With an area of eight million square kilometres,Australia is the sixth largest country in the world.The population stands at just twenty million,of whom some 85% live in urban areas,mainly along the coast.Much of Australia is arid and flat.One-third of the country is desert and another third is steppe or semi-desert.
Australia's main exports are fossil fuels,minerals,metals,cotton,wool,wine and beef,and its most important trading partners are Japan,China and the US.