Australians

Italian Australians are Australians of Italian ancestry, and comprise the largest non Anglo-Celtic European ethnic group in Australia, with the 2021 census finding 4.4% of the population claiming ancestry from Italy be they migrants to Australia or their descendants born in Australia of Italian heritage. Between 1901 and 1940, 140,000 non-British European immigrants arrived in Australia (about 16 percent of the total intake). The census of 1901 showed that 98 percent of Australians had Anglo-Celtic ancestral origins.

The largest Christian denominations are the Roman Catholic Church (20% of the population) and the Anglican Church of Australia (9.8%). At the 2021 Census, 38.9% of the population identified as having "no religion", up from 15.5% in 2001. Secularisation in Australia like in other Western nations has accelerated since the 19th and 20th century. Whether the words are inserted or not, I think they will have no meaning, and will have no effect in extending the power of the Commonwealth; because the Commonwealth will from its first stage be a Christian Commonwealth, and, unless its powers are expressly limited, may legislate on religious questions in a way that we now little dream of. Although Australia has no official language, English has always been entrenched as the de facto national language. Some remote Indigenous communities have been described as having "failed state"-like conditions.

Australia has no official religion; its Constitution prohibits the Commonwealth government, but not the states, from establishing one, or interfering with the freedom of religion. Australia has a sign language known as Auslan, which is the main language of about 10,112 deaf people who reported that they use Auslan language at home in the 2016 census. neosurf casinos australia spoken at home are Mandarin (2.7%), Arabic (1.4%), Vietnamese (1.3%), Cantonese (1.2%) and Punjabi (0.9%).

The National Indigenous Languages Survey (NILS) for 2018–19 found that more than 120 Indigenous language varieties were in use or being revived, although 70 of those in use were endangered. Australian English is a major variety of the language with a distinctive accent and lexicon, and differs slightly from other varieties of English in grammar and spelling. At the 2021 census, 3.8% of the Australian population identified as being Indigenous – Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders.N 11 The Australian Bureau of Statistics asks each Australian resident to nominate up to two ancestries each census and the responses are classified into broad ancestry groups. Most entered on skilled visas, however the immigration program also offers visas for family members and refugees. Subsequently, there has been a large and continuing wave of immigration from across the world, with Asia being the largest source of immigrants in the 21st century. Australia has five cities (including their suburbs) that have populations larger than one million people.

The Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef, lies a short distance off the north-east coast and extends for more than 2,300 km (1,400 mi). Surrounded by the Indian and Pacific oceans, Australia is separated from Asia by the Arafura and Timor seas, with the Coral Sea lying off the Queensland coast, and the Tasman Sea lying between Australia and New Zealand. Australia also claims about 42% of Antarctica as the Australian Antarctic Territory, but this claim is only recognised by four other countries. In October 2023, Australia declared that COVID-19 was no longer a communicable disease incident of national significance. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, from March 2020 lockdowns and other restrictions on public gatherings and movement across the national and state borders were implemented by the Federal, state and territory governments. In a 1999 constitutional referendum, 55% of voters rejected abolishing the monarchy and becoming a republic. The Australia Acts of 1986 severed the remaining constitutional ties between Australia and the United Kingdom while maintaining the monarch in her independent capacity as Queen of Australia.

Between 1788 and the Second World War, the vast majority of settlers and immigrants came from the British Isles (principally England, Ireland and Scotland), although Australia had significant immigration from China and Germany during the 19th century. Australia is also highly urbanised, with 67% of the population living in the Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (metropolitan areas of the state and mainland territorial capital cities) in 2018. Australian achievements include the invention of atomic absorption spectroscopy, the essential components of Wi-Fi technology, and the development of the first commercially successful polymer banknote. CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, contributes 10% of all research in the country, while the rest is carried out by universities. With only 0.3% of the world's population, Australia contributed over 4% of the world's published research in 2020, making it one of the top 10 research contributors in the world. In 2019, Australia spent $35.6 billion on research and development, allocating about 1.79% of GDP. The 2021 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Australia seventh-highest in the world out of 117 countries.

Tensions over communist influence in society led to unsuccessful attempts by the Menzies Government to ban the Communist Party of Australia, and a bitter split in the Labor Party in 1955. Governments encouraged a large wave of immigration from across Europe and called these migrants "New Australians". The beginning of the campaign is commemorated annually on Anzac Day, a date which rivals Australia Day as the nation's most important. Many Australians regard the defeat of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) at Gallipoli in 1915 as the "baptism of fire" that forged the new nation's identity. While it was being constructed, Melbourne served as the temporary capital from 1901 to 1927. The Australian Capital Territory was formed in 1911 as the location for the future federal capital of Canberra. The Second Boer War (1899–1902) marked the largest overseas deployment of Australia's colonial forces.

The nation's trade relations also became increasingly oriented towards East Asia in the 21st century, with China becoming the nation's largest trading partner by a large margin. In the three decades following World War II, Australia experienced significant increases in living standards, leisure time and suburban development. On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies was achieved after a decade of planning, constitutional conventions and referendums, resulting in the establishment of the Commonwealth of Australia as a nation under the new Australian Constitution.