Australia country profile Australia ranks as one of the best countries to live in the world by international comparisons of wealth, education, health and quality of life. The sixth-largest country by land mass, its population is comparatively small with most people living around the eastern and south-eastern coastlines. The country's first inhabitants, the Aboriginal people, are believed to have migrated from Asia tens of thousands of years before the arrival of British settlers in 1788. They now make up less than 3% of Australia's 23 million people. Years of mass immigration after the Second World War heralded sweeping demographic changes, making modern Australia one of the world's most multicultural countries. In shaping its foreign and economic policy, Australia first looked to Europe and the US but in the last 20 years has developed stronger ties with Asia. Although Australia remains part of the Commonwealth, the future role of the monarchy has been a recurring issue in politics. Image copyright Getty Images
Aboriginal Australia: History, Culture, and Conflict Aboriginal AustraliaHistory and culture of Australia's indigenous peoples Who Are Aborigines? Aborigines are Australia's indigenous people. Australian Aborigines migrated from somewhere in Asia at least 30,000 years ago. "The Dreamtime" Aboriginal spirituality entails a close relationship between humans and the land. Unlike other religions, however, aboriginal belief does not place the human species apart from or on a higher level than nature. Storytelling, Art, and the Didgeridoo The oral tradition of storytelling informs aboriginals' vibrant cultural life. In the Northern Territory, aboriginal art includes sculpture, bark and rock paintings, and baskets and beadwork. Aboriginal music is often recognizable for its most famous instrument, the didgeridoo. Land Rights Movement As a result of forced assimilation, by the late 1880s most aborigines had joined white rural and urban communities. Land and property rights fueled an important civil rights movement in the 1970s.
Australia Country Profile