Languages
English is the official language and is spoken and written in a variant known as Australian English. According to a census, English is the only language spoken in the home of around 80% of the population. After this, the most widely spoken languages in the home environment are Chinese (2.1%), Italian (1.9%) and Greek (1.4%). The Spanish (0.5%), with 104,000 speakers is the seventh language of influence of the country. Most of Australia’s Spanish speakers are of Argentine, Uruguayan, Chilean or Spanish origin. Australian Spanish speakers can be found in the large metropolis, mainly in Sydney and Melbourne. It is believed that between 200 and 300 Australian Aboriginal languages existed at the time of first contact with Europeans. Only about 70 languages have survived and around 20 are currently in danger of disappearing. Indigenous languages are the main language for 50,000 people (0.02%). Australia has a sign language known as Auslan, which is the primary language for around 6,500 deaf people.
Religion
Australia has no state religion. 68% of Australians identified as Christian: 27% Roman Catholic, 21% Anglican and 20% approx. He is Protestant. Australian followers of non-Christian religions comprise 5% of the population. A total of 19% were categorized as non-religious (this includes non-theistic beliefs such as secular humanism, atheism, agnosticism and rationalism) and 12% refused to answer or did not give an adequate answer for a correct interpretation. As in many Western countries, the level of active participation in religious worship is much lower than the population that is followers of that religion; weekly church attendance is approximately 1.5 million people, about 7.5% of the population.
Education
According to andyeducation, school attendance is compulsory from ages 6 to 15 across Australia (up to 16 in South Australia and Tasmania, and up to 17 in Western Australia), contributing to a 99 literacy level in the adult population % approximately. Government grants have enabled the establishment of 38 Australian universities and, although several of them are private, most receive government contributions. There is a state-based vocational training system, known as TAFE (Technical and Further Education) Institutes, and many businesses train staff to prepare them as new traders. About 58% of Australians aged 25-64 have a college or university degree; the university population index of people between the ages specified above (49%) is the highest among the countries that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Life expectancy is 80.9 years (the fourth highest in the world).
Culture
The primary basis of Australian culture was Anglo-Celtic until the mid- 20th century, although distinctive Australian features had been acquired from the Aboriginal environment and culture. For the past 50 years, Australian culture has been strongly influenced by American popular culture (particularly on television and film), by large-scale immigration from non-English-speaking countries, and by neighboring Asian countries. The vigor and originality of the Australian arts – movies, opera, music, painting, theater, dance and handicrafts – have achieved international recognition. Australia has a long history when it comes to the visual arts that begins with the cave paintings made by the natives. Since the times of European settlement, the Australian landscape has been a common theme in national art, which is evident in the works of Arthur Streeton, Arthur Boyd and Albert Namatjira, among others. Aboriginal traditions are mostly transmitted orally (oral tradition) and are closely related to ceremonies and stories about the time of dreams.
The music, dance and art of the Australian aborigines have a notable influence on the performing and visual arts of contemporary Australia. The nation has an active tradition of music, ballet, and theater; many of the performing arts companies receive public funding through the Australian Council for the Arts. There is an orchestra in each capital city, and a national opera company, the Australian Opera, which gained prominence thanks to the opera singer Dame Joan Sutherland; Australian music includes classical music, jazz, and many other genres of popular music. Australian literature has also been influenced by landscape; for example, in the works of writers such as Banjo Paterson and Henry Lawson. The character of colonial Australia, reaffirmed in the country’s literature, It had a great impact on the modern stage of the nation and stood out for its egalitarianism and anti-authoritarianism. On 1973 Patrick White was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, becoming the only Australian to receive this award; is recognized as one of the greatest writers in the English language of the 20th century.
Australia has two national public broadcasting companies (ABC and SBS), three commercial television networks, three pay television services, and numerous public television channels and radio stations. Australian cinema has achieved critical and commercial success. Each major city has its own daily newspapers; There are also two national daily newspapers: The Australian and The Australian Financial Review. According to Reporters Without Borders, in 2005 the Commonwealth ranked 31st in the world in terms of freedom of the press, ranking below New Zealand (9th) and the United Kingdom (28th). place), but above the United States. The fact that it occupies that position, not very high, is mainly due to the limited diversity in media ownership. Most of the print media is controlled by either the News Corporation or John Fairfax Holdings.