In the first on an ongoing series, we offer you a sitrep about resettlement around the world, starting with one of the most popular destinations for ex-pats – Australia!

Down Under has long attracted those Brits looking for a good life in the sun, a nation that – thanks to its strong British history (and indeed a former bias to immigrants from “the old country”) – will feel familiar, and yet comes with career and lifestyle opportunities lacking in a UK gripped by recession, drizzle and the latest series of Britain’s Got Talent.

Australia has long been known as the lucky country, thanks in part to its vast mineral resourses – from iron ore and uranium to gold, silver and zinc – which made many a person’s fortune. Today, the country still has much to offer those willing to work hard and enjoy the benefits. It may be on the other side of the planet, but if you’re looking to put down roots somewhere that’s warm, vibrant and full of potential, then Australia could be the new home you’re looking for.

Here are 50 things you should know about Australia.

ECONOMY

• Australia has the 14^th largest economy in the world.
• The country is the world’s largest exporter of commodities including coal, sheep, wool, lead, aluminium, refined zinc ores, diamonds and mineral. Other exports include veal, beef, lamb and mutton, sugar, cereals, nickel and iron ore.
• Australia’s main imports are machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machinery, and telecommunications.
• Although the agricultural and mining sectors are small (generating less than 5% of Australian GDP), they contribute approximately 65% of the country’s exports.
• Australia’s main markets are Japan (which buys one fifth of the country’s output), China, South Korea, the US, New Zealand and India. Oh, and the UK, of course.
• Almost two decades of economic expansion have been stopped by the global recession. Though its resource-based economy has been hit hard by a decline in commodity prices, Australia is said to have fared better so far than other nations.
• However, critics say Australia has lived beyond its means for a decade, importing more than it exports – leading to a current budget deficit equalling 6.2% of GDP (compared with UK’s 5.4%).
• Household debt, meantime, has reached 177% of GDP.
• Nevertheless, the Reserve Bank of Australia believes the country is likely to recover from recession in 2010, thanks to improvements in China’s economy, a rise in commodity prices and the absence of a subprime lending legacy.
• Taxation is split between the Commonwealth, the States and Territories, and local councils.

JOBS

• To settle and work in Australia, you must be less than 45 years old.
• 75% of Australians work in the services sector (including tourism, education and financial services); 21.1% in industry and 3.6% in agriculture.
• You have a better chance of gaining a work visa if you have at least a year’s recent experience in a profession listed on the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL), published by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship: www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/skilled-occupations/occupations-in-demand.htm.
• MODL lists professions under four categories: managers, such as childcare coordinators and engineering managers; professionals, including IT specialists, dentists and registered nurses and midwives; associate professionals, such as chefs and dental technicians; and trades persons, including bakers, joiners, plumbers and welders.
• Unemployment is currently running at 5.7% in Australia, compared with the UK’s 6.8%.
• Some experts are concerned skilled migrants will take jobs from existing local workers, contributing to an extra 300,000 jobless Australians by 2010.
• According to new research by Tourism Australia, one in four Australian employees are not taking their entitled annual leave thanks to workload concerns, lack of cover and difficulties scheduling holidays. Between them, they have accumulated 123 million days leave – or the equivalent of AU$33.3 billion in wages!
• There are numerous employment websites aimed at people looking for work Down Under, but the most official is Australian Jobsearch, which is run by the Australian Government: http://jobsearch.gov.au.
• Many employers will attend the Australia Needs Skills expo in London, 27-29 June 2009. For more information, and to register for an invite, visit http://skillexpo.nga.net.au.
• There are more than 71,400 businesses following business franchise systems, employing around 413,500 people. For more information check out the Franchise Council of Australia (www.franchise.org.au).

GEOGRAPHY & HISTORY

• At 7,686,850km² (2,967,909 miles²), Australia is the sixth-largest nation in the world – after Russia, Canada, China, the US and Brazil.
• Almost nine in 10 of Australia’s 21,263,000 people live in urban areas; the heaviest settlement is along the eastern seaboard and in the south-east corner of the continent.
• The Commonwealth of Australia is made up of six states and two territories.
• The largest State is Western Australia; roughly the size of Western Europe, it has a population slightly less than the West Midlands!
• The official capital is the purpose-built city of Canberra, although the two largest cities are Sydney and Melbourne.
• Almost three-quarters of Australia cannot support agriculture in any form.
• The largest lake in Australia is Lake Eyre – at 9,500km², it’s roughly six times the size of Greater London.
• In 1770 Captain James Cook claimed the east coast of Australia for the British Crown.
• In total, some 160,000 Britons were transported to Australia as convicts between 1788 and 1868.
• Australia currently has nine parliaments; the Commonwealth Parliament in Canbera, six State Parliaments and two Territory Parliaments – all but the State Parliament of Western Australia are currently controlled by the Australian Labor Party.

LIVING

• Sport is massive in Australia; an estimated 6.5 million people – almost a third of the population – are registered with local, regional or state-level sports organisations and clubs.
• Australians enjoy a relaxed outdoor lifestyle, thanks to plentiful back yards, public parks and open spaces.
• Life expectancy is 81.6 years (79.25 for males, 84.14 for females), compared with 79 years in the UK (76.5 for males, 81.6 for females).
• According to the 2001 Census, 92% of Australians are white; Asians make up 7%, with Aboriginal peoples and other ethnic minorities accounting for the rest.
• The first language of 78.5% of Australians is English; about 5.4% speak Chinese, Italian or Greek.
• Nearly one in four Australians were born overseas (compared with 6% of people in the UK).
• Permanent residence in Australia is granted under various classes of visas within four main “streams”: Skills, Family, Business and Humanitarian.
• The Australian Dollar (AU$) is worth about 50p; bank notes are made out of plastic to make them durable and difficult to counterfeit.
• Australian cities regularly feature in the top ten of the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Livability survey.
• Though you will need plug adaptors, the voltage for electrical appliances is the same as in the UK, so you take and use current electrical equipment.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Australia’s name derives from the Latin term “terra australis incognita” – meaning “unknown southern land”.
• Between 1838 and 1902 it was illegal to swim at public beaches during the day.
• Australia was the second country to give women the vote.
• In 1933, two thirds of people in Western Australia voted for independence from the rest of Australia, but it didn’t happen.
• Australia Day (26 January) is the anniversary of the first convict-carrying ships arriving in Sydney.
• In 2007, it was estimated that almost 22% of living Australians (almost one in four) had a convict ancestor.
• Highly venomous Box Jellyfish have killed more people than stonefish, sharks and crocodiles combined.
• Baaa! There are 140,000 sheep in Australia.
• Recent years have confirmed Australia’s deadliest natural hazards as hurricanes, droughts, forest fires and heatwaves.
• According to an international survey, the average Australian drinks 7% less alcohol than the average Brit, 25% less than the average German and 35% less than the average Irish person!