Australia is a huge country even though it is only a small proportion that has substantial human settlement. There are a number of facts that would be good to know if you are considering immigration to Australia. First, by no means be the first – not by any stretch of the imagination. And here is why – the country has such a large population of immigrants that it is estimated about five million of today’s citizens and permanent residents were born in other countries before moving to Australia. In fact, modern day Australia was founded by European immigrants. Of course, the Aborigines have been on the continent far longer than anyone else – current archeological data points to well over 30,000 years.
With a vast country but a local population that is not growing fast enough, current immigration laws are tailored towards attracting skilled persons to settle in Australia and contribute to its economy. True its strong British ties, skilled migration was only available to persons from the British Isles. But this was changed and now allows persons from any part of the world that can demonstrate competence in the required skills. To become a citizen, immigration legislation requires that one have been a resident for at least 2 years.
Majority of immigrants to Australia go to Sydney – not surprising given that Sydney is the largest city. Sydney is in many ways the wealthiest cities in Australia and on average pays higher salaries for an equivalent position than any other place in the country. Australia is one of the most endowed nations when it comes to natural minerals. It has for years been one of the biggest iron ore exporters in the world. There are also vast deposits of zinc, uranium and silver. Gold is another major export with the country contributing about 10 percent of global gold supply.
Immigrants must brace themselves for extreme weather but more so the heat. There are parts of the country that can get extremely cold during the winter – mountainous regions can be as cold as minus twenty three degrees. But it is the heat that is often the far greater concern in the densely populated areas. The temperatures in summer are often above 35C but can be as hot as a blistering 51C in the outback. This explains why forest fires are one of the major natural disasters in the country.
On average, Australia gets very little rainfall. Most of the country experiences less than 20 inches of rain. Recently though, heavy rains in some parts of the country have seen flooding in Queensland. Desert country covers about a third of the total land mass. Of the ten deserts found in this country, the Great Victoria Desert is the largest. It forms five percent of the country’s area.
Australia has beautiful beaches with a huge coastline that stretches for well over fifty thousand kilometers in total. In all, there are about ten thousand distinct beaches. Australia is also one of the flattest countries in the world.
http://www.Australia.com/about/facts.aspx
http://www.Australiafacts.org/
http://goAustralia.about.com/od/discoverAustralia/a/bigisland.htm
