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Australia is the smallest continent in the world. Lying southeast of Asia, it is bound by the Pacific Ocean to the east, the Coral Sea to the northeast, the Timor Sea to the northwest, the Indian Ocean to the west and the Tasman Sea to the southeast. The continent consists largely of plains and plateaus. Australia has an enviable Western-style capitalist economy with a per capita GDP on par with the four dominant West European economies.
Area: 7,686,850 sq km
Population: 20,264,082
Capital: Canberra
People: White 92%, Asian 7%, Aboriginal and other 1%
Language: The official language is English, although Aboriginal and other numerous ethnic immigrant languages are also spoken.
Religion: Catholic 26.4%, Anglican 20.5%, other Christian 20.5%, Buddhist 1.9%, Muslim 1.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 12.7%, none 15.3%
Government: Federal Parliamentary Democracy
GDP: US$666.3 billion
Major Industries: Agriculture, aluminum refining and smelting, cement, chemicals, fishing, food processing, forestry, iron and steel, light engineering, machinery, mining, oil and gas production, textiles and clothing, vehicles, wool and hide processing.
Major Trading Partners: Its main trading partners are China, Japan, Egypt, Indonesia and the former USSR.
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