Size: Australia is slightly smaller than the 48 contiguous states of the United States. Its total area is 7,686,850 square kilometers, of which 68,920 square kilometers are water. Australian territory and dependencies include thousands of islands that vary greatly in size and proximity.

Land Boundaries: None.

Disputed Territory: As of 2005, Australia and East Timor have failed to reach an agreement over how to delimit a permanent maritime boundary. In addition, the two nations disagree about how to share unexploited petroleum resources not covered by the 2002 Timor Sea Treaty. This bilateral dispute in turn has hampered revision of the maritime boundary between Australia and Indonesia; Indonesian groups dispute Australian claims over the Ashmore Reef. Australia also asserts land and maritime claims in Antarctica.

Length of Coastline: Australia’s coastline totals 25,760 kilometers along the Timor Sea in the northwest, the Arfura Sea in the north, the Coral Sea in the northeast, the Tasman Sea in the southeast, and the Indian Ocean in the south and west.

Maritime Claims: Australia claims a 12-nautical-mile territorial sea, a 24-nautical-mile contiguous zone, a 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, and a 200-nautical-mile continental shelf or the distance to the edge of the continental shelf. In 2004 Australia claimed a 1,000-nautical mile-wide maritime identification zone, an act that has caused concern among other states in the region.

Topography: Plateaus with areas of desert dominate the western two-thirds of Australia. The lowland plains of the east-central region gradually rise into a highland belt along the east coast. Mainland Australia’s highest point, at 2,228 meters, is Mount Kosciuszko; the lowest point, at 15 meters below sea level, is Lake Eyre. The highest point in Australian territory is Mawson Peak (2,745 meters high), located on Heard Island north of Antarctica.

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Principal Rivers: Australia is the world’s driest inhabited continent (only Antarctica is drier), and many of its rivers have highly variable flows. Australia’s longest river is the Murray (2,520 kilometers); other major rivers are the Murrumbidgee (1,575 kilometers), the Darling (1,390 kilometers and a tributary of the Murray River), and the Lachlan (1,370 kilometers). The Murray-Darling River Basin covers more than 1 million square kilometers, or around 14 percent of Australia.

Climate: Australia’s climate is subtropical arid. The north has hot, humid, and rainy summers and dry, warm winters. In the south, summers are dry and sunny, and winters are mild and rainy. Except on the eastern coast, rainfall is generally low. Average annual rainfall ranges from 325.6 millimeters in Alice Springs to 1,847.1 millimeters in Darwin. The average daily maximum temperature ranges from 17.2º C in Hobart to 32.1º C in Darwin. The average daily minimum temperature ranges from 6.7º C in Canberra to 23.4º C in Darwin.

Natural Resources: Australia has significant deposits of coal, natural gas, petroleum, and various minerals, including bauxite, copper, diamonds, gold, iron ore, lead, nickel, silver, tungsten, uranium, and zinc.

Land Use: Only 6 percent of the Australian landmass is arable, and less than 1 percent is dedicated to permanent crops. The remaining 93 percent of the land mass is arid and nutrient poor. As of 2002, 10 percent of Australia’s environment was protected under various forms of legislation.

Environmental Factors: Australia faces a number of significant environmental concerns, including soil erosion as a result of overgrazing, industrial development, and poor farming practices; desertification; and limited natural freshwater sources. It is estimated that since European settlement, 50 percent of Australia’s wetlands have been drained and put to other uses. Shrinking habitat due to increasing agriculture is a threat to the sustainability of a variety of native plant and animal species, and increased shipping and tourism threaten the Great Barrier Reef. Invasive non-native plant and animal species introduced onto the Australian continent in the past century have at times had a negative impact on the environment.

Time Zones: Australia has three time zones. Western Australia observes Western Standard Time (WST), the Northern Territory and South Australia observe Central Standard Time (CST), and Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania observe Eastern Standard Time (EST). WST is eight hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), CST is GMT + 9:30 hours, and EST is GMT + 10 hours.

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This series of profiles of foreign nations is part of the Country Studies Program, formerly the Army Area Handbook Program. The profiles offer brief, summarized information on a country’s historical background, geography, society, economy, transportation and telecommunications, government and politics, and national security. In addition to being featured in the front matter of published Country Studies, they are now being prepared as stand-alone reference aides for all countries in the series, as well as for a number of additional countries of interest. The profiles offer reasonably current country information independent of the existence of a recently published Country Study and will be updated annually or more frequently as events warrant.

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