Atlantic Ocean (continued)
August and have been spotted as far south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands; icebergs from Antarctica occur in the extreme southern Atlantic
Note: ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north Atlantic from October to May and extreme south Atlantic from May to October; persistent fog can be a hazard to shipping from May to September; major choke points include the Dardanelles, Strait of Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez Canals; strategic straits include the Dover Strait, Straits of Florida, Mona Passage, The Sound (Øresund), and Windward Passage; north Atlantic shipping lanes subject to icebergs from February to August; the Equator divides the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean
Economy
Overview: Economic activity is limited to
exploitation of natural resources,
especially fish, dredging aragonite sands (The
Bahamas), and crude oil and natural gas
production (Caribbean Sea and North
Sea).
Communications
Ports: Alexandria (Egypt), Algiers
(Algeria), Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona
(Spain), Buenos Aires (Argentina),
Casablanca (Morocco), Colon (Panama),
Copenhagen (Denmark), Dakar (Senegal),
Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (FRG),
Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary
Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France), Leningrad
(USSR), Lisbon (Portugal), London
(UK), Marseille (France), Montevideo
(Uruguay), Montreal (Canada), Naples
(Italy), New Orleans (US), New York
(US), Oran (Algeria), Oslo (Norway),
Piraeus (Greece), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil),
Rotterdam (Netherlands), Stockholm
(Sweden)
Telecommunications: numerous submarine cables with most between continental Europe and the UK, North America and the UK, and in the Mediterranean; numerous direct links across Atlantic via INTELSAT satellite network
Note: Kiel Canal and St. Lawrence Seaway are two important waterways
Australia
_Australia.jpg)
See regional map X
Geography
Total area: 7,686,850 km²; land area:
7,617,930 km²; includes Macquarie Island
Comparative area: slightly smaller than the US
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 25,760 km
Maritime claims:
- Contiguous zone: 12 nm
- Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation
- Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
- Territorial sea: 3 nm
Disputes: territorial claim in Antarctica (Australian Antarctic Territory)
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, silver, uranium, nickel, tungsten, mineral sands, lead, zinc, diamonds, natural gas, crude oil
Land use: 6% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 58% meadows and pastures; 14% forest and woodland; 22% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: subject to severe droughts and floods; cyclones along coast; limited freshwater availability; irrigated soil degradation; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as the doctor occurs along west coast in summer; desertification
Note: world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country
People
Population: 16,923,478 (July 1990),
growth rate 1.3% (1990)
Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 6 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 8 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 80 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Australian(s); adjective—Australian
Ethnic divisions: 95% Caucasian, 4% Asian, 1% Aboriginal and other
Religion: 26.1% Anglican, 26.0% Roman Catholic, 24.3% other Christian
Language: English, native languages Literacy: 98.5%
Labor force: 7,700,000; 33.8% finance and services, 22.3% public and community services, 20.1% wholesale and retail trade, 16.2% manufacturing and industry, 6.1% agriculture (1987)
Organized labor: 62% of labor force (1986)
Government
Long-form name: Commonwealth of
Australia
Type: federal parliamentary state
Capital: Canberra
Administrative divisions: 6 states and 2 territories*; Australian Capital Territory*, New South Wales, Northern Territory*, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia
Dependent areas: Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Norfolk Island
Independence: 1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)
Constitution: 9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901
Legal system: based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: Australia Day (last Monday in January), 29 January 1990
Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Parliament consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives
Judicial branch: High Court
Leaders: Chief of State—Queen ELIZABETH II (since February 1952), represented by Governor General William George HAYDEN (since NA February 1989);
Head of Government—Prime Minister Robert James Lee HAWKE (since 11 March 1983); Deputy Prime Minister Paul KEATING (since 3 April 1990)
