e: 99% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 20 years
male: 20 years
female: 21 years (2006)

Education expenditures:

4.5% of GDP (2005)

Government
Australia

Country name:

conventional long form: Commonwealth of Australia
conventional short form: Australia

Government type:

federal parliamentary democracy

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

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, Macquarie Island

Independence:

1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)

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)

Constitution:

9 July 1900, effective 1 January 1901

Legal system:

based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,
with reservations

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal and compulsory

Executive branch:

chief of state: Queen of Australia ELIZABETH II (since 6 February
1952); represented by Governor General Quentin BRYCE (since 5
September 2008)
head of government: Prime Minister Kevin RUDD (since 3 December
2007); Deputy Prime Minister Julia GILLARD (since 3 December 2007)
cabinet: prime minister nominates, from among members of Parliament,
candidates who are subsequently sworn in by the governor general to
serve as government ministers
elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by
the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following
legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of
a majority coalition is sworn in as prime minister by the governor
general

Legislative branch:

bicameral Federal Parliament consists of the Senate (76 seats; 12
members from each of the six states and 2 from each of