WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT AUSTRALIA ??
Australia is the world's smallest continent and includes the major island of Tasmania and numerous other islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The total population is 21.3 million, with ca 60% of the population concentrated in and around Sidney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
Australia is one of the most laissez faire capitalist economies. Its per-capita GDP is slightly higher than that of the UK, Germany, and France in terms of purchasing power . The country was ranked third in the United Nations 2007 Human Development index and sixth in The Economist worldwide Quality of Life index. 2005. Australia also broke a record in 2008 when four of its major cities ranked in the top ten of The Economist's World Most livable Cities list, with Melbourne positioned 4th, Adelaide 7th and Sydney 9th
Its emphasis on commodities rather than manufactures helped a significant increase in the country’s terms of trade during the rise in commodity prices since the start of the century. Australia has grown at an average annual rate of 3.6% for over 15 years, a period in which the OECD annual average was just 2.5%.
In January 2007, there were 10 mio people employed, with an unemployment rate of 4.6%. Over the past decade, inflation has typically been 2–3% and the base interest rate 5–6%. The service sector of the economy, including tourism, education and financial services, constitutes 69% of GDP. Although Agriculture and natural resources constitute only 8% of GDP they contribute substantially to export performance. Australia's largest export markets are Japan, China, the US, South Korea and New Zealand.
Australia 's population has quadrupled in the last 100 years due to an ambitious immigration program. In the last 60 years almost 5.9 million of the total population settled in the country as new immigrants, meaning that two out of seven Australians were born overseas. Most immigrants are skilled, but the immigration quota includes categories for family members and refugees. Since 1973, numerous government initiatives have been established to encourage and promote racial harmony based on a policy of multiculturalism. In 2005–06, more than 131,000 people emigrated to Australia, mainly from Asia and Oceania The migration target for 2006–07 was 144,000. While the figures for 2007-2008 are not yet out the country introduced for 2008 -2009 a quota of 300,000 new migrants its highest level since the Immigration Department was created.
School attendance is compulsory throughout Australia, starting at 6 years and ending at 15 years, contributing to an adult literacy rate of around 99%. The program for international student assessment, coordinated by the OECD, currently ranks Australia's education as the 8th best in the world: Government grants have supported the establishment of Australia's 38 universities and although several private universities have been established, the majority receive government funding. There is a state-based system of vocational training, higher than colleges, known as TAFE institutes. TAFE or Technical and Further Education institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational tertiary education courses in Australia. Fields covered include hospitality, tourism, construction, engineering, secretarial skills, visual arts, computer programming and community work. Individual TAFE institutions (usually with many campuses) are known as either colleges or institutes, depending on the state or territory. TAFE colleges are owned, operated and financed by the various State and Territory Governments. This is in contrast to the higher education sector, whose funding is predominantly the domain of the Commonwealth government and whose universities are predominantly owned by the state governments.
Approximately 58% of Australians between the ages of 25 and 64 have vocational or tertiary qualifications, and the tertiary graduation rate of 49% is the highest among OECD countries. Colleges, universities, institutes of technology and polytechnics are the main institutions that provide tertiary education The ratio of international to local students in tertiary education in Australia is the highest in the OECD countries
