About 58% of Australians aged from 25 to 64 have vocational or tertiary qualifications and the tertiary graduation rate of 49% is the highest among OECD countries. There is a state-based system of vocational training, known as TAFE, and many trades conduct apprenticeships for training new tradespeople. In 2021, just under 8,000 people declared an affiliation with traditional Aboriginal religions. Non-British immigration since the Second World War has led to the growth of non-Christian religions, the largest of which are Islam (3.2%), Hinduism (2.7%), Buddhism (2.4%), Sikhism (0.8%), and Judaism (0.4%). However, the states still retain the power to pass religiously discriminatory laws. The Australian sign language known as Auslan was used at home by 16,242 people at the time of the 2021 census. Most entered on skilled visas, however the immigration program also offers visas for family members and refugees. In 2022–23, 212,789 permanent migrants were admitted to Australia, with a net migration population gain of 518,000 people inclusive of non-permanent residents.
Of the 324,000 men who served overseas, about 60,000 were killed and another 152,000 were wounded. On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, constitutional conventions and referendums, resulting in the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia as a nation under the new Australian Constitution. The 1808 Rum Rebellion, carried out by officers of the New South Wales Corp, led to a temporary military junta. In 1770, Captain James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named "New South Wales" and claimed for Great Britain. Later that year, Luís Vaz de Torres sailed to the north of Australia through Torres Strait, along New Guinea's southern coast. Culturally and linguistically distinct from mainland Aboriginal peoples, they were seafarers and obtained their livelihood from seasonal horticulture and the resources of their reefs and seas. Human habitation of the Australian continent is estimated to have begun 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, with the migration of people by land bridges and short sea crossings from what is now Southeast Asia.
The name "Commonwealth of Australia" for the new federation of the six former colonies was formalised in the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 (UK). When the Dutch began visiting and mapping Australia in the 17th century, they called the continent New Holland. Australia is a middle power, and has the world's fourteenth-highest military expenditure. Its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade relations are crucial to the country's economy. It has a highly developed economy and one of the highest per capita incomes globally. Australia is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy, and a federation comprising six states and ten territories. It is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, including deserts in the interior and tropical rainforests along the coast.
Prior to the 1950s, before the popularization of the theory of plate tectonics, Antarctica, Australia and Greenland were sometimes described as island continents, but none were usually taught as one of the world's continents in English-speaking countries. The term Oceania, originally a "great division" of the world in the 1810s, was replaced in English language countries by the concept of Australia as one of the world's continents in the 1950s. The continent of Australia is sometimes known by the names Sahul, Australinea, or Meganesia to differentiate it from the country of Australia, and consists of the landmasses which sit on Australia's continental plate. West Papua, a region in Indonesia, is home to an estimated 44 uncontacted tribal groups. It is also one of the most rural, as only 18 percent of its people live in urban centres. Papua New Guinea, a country within the continent, is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse countries in the world. Situated in the geographical region of Oceania, more specifically in the subregion of Australasia, Australia is the smallest of the seven traditional continents. For comparative analysis of country sizes and territorial data, explore our comprehensive geographic database.
It also maintains an international aid program under which some 75 countries receive assistance. Australia maintains a deeply integrated relationship with neighbouring New Zealand, with free mobility of citizens adrian wheel between the two countries under the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement and free trade under the Closer Economic Relations agreement. It led the formation of the Cairns Group and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, and is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). In the Indo-Pacific, the country seeks to increase its trade ties through the open flow of trade and capital, while managing the rise of Chinese power by supporting the existing rules-based order. Through the ANZUS pact and its status as a major non-NATO ally, Australia maintains a close relationship with the US, which encompasses strong defence, security and trade ties. Since Federation, the Commonwealth's power relative to the states has significantly increased due to the increasingly wide interpretation given to listed Commonwealth powers – and because of the states' heavy financial reliance on Commonwealth grants.
