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In common with many other developed countries, Australia is currently experiencing a demographic shift towards an older population, with more people retiring and fewer people of working age. Similarly, a large number of Australian citizens (950,000 as of 2004) live outside of their home country. This number (almost 5%) represents a higher per capita percentage of overseas residents than many other countries including the United States. This phenomenon was, until recently, given little attention by the Australian government and media, but the term Australian Diaspora has now joined the Australian vocabulary.

As well as the natives, colonisation and modernisation has brought many flora and fauna to Australia from around the world, some of which have done too well and have reached plague proportion, often threatening, if not having already wiped out various native species. One species that saw its demise due to hunting after European settlement was the Tasmanian Tiger, or Thylacine.

The geography of Australia encompasses a wide variety of biogeographic regions being the world's smallest continent but the sixth-largest country. The population is concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts; regular, tropical, invigorating, sea breeze known as "the Doctor" occurs along the west coast in the summer.

Australians have traditionally had a very strong "underdog" attitude, that is they will support those whom appear to have the lesser hand, so long as Australia is not involved. This can be seen greatly from an occurance during the 2003 Rugby World Cup, where a Georgian Rugby Team arrived in Perth with a crowd of Perth based supporters cheering them on and welcoming them.

Emigration now also plays a role in changing Australian demographics. The term, Australian Diaspora, refers to the 850,000 Australian citizens who today live outside Australia. This phenomena is relatively new in Australia's history, estimated as having occurred over the last 40 years. Awareness of this demographic (almost 5% of the Australian population) is growing and supported by government initiates.

The Australian aborigines , estimated to number as many as 350,000 at the time of the Europeans' arrival, was numbered at 386,049 (including Torres Strait Islanders, who are of Papuan descent) in 1996. Although still more rural than the general population, the aboriginal population has become more urbanized, with some two thirds living in cities. New South Wales and Queensland account for just over half of the Australian aboriginal population. In Tasmania the aboriginal population was virtually wiped out in the 19th century.

Since the recession "Australia had to have" (P. Keating) in the early 1990s, the Australian economy has not suffered a recession or "trough" in the business cycle in 13 years. Even the downturn of the early 2000s did not affect its consistent GDP growth. As of October 2004, unemployment had fallen to a level of 5.2%, the lowest level since the late 1970s.

The Great Barrier Reef, by far the world's largest coral reef, lies a short distance off the north-east coast of Australia. Uluru, in central Australia, is the second largest monolith in the world.