Australia

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Categories: Country | Australia | Australasia | Asia & Pacific

Australia is part of:
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Water Basins of Australia:
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Facts & Figures

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Capital

Canberra

Neighbouring Countries

New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor

Total Area

7,686,850 km²

- Water

68,920 km² (0.90%) / 90 m²/ha

- Land

7,617,930 km²

Coastline

25,760 km

Population

21,468,700 (2.84 inhab./km²)

HDI^A

0.965 (2007)

Gini Coefficient^A

35.2 (1995)

Nominal GDP^B

$1,069,000 million

GDP (PPP) Per Capita^B

$39,300

National UN Presence

n/a

Land Use^C

- Cultivated Land

471,550 km² (6.19%)

- Arable

468,503 km² (6.15%)

- Permanent Crops

3,047 km² (0.04%)

- Irrigated

25,450 km²

- Non cultivated

609 km² (93.81%)

Average Annual Rainfall^D

534 mm

Renewable Water Resources^E

398 km³

Water Withdrawals^F	23.93 km³/yr
- For Agricultural Use	75%
- For Domestic Use	15%
- For Industrial Use	10%
- Per Capita	1,255 m³

Population with safe access to
- Improved Water Source	100%
- Urban population	100%
- Rural population	100%
- Improved Sanitation	100%
- Urban population	100%
- Rural population	100%

References & Remarks

^A UNDP Human Development Report

^B CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia

^C CIA World Factbook Country Profiles

^D Aquastat - FAO's Information System on Water and Agriculture

^E CIA World Factbook

^F Earthtrends

Latest 4 maps for / including Australia (more..):

SWMA WA28 1f.pdf

1 News
2 Country Profile: Climate, Geography, Socio-Economic Context
3 Country Profile: Water Bodies and Resources
4 Country Profile: Legal and Institutional Environment
- 4.1 National Water Initiative commitments
5 Country Profile: Water Sector Coordination
6 Country Profile: Trends in Water Use, Management and Sanitation
7 Country Profile: Challenges and Opportunities
8 Articles
9 Projects and Case Studies
10 Publications
11 Who is Who
12 References
13 See also
14 External Resources

News

Country Profile: Climate, Geography, Socio-Economic Context

Country Profile: Water Bodies and Resources

Country Profile: Legal and Institutional Environment

The National Water Commission^[1] is responsible for driving progress towards the sustainable management and use of Australia's water resources under the blueprint for water reform - the National Water Initiative^[2].

This intergovernmental agreement was signed by all governments at the June 2004 Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting, with the exception of Tasmania which signed the Agreement on 3 June 2005 and Western Australia which signed the Agreement on 6 April 2006.

The NWI represents a shared commitment by governments to increase the efficiency of Australia's water use, leading to greater certainty for investment and productivity, for rural and urban communities, and for the environment.

National Water Initiative commitments

Under the NWI^[2], governments have made commitments to:

prepare water plans with provision for the environment
deal with over-allocated or stressed water systems
introduce registers of water rights and standards for water accounting
expand the trade in water
improve pricing for water storage and delivery
meet and manage urban water demands.

The overall objective of the National Water Initiative is to achieve a nationally compatible market, regulatory and planning based system of managing surface and groundwater resources for rural and urban use that optimises economic, social and environmental outcomes.

Country Profile: Water Sector Coordination

See Sector coordination sub-page for detailed description

Country Profile: Trends in Water Use, Management and Sanitation

The most recent comprehensive data available for Australia-wide water consumption is the Australian Bureau of Statistics Water Account Australia 2004-05.^[3]

Water consumption in Australia in 2004–05 was 18,767 gigalitres (GL), a decrease of 14% from 2000–01, in which it was 21,703 GL. This trend towards reduced water consumption is likely to have continued since that time, as continuing drought conditions have led to water restrictions in urban areas and reduced water availability for agriculture.

Although the agriculture industry had the highest water use in 2004–05 (12,191 GL, or 65% of total water consumption), water use by this sector decreased by 19% between 2000–01 and 2004–05. Within the agricultural sector in 2007–08, 90% of water used was for irrigation. More than a quarter (26%) of irrigation water was used for pasture and crops for grazing, 15% for cereals (excluding rice) and 14% for sugar cane.^[4]

Households accounted for 2,108 GL of water in 2004–05, or 11.2% of Australia’s total water consumption. Household water use also decreased between 2000–01 and 2004–05, by 7% or 170 GL.

In 2004–05, the distribution of water consumption in the Australian economy was:

65% by agriculture
11% by households
11% water supply industry (including sewage and drainage services, losses in delivery system)
3% by manufacturing
10% by other industries (e.g. mining, electricity supply, service industries)