transport equipment

Exports - partners:
Japan 18.6%, China 9.2%, US 8.1%, South Korea 7.7%, New Zealand
7.4%, India 4.6%, UK 4.2% (2004)

Imports:
$98.1 billion (2004 est.)

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

Imports - partners:
US 14.8%, China 12.7%, Japan 11.8%, Germany 5.8%, Singapore 4.4%,
UK 4.1% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$35.14 billion (2004 est.)

Debt - external:
$308.7 billion (3rd quarter, 2004 est.)

Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $894 million (FY99/00)

Currency (code):
Australian dollar (AUD)

Currency code:
AUD

Exchange rates:
Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003),
1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000)

Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June

Communications Australia

Telephones - main lines in use:
10.815 million (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
14.347 million (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: excellent domestic and international service
domestic: domestic satellite system; much use of radiotelephone in
areas of low population density; rapid growth of mobile cellular
telephones
international: country code - 61; submarine cables to New Zealand,
Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; satellite earth stations - 10
Intelsat (4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean), 2 Inmarsat (Indian
and Pacific Ocean regions) (1998)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios:
25.5 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
104 (1997)

Televisions:
10.15 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.au

Internet hosts:
2,847,763 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
571 (2002)

Internet users:
9.472 million (2002)

Transportation Australia

Railways:
total: 54,439 km (3859 km electrified)
broad gauge: 5,434 km 1.600-m gauge
standard gauge: 34,110 km 1.435-m gauge (1,397 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 14,895 km 1.067-m gauge (2,462 km electrified)
dual gauge: 213 km dual gauge (2004)

Highways:
total: 811,603 km
paved: 314,090 km (including 18,619 km of expressways)
unpaved: 497,513 km (1999 est.)

Waterways:
2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling
river systems) (2004)

Pipelines:
condensate/gas 492 km; gas 28,680 km; liquid petroleum gas 240