth countries - mineral resources. Australia's natural resource potential is 20 times higher than the world average. The country ranks 1st in the world in bauxite reserves (1/3 of world reserves and 40% of production), zirconium, 1st in the world in uranium reserves (1/3 of the world) and 3rd place (after Kazakhstan and Canada ) in terms of its production (8022 tons in 2009). The country ranks 6th in the world in terms of coal reserves. It has significant reserves of manganese, gold, and diamonds. There are minor oil and natural gas deposits in the shelf zone off the northeastern and northwestern coasts.

The largest deposits of iron ore in Australia, which began to be developed in the 60s of the 20th century, are located in the Hamersley Range in the north-west of the country (the Mount Newman, Mount Goldsworth, etc. deposits). Iron ore is also found on the islands of Kulan and Kokatu in King's Bay (in the north-west), in the state of South Australia in the Middleback Range (Iron Knob, etc.) and in Tasmania - the Savage River deposit (in the valley of the Savage River).

Large deposits of polymetals (lead, zinc with an admixture of silver and copper) are located in the western desert part of the state of New South Wales - the Broken Hill deposit. An important center for the extraction of non-ferrous metals developed near the Mount Isa deposit (in Queensland). Deposits of non-ferrous metals are also found in Tasmania (Reed Rosebery and Mount Lyell), copper in Tennant Creek (Northern Territory) and other places.

Bauxite occurs on the Cape York Peninsula (Waipa deposit) and Arnhem Land (Gove deposit), as well as in the southwest, in the Darling Range (Jarrahdale deposit).

Uranium deposits have been found in various parts of the mainland: in the north (Arnhem Land Peninsula) - near the South and East Alligator rivers, in the state of South Australia - near Lake Frome, in the state of Queensland - the Mary Catlin deposit and in the western part of the country - the Yillirri deposit.

In Australia, there are large deposits of chromium in the state of Queensland, as well as in Gingin, Dongara, Mandarra (Western Australia), and Marlin (Victoria).

Non-metallic minerals include clays, sands, limestones, asbestos, and mica, which vary in quality and industrial use.

Population

The majority of Australia's population are descendants of 19th and 20th century immigrants, with the majority of these immigrants coming from Great Britain and Ireland. The settlement of Australia by immigrants from the British Isles began in 1788, when the first batch of exiles landed on the eastern coast of Australia and the first English settlement of Port Jackson (future Sydney) was founded. Voluntary immigration from England only became significant in the 1820s, when sheep farming began to develop rapidly in Australia. After the discovery of gold in Australia, a lot of immigrants arrived here from England and partly from other countries. In 10 years (1851-61), Australia's population almost tripled, exceeding 1 million people.

Between 1839 and 1900, over 18 thousand Germans arrived in Australia, settling mainly in the south of the country; by 1890 the Germans constituted the second largest ethnic group on the continent. Among them were persecuted Lutherans, economic and political refugees - for example, those who left Germany after the revolutionary events of 1848.

In 1900, the Australian colonies united into a federation. The consolidation of the Australian nation accelerated in the first decades of the 20th century, when Australia's national economy finally strengthened.

In the period after the Second World War, Australia's population more than doubled (after the First World War, it quadrupled) thanks to the implementation of an ambitious program to stimulate immigration. In 2001, 27.4% of Australia's population was overseas-born. The largest groups among them were the British and Irish, New Zealanders, Italians, Greeks, Dutch, Germans, Yugoslavs, Vietnamese and Chinese.

Most Big City Australia - Sydney, the capital of the most populous state of New South Wales.

If you leave the coast and proceed inland about 200 kilometers, you will begin to find sparsely populated areas of the continent. Violent rain forests and rich farmland gives way to hot, dry, open country where only scrub and grasses can be found. However, there is life in these areas too. Large sheep and cow pastures, or ranches, stretch for hundreds of kilometers. Further, in the depths of the continent, the scorching heat of the desert begins.

The official language is English (a dialect known as Australian English).

Labor resources

Australia is home to about 21 million people. The share of foreign workers in the country is 25%. There are labor shortages in some areas of Australia. First of all, this is due to the small population despite the large area of these areas (density H = 3 people/km²) and the fact that the majority of the population lives on the east coast of Australia. Most large cities are in this area, and almost all skilled workers and engineers carry out their activities there. [source not specified 365 days] A lot of people from China, Vietnam, and Korea work in the Western part of the country. Their numbers are growing rapidly. The chemical, electrical, metallurgical and automotive industries are developed. It ranks among the first in the world in terms of electricity production per capita.

Economy

Brisbane is the state's fastest growing capital। From 1998 to 2003, Brisbane's population increased by 2% annually.

The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, Christmas Island, Cocos Islands and Norfolk Island. In addition, this currency is in circulation in the independent states of Oceania - Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu. The Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange are the country's largest trading venues.

Australia is one of the few capitalist countries that most fully embodies the principle of laissez-faire in economic management, according to the World Economic Freedom Index. Australia's gross domestic product per capita is slightly higher than the UK, Germany and France on a purchasing power parity basis. The country was ranked second out of 170 (2009) by the Human Development Index and sixth in quality of life by the Economist magazine (2005). In 2008, a record number of Australian cities were included in the top ten (en: World's Most Livable Cities) of the most comfortable cities in the world for living in the same magazine, where Melbourne took 2nd, Perth - 4th, Adelaide - 7th and Sydney - 9th place respectively.

The significant dominance of the extractive sector of the economy over industrial production led to significant growth in the Australian economy at the beginning of the century due to high resource prices. Australia's negative balance of payments exceeds 7% of GDP and there have been significant current account deficits over the past 50 years. Over the past 15 years, the Australian economy has grown at an average of 3.6% per year, while the global average economic growth was 2.5% during the same period.

In 1983, the country's government converted the Australian dollar into a freely convertible currency and partially relaxed the regulation of the economic system. This was followed by a series of reforms leading to partial deregulation of the labor market and further privatization of state-owned enterprises, primarily in the telecommunications sector. The indirect tax system underwent significant changes in July 2000 with the introduction of a special value added tax (en:Goods and Services Tax), which somewhat reduced the dependence on corporate and personal income taxes that characterized the Australian tax system prior to these changes.

In January 2007, the total number of people employed in all sectors of the Australian economy was 10,033,480, and the unemployment rate reached 4.6%. Over the past decade, inflation has not exceeded 2-3%, and base interest rates have fluctuated between 5-6%. At the beginning of 2008, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.9%, however, it again reached 4.4% in December of the same year. The services sector, which includes tourism, education and banking, accounts for 69% of GDP. Although agriculture and natural resource extraction account for only 3% and 5% of GDP respectively, they still form a significant share of exports. In the second half of the 20th century, the country's economy reoriented towards Japan and other East Asian countries, which became Australia's main foreign trade partners. The main buyers of Australian products are Japan, China, the USA, South Korea and New Zealand. Currently, Australia is actively working to establish a free trade regime with China, the country's second foreign trade partner after Japan.

A notable event in the economic history of the continent was the abolition by Great Britain of the most favored nation regime towards Australia, which occurred in connection with the transition to European integration.