Introduction
Australia’s major cities include Canberra, the capital; Sydney, the capital of the most populous state of New South Wales; Melbourne, the capital of Victoria and the second largest city; and Melbourne, the capital and third largest city of Queensland.
There is a large city, Brisbane. In addition, the capital of each state is considered a major city: Hobart is the capital of Tasmania, Perth is the capital of West Australia, and Adelaide is the capital of South Australia and serves as a hub city. The population is approximately 25 million as of the 2021 census, most of whom live in major cities located along the coastline. The largest city is not Canberra, the capital, but Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, with about 5.2 million people.
It can be said to be racially diverse, multicultural, and a region that is the product of large-scale immigration. According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, as of 2021, 29.1%, or approximately 7.5 million people, were born overseas. Abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade relations are very important to the economy, generating income in a variety of sectors including services, mining exports, banking, manufacturing, agriculture, and international education.
In particular, according to the 2023 report by Freedom House, which measures the level of civil liberties and political rights, Australia scored 57 points (out of 60) in civil liberties and 38 points (out of 40) in political rights. It recorded a score close to perfect of 95 points.
Australia’s nature and climate
Nature
The Nation is surrounded by the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and consists of the mainland and the island of Tasmania. Although the Oceania continent is the world’s smallest continent, Australia is the world’s sixth largest country and is often called a ‘continental island’ due to its size and isolation. Australia has a coastline of approximately 34,000 km and an extensive exclusive economic zone of approximately 8,000,000 square km. As it is a large continent, various environments can be seen, including tropical rainforests in the northeast, mountain ranges in the southeast, southwest, and east, and deserts in the center.
The desert or semi-arid zone, commonly known as the outback, occupies the largest part of the country, and is known to be the driest of the inhabited continents, with the average annual precipitation of the entire continent being less than 500 mm. Thus, although the population density is 3.4 people per square kilometer, the majority of the population lives along the temperate south-eastern coastline, and in Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city, the central population density exceeds 19,500 people per square kilometer.
Climate
In here, 39% of the land area is in a tropical climate, and the remaining 61% is in a temperate climate. The western and northern regions have a tropical climate, with approximately 40% of the western region and 80% of the northern region having a tropical climate. The southern region has a temperate climate, while the central part of the continent has desert climate characteristics. Australia’s climate is influenced by the Indian Ocean Current and El Nino Southern Oscillation, which periodically cause droughts, and the northern region is affected by cyclones due to seasonal tropical cyclones.
Rainfall varies significantly from year to year, and in most northern regions with tropical climates, it rains heavily in summer. The southeastern region has a maritime and humid subtropical climate. Due to climate change, the average temperature has risen by more than 1 degree every year since 1960, and recent damage from droughts and forest fires has been severe. 2019 was recorded as the warmest year in Australian history, and the bushfires that occurred between 2019 and 2020 were recorded as the worst bushfire season on record. Due to urban population growth and drought, people are suffering from chronic water shortages, and in response to this, many regions and cities in Australia are implementing limited water supply.
Residents of australia
Today, the population is known to be comprised of more than 270 different ethnic groups. Although there is no legal definition of an official language, English is the de facto official and national language. Australian English has a unique accent and vocabulary, and differs from other types of English in its grammar and spelling. The 2021 Census found that 72% of the population spoke only English at home, with the next most commonly spoken languages being Chinese (Mandarin, 2.7%), Arabic (1.4%), Vietnamese (1.3%), and Cantonese (1.2%). ), followed by Punjabi (0.9%).
Australia has no state religion, and Article 116 of the Constitution prohibits the federal government from enacting any law that establishes a religion, imposes religious beliefs, or interferes with the free exercise of religion. In the 2021 census, 38.9% of the population said they had “no religion,” up from 15.5% in 2001. The largest religion is Christianity, followed by 43.9% of the population. The largest Christian denominations are the Roman Catholic Church, which accounts for about 20% of the population, and the Anglican Church of Australia (9.8%). After World War II, multicultural immigration led to the growth of non-Christian religions such as Islam (3.2%), Hinduism (2.7%), Buddhism (2.4%), Sikhism (0.8%), and Judaism (0.4%).
The indigenous people of Australia broadly refer to the various indigenous people living on the Australian mainland and several islands, such as Tasmania Island, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, and the Tiwi Islands, but the indigenous people living in the Torres Strait Islands are separate. are distinguished. The general term for indigenous people is Aborigine or Indigenous Australian, and the indigenous people living in the Torres Strait are called Torres Strait Islanders.
Recently, it has been recommended to use the term ‘Indigenous Australians’ rather than ‘Aborigines’, and the flag symbolizing them is flown along with the Australian flag. According to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the total population of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in 2021 is 812,728, an increase from 649,171 in the 2016 survey. Therefore, their share of the total population also increased to 3.2% from 2.8% in 2016. More than two-thirds of these people were found to live in New South Wales (34.2%) and Queensland (29.2%). Of this population, 91.4% responded that they were Indigenous Australians, 4.2% responded that they were Torres Straitans, and the remaining 4.4% responded that they were both.
Australian diplomacy
Australia established the Commonwealth in 1901, but as a colony of the British Empire before World War II, it was economically and militarily dependent on Britain and tried to align its foreign policy with the British government. However, with the outbreak of World War II, it began to be recognized that in order to protect itself from geopolitical threats, it was necessary to build an independent diplomatic network rather than relying only on Britain. The incident that can be said to be a turning point in thinking was the fall of Singapore to Japan in 1942.
In the battle that took place on the Malay Peninsula over the occupation of Singapore, Britain’s Oriental Fleet was completely defeated by the Japanese, giving up Singapore, and Japan later began to exert influence in Southeast Asia and the Oceania continent. Prime Minister Winston Churchill described this battle as the most crushing defeat in British history.
Afterwards, Australia began to slightly revise its diplomatic line, including deepening relations with the United States and declaring itself an Asian country. In 1944, New Zealand and the Pacific region signed the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), an agreement that comprehensively covers the security, welfare, and development of countries in the Pacific region.
Later, in 1951, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States signed the ANZUS (Australia-New Zealand-the United States). State) concluded a security treaty. Through this series of treaties, Australia began to establish diplomatic relations that were no longer solely dependent on Britain. Afterwards, through independent diplomatic relations, it was one of the countries that founded the United Nations (UN) in 1945 and the South Pacific Commission in 1947, and in 1950, it launched the Colombo Plan to support developing countries in Asia (Southeast Asia). ) was also suggested.
During the Cold War crisis, it aligned its policy with Western powers and, as a representative example, was the country that declared that it would send troops to the Korean War after the United States. In January 1976, ambassadors were dispatched to 41 countries, high commissioners were dispatched to 18 British Commonwealth countries, and diplomatic representatives from 68 countries were dispatched to Australia. The stability and prosperity of Southeast Asia is one of Australia’s major defense and security agendas, and Australia joined the U.S.-led Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) in 1954.
Even after the end of the Cold War, AUS continued to make important contributions to UN peacekeeping missions and multilateral security missions. In particular, he participated as a member of the coalition forces in the 1991 Persian Gulf War (Gulf War), the 2001-2011 Afghanistan War, the 2003-2011 Iraq War, and the 2013-2017 Iraq War. Recently, it has also provided security support, peace maintenance, and security maintenance to neighboring countries such as the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Tonga.
Since establishing the first diplomatic relations with China in December 1972, the relationship between the two countries has grown rapidly and they have established themselves as each other’s major trading partners. In the late 2010s, relations between AUS and China began to deteriorate somewhat, with Australia taking an anti-China stance in the South China Sea dispute. In response, China attempted to put pressure on international students studying in Australia, and the Turnbull government conducted a large-scale investigation into the Espionage and Interference in Internal Affairs Act.
Additionally, in December 2017, opposition lawmaker Sam Dastyari resigned due to a political scandal involving anti-Labor comments on the South China Sea issue and allegations that he had received donations from Chinese companies. Since then, politicians and those involved in political parties have come into conflict over issues related to China, such as enacting laws preventing them from receiving donations from foreign companies.
Relations between the two countries began to improve again after Labor Party’s Anthony Albanese took office as prime minister in 2022. The leaders of the two countries held a meeting at the G20 Summit in November 2022, and the Australian Foreign Minister made an official visit to China the following month and met with the Chinese Foreign Minister. The restrictions on imports and exports that had been restricted between the two countries have begun to be eased, and the relationship is evaluated to have reached a stage of stabilization. In addition, Australia has the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, the Australia-New Zealand-United Kingdom Agreement, the Five Power Defense Arrangements with the United Kingdom and New Zealand to ensure the security of Singapore and Malaysia, and Ocus ( Australia-the United Kingdom-the United State (AUKUS), etc.
Conclusion
Australia, located on the Oceania continent, is the largest country by area. The Australian continent is classified as the oldest, flat, and driest region, with soil that is not very fertile. It has a diverse landscape and climate, with a desert in the center, a tropical rainforest in the northeast, a tropical savannah in the north, and a mountain range in the southeast.
The administrative districts are New South Wales (NSW), Victoria (VIC), Western Australia (SA), South Australia (SA), and Tasmania. The administrative region is divided into six states (TAS) and two territories: the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the Northern Territory (NT).
It is a country belonging to the British Commonwealth and is officially called the ‘Commonwealth of Australia’. It is a country comprised of the mainland of the continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous small islands. Australia is the largest country by area on the Oceania continent and the 6th largest country in the world. On January 26, 1788, Britain entered Australia and established the first European settlement. It remained a British colony until January 1, 1901, when it became independent as the Commonwealth of Australia.