Military manpower - military age: 17 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 5,013,406 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 4,321,387 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 142,686 (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $9.3 billion (FY01/02 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2% (FY01/02)
Transnational Issues Australia
Disputes - international: Australia-East Timor-Indonesia are working to resolve maritime boundary and sharing of seabed resources in "Timor Gap"; Australia asserts a territorial claim to Antarctica and to its continental shelf
Illicit drugs: Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of licit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Introduction
Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Background: These uninhabited islands came under Australian authority in 1931; formal administration began two years later. Ashmore Reef supports a rich and diverse avian and marine habitat; in 1983 it became a National Nature Reserve. Cartier Island, a former bombing range, is now a marine reserve.
Geography Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Location: Southeastern Asia, islands in the Indian Ocean, northwest of Australia
Geographic coordinates: 12 14 S, 123 05 E
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area: total: 5 sq km note: includes Ashmore Reef (West, Middle, and
East Islets) and Cartier Island water: 0 sq km land: 5 sq km
Area - comparative: about eight times the size of The Mall in Washington,
DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 74.1 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 12 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
Climate: tropical
Terrain: low with sand and coral
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 3 m
Natural resources: fish
Land use: arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (all grass and sand) (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: surrounded by shoals and reefs that can pose maritime hazards
Environment - current issues: NA
Geography - note: Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve established in
August 1983
People Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Population: no indigenous inhabitants note: Indonesian fishermen are allowed access to the lagoon and fresh waster at Ashmore Reef's West Island
Population growth rate: NA
People - note: the landing of illegal immigrants from Indonesia's Rote
Island has become an ongoing problem
Government Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Country name: conventional long form: Territory of Ashmore and Cartier
Islands conventional short form: Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Dependency status: territory of Australia; administered by the Australian
Department of Transport and Regional Services
Legal system: the laws of the Commonwealth of Australia and the laws of the Northern Territory of Australia, where applicable, apply
Diplomatic representation in the US: none (territory of Australia)
Diplomatic representation from the US: none (territory of Australia)
Flag description: the flag of Australia is used
Economy Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Economy - overview: no economic activity
Transportation Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: none; offshore anchorage only
Military Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of Australia; periodic visits by the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
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Austria
Introduction
Austria
Background: Once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria was reduced to a small republic after its defeat in World War I. Following annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent occupation by the victorious Allies in 1945, Austria's status remained unclear for a decade. A State Treaty signed in 1955 ended the occupation, recognized Austria's independence, and forbade unification with Germany. A constitutional law of that same year declared the country's "perpetual neutrality" as a condition for Soviet military withdrawal. This neutrality, once ingrained as part of the Austrian cultural identity, has been called into question since the Soviet collapse of 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995. A prosperous country, Austria entered the European Monetary Union in 1999.
Geography Austria
Location: Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia
Geographic coordinates: 47 20 N, 13 20 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 83,858 sq km water: 1,120 sq km land: 82,738 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maine
Land boundaries: total: 2,562 km border countries: Czech Republic 362 km, Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy 430
