ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief historical background and a description of major events in Australia. It also provides basic political, economic, and social data arranged in the following categories: polity, economy, population, purchasing power parities, life expectancy, ethnic groups, capital, political rights, civil liberties, and status. The chapter discusses the progress and decline of political rights and civil liberties in Australia. Australians can change their government through elections and enjoy a full range of basic rights. Domestic and international human rights groups have criticized the government's practice of detaining anyone arriving in Australia illegally, including asylum seekers, pending resolution of their claims. Adult Aborigines make up 1.6 percent of Australia's adult population but 20 percent of the total prison population, according to a 2000 report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian trade unions are independent and active, but recent legislation aimed at increasing the country's economic competitiveness has curbed their power and contributed to a decline in union rolls.
