People and culture

Population of Australia is about 18.000.000. 85% of the people live in the urban areas. 40% of Australians live in Sydney and Melbourne.

Australia has a young population. 95% of the people are Caucasian. 60% of these have Anglo-Celtic heritage. Because of immigration Australia is a mosaic of many nationalities.

There are 257.000 full and part aborigines. Their culture is recognized as an integral part of Australia’s heritage.

English is the national language and is taught in all schools. Australian English uses many words that are expressions of Australia’s unique culture. Some Australian slang may be offensive to other English speakers. Australian accent looks like English Cockney.

Public education is administered by state governments and financed by federal funds. Each state and territory makes its own laws about education. 25% of all Australian children attend private schools. The school year is divided into 4 terms of 10 weeks each. The Christmas holidays begin the summer vacations.

The literacy rate is 99%. Most Australians completed 11 years of schooling. All states have universities, colleges and institutes. There 33 Universities, 3 of them are private. Many of Australians have completed some higher education.

76% of the people are Christians, but religion doesn’t play a great role in their daily life.

The Aborigines had highly developed artistic traditions. They adopted some European technique and painted scenes of the Australian desert. The Australian Natural Gallery in Canberra houses the country’s natural art collection.

Australia has a National Opera Company and the Australian Ballet. Each state capital has a company of professional actors. They stage classic and modern plays. In recent years Australian film industry has been great success.

The most popular sports in Australia are cricket, football and soccer, swimming, surfing.