ABOUT AUSTRALIA
Australia has the third highest number of international students in the world behind only the United Kingdom and the United States despite having a population of only 23 million? This isn’t surprising when you consider Australia has seven of the top 100 universities in the world! In fact, with over 22,000 courses across 1,100 institutions, Australia sits above the likes of Germany, the Netherlands and Japan.
These are strong academic credentials, but our institutions are just as highly rated as the cities that house them around the country. Australia has five of the 30 best cities in the world for students based on student mix, affordability, quality of life, and employer activity – all important elements for students when choosing the best study destination. And with more than A$200 million provided by the Australian Government each year in international scholarships, we’re making it easier for you to come and experience the difference an Australian education can make to your future career opportunities.
Do you have a specific study area of interest? There is every chance Australia has you covered, with at least one Australian university in the top 50 worldwide across the study areas of Natural Sciences & Mathematics, Life & Agricultural Sciences, Clinical Medicine & Pharmacy, and Physics.
- 3rd most popular international student destination in the world despite having a population of only 23 million.
- 8 out of 100 top universities are in Australia
- 9th in the world ahead of Germany, New Zealand and Japan.
- 5 out of 30 best students cities in the world are in Australia
- 22,000 courses – 1,100 institutions
INDUSTRIES & RESEARCH
Every day throughout the world over a billion people rely heavily on Australian inventions. Every time they drive a car, fly, prepare a meal, use a laptop or Smartphone or spend some time in hospital there is a good chance they are relying on Australian inventions or discoveries. Australian inventions include the very old, such as the boomerang and the woomera, and the very new, such as the scramjet, first fired at the Woomera rocket range. Australians have been leaders in inventions relating to both maritime and aeronautical matters, including powered flight, the black box flight recorder, the inflatable escape slide, the surf ski, the wave-piercing catamaran and the winged keel.
The economy of Australia is a developed, modern market economy with a GDP of approximately US$1.2 trillion. In 2009, it was the 13th largest national economy by nominal GDP and the 17th largest measured by PPP.
Australia still benefits from the wealth on and under its land and seas. Natural resources and energy companies remain well represented on our list of Australia’s 40 biggest companies. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, two mining giants, occupy second and fourth places in the list.
The top ten is rounded out by banks, financial services firms, a telecoms group and food retailers. The full 40 spans multinationals in a range of industries, from Fosters, synonymous with beer but whose wine business is now its larger part, to Qantas Airways to Macquarie Bank, which has developed an investment banking niche in large-scale infrastructure and is the world’s largest operator of private toll roads.