Australia is often referred to as the “lucky country” with temperate climate, impressive landscape, growing economy, political stability and a quality of life envied by many. Australia is known around the world for its stunning landscapes. It is surrounded by the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

It is the sixth largest country in the world and is about the same size as the 48 mainland states of the USA and 50 per cent larger than Europe, but has the lowest population density in the world - just two people per square kilometers.

One of the oldest continents, Australia is as wide as the distance from Kuala Lumpur to Taipei and as long as the distance from Singapore to Manila. Australia is the only country that occupies an entire continent.

The Australian economy was around 4.4 % (compound average annual growth) from 1995 to 2000. Although in 2001, economic growth was forecasted to be moderate, Australia's growth was accompanied by low inflation. Australia's compound average inflation over the 1990s was
2.26 %, as compared to the average inflation of 2.5 % in the European Union and 2.9 % in the United States.