Describe the human characteristics that make Australia unique. Explain how Australia's changing demographic characteristics are influencing the nature and identity of Australian society

Essay by helloworldJunior High, 9th gradeA+, December 2006

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The changing demographic characteristics of Australia have influenced the nature and identity of Australian society. The aspects of changing demographic characteristics affecting Australia's nature and identity include multiculturalism; the 'ageing population'; decreasing fertility rates; the changing indigenous population and the changing population density of Australia.

Australia has one of the lowest population densities in the world, with population spread occurring around particular areas of the Australian coastline. Australia is one of the world's driest inhabited continents, with a larger proportion of desert than any other continent. Australia is a developed country with busy cities and highly productive farms and mines. Australians obtain a large percentage of income from the exports of wool and bauxite.

Indigenous people alone occupied Australia until 1788, they inhabited Australia for at least 50,000 years before the first white settlers arrived causing the Indigenous people in the population to decline. Indigenous people have developed footprints of cultural heritage which forms a unique Australian heritage.

Since 1945, immigration from Southern-European nations, such as Greece and Italy, and more recently from Asian nations has turned Australia into one of the most multicultural countries in the world.

The Indigenous population has been rapidly increasing since the 1967 Referendum to include indigenous people in the Australian census. Since the census, Indigenous Australians have been included as part of Australia. This shows Australia's increasing acceptance and understanding of Indigenous Aborigines, and the growing need to rectify the problems associated with the mistreatment of Indigenous Aborigines in the past. From 1911 to 1971, the population figure of Indigenous people lingered around 80,000 people. However, there was an exponential increase in Indigenous people, where in 2001, there are about 450,000 people.

Migration has played a substantial role in the growth of the Australian population. The net overseas migration was 139,000 in June 2002-2003;...