Import Export leads from companies wanting to do business with Australia

Area: total: 7,686,850 sq km
land: 7,617,930 sq km
water: 68,920 sq km
note: includes Lord Howe Island and Macquarie Island

Climate: generally arid to semiarid temperate in south and east tropical in north

Terrain: mostly low plateau with deserts fertile plain in southeast

Natural resources: bauxite, coal, iron ore, copper, tin, gold, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, petroleum

Population: 20,600,856 [July 2008 est.]

Age structure: 0-14 years: 19.1% [male 2,014,230/female 1,920,604]
15-64 years: 67.5% [male 7,005,588/female 6,895,817]
65 years and over: 13.4% [male 1,226,432/female 1,538,185] [2008 est.]

Nationality: noun: Australian[s]
adjective: Australian

Ethnic groups: white 92%, Asian 7%, aboriginal and other 1%

Languages: English 79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian 1.9%, other 11.1%, unspecified 5.8% [2001 Census]

Capital: name: Canberra
geographic coordinates: 35 17 S, 149 13 E
time difference: UTC+10 [15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time]
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in October ends last Sunday in March
note: Australia is divided into three time zones

National holiday: Australia Day, 26 January [1788] ANZAC Day [commemorated as the anniversary of the landing of troops of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I at Gallipoli, Turkey], 25 April [1915]

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3%
industry: 26.4%
services: 70.6% [2007 est.]

Labor force: 10.95 million [2007 est.]

Budget: revenues: $321.3 billion
expenditures: $309.1 billion [2007 est.]

Agriculture - products: wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits, cattle, sheep, poultry

Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel

Exports: $141.7 billion [2007 est.]

Exports - commodities: coal, iron ore, gold, meat, wool, alumina, wheat, machinery and transport equipment

Exports - partners: Japan 19.6%, China 12.3%, South Korea 7.5%, US 6.2%, India 5.5%, NZ 5.5%, UK 5% [2006]

Imports: $159.4 billion [2007 est.]

Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts crude oil and petroleum products

Imports - partners: China 14.4%, US 14.1%, Japan 9.6%, Singapore 6%, Germany 5.1% [2006]

Currency (code): Australian dollar [AUD]

Exchange rates: Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.2137 [2007], 1.3285 [2006], 1.3095 [2005], 1.3598 [2004], 1.5419 [2003]

Airports: 461 [2007]

Railways: total: 38,550 km
broad gauge: 3,727 km 1.600-m gauge
standard gauge: 20,519 km 1.435-m gauge [1,877 km electrified]
narrow gauge: 14,074 km 1.067-m gauge [2,453 km electrified]
dual gauge: 230 km dual gauge [2006]

Merchant marine: total: 52 ships [1000 GRT or over] 1,322,527 GRT/1,501,865 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 16, cargo 5, chemical tanker 1, container 1, liquefied gas 4, passenger 7, passenger/cargo 6, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 5
foreign-owned: 16 [Canada 2, France 1, Germany 2, Netherlands 2, Norway 1, Philippines 1, UK 2, US 5]
registered in other countries: 29 [Antigua and Barbuda 1, Bahamas 3, Bermuda 4, Fiji 1, The Gambia 1, Liberia 2, Marshall Islands 1, Panama 4, Singapore 6, Tonga 1, UK 1, US 2, Vanuatu 2, unknown 1] [2007]

Ports and terminals: Brisbane, Dampier, Fremantle, Gladstone, Hay Point, Melbourne, Newcastle, Port Hedland, Port Kembla, Port Walcott, Sydney