Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor-General Quentin Bryce Prime minister: Julia Gillard
Federal President (rotating): Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (until 1 Jan 2013)
Population
22,015,576
7,925,517
Life Expectancy
81.900 years
81.170 years
Capital City
Canberra
Bern
Largest city
Sydney (population: 4,394,580)
Zurich (population: 341,730)
Human Development Index
0.965
0.955
GDP per capita
$40,800 US
$43,900 US
Literacy Rate
99%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
8.7
9
Percentage of Women in Parliament
29.6%
27.2%
Wealthiest Citizens
Frank Lowy & family ($2.7bn US)
Ernesto Bertarelli ($8.2bn US)
Unemployment Rate
5.100%
3.100%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
federal parliamentary democracy
formally a confederation but similar in structure to a federal republic
Independence date
1 January 1901 (federation of UK colonies)
1 August 1291 (founding of the Swiss Confederation)
Religions
Catholic 26.4%, Anglican 20.5%, other Christian 20.5%, Buddhist 1.9%, Muslim 1.5%, other 1.2%, unspecified 12.7%, none 15.3% (2001 Census)
Roman Catholic 41.8%, Protestant 35.3%, Muslim 4.3%, Orthodox 1.8%, other Christian 0.4%, other 1%, unspecified 4.3%, none 11.1% (2000 census)
Languages
English 79.1%, Chinese 2.1%, Italian 1.9%, other 11.1%, unspecified 5.8% (2001 Census)
German (official) 63.7%, French (official) 20.4%, Italian (official) 6.5%, Serbo-Croatian 1.5%, Albanian 1.3%, Portuguese 1.2%, Spanish 1.1%, English 1%, Romansch (official) 0.5%, other 2.8% (2000 census) note: German, French, Italian, and Romansch are all national and official languages
Exports
coal, iron ore, gold, meat, wool, alumina, wheat, machinery and transport equipment
