General features of the economic development of Oceania. Geography of population and economy of Australia and Oceania Industry of Oceania

Key words and expressions: aborigines, atoll, boomerang, geothermal energy, aborigine.

Geographical position Australia and Oceania. Australia and Oceania are the most isolated and smallest region in the world. It is remote from the main centers of world development and the main consumers of manufactured products. The individual countries in the region are also divided. This constitutes one of the main difficulties in the development of its economy.

The land area is 8514.6 thousand km², the total population is 33.32 million people. Including Australia - 7692.0 thousand km² and 21.0 million people.

The discovery and development of Australia, New Zealand, and the islands of Oceania continued from the 15th to the 19th centuries. Australia and Oceania have 15 sovereign states and 11 dependent territories. Among the independent countries are two federations - Australia and the Federated States of Micronesia - a country consisting of 1,500 islands, occupying 700 km² and with a population of 108 thousand. Six countries are monarchies, among them the world's smallest kingdom of Tonga is a real monarchy, and 5 are monarchies that are such only in name. These are actually independent republics (Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu). By recognizing Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain as the head of their states, they not only pay tribute to her personality, but also emphasize recognition of the historical fact of former membership in the British Empire.

Dependent territories belong to the USA, New Zealand, Australia, France and Great Britain.

Exercise: Find the dependent territories of Oceania on the map, collect information about the size of their territory, population, main sectors of the economy, and make an assumption about the possibility of their existence without the support of the metropolises.

Two countries (Australia and New Zealand) are considered economically developed countries with migrant capital. As in the USA, in Australia the first European settlers were convicts, convicted mainly of minor crimes. In the new lands they were engaged in farming, developing industries in which the mother countries were interested. Following the settlers, the capital of the metropolis also moved to the colonies. These countries have high level economic development and living standards of the population. Much attention is paid to education and healthcare. But the legacy of the colonial past remains the dependence of their economy on the development of agricultural and mining industries. In their exports, along with industrial products, the role of mineral and agricultural raw materials is great. The remaining independent countries are classified as developing countries with a monocultural (monocultural) economy.

Settlement and racial composition of the population. According to archaeologists, the islands and mainland Australia were inhabited 50 - 60 thousand years ago by the southern Mongoloids, who moved from the Eurasian mainland to the islands of Southeast Asia. Along with the Mongoloids who settled on the islands of Oceania, people from Oceania - representatives of the Australoid race - moved to Australia. She is characterized by dark skin color, a thick beard and curly hair. Australoids are the aborigines of Australia - its indigenous people.

In the 12th century, crafts and navigation were already developing in Oceania; the inhabitants of Oceania knew how to build boats and travel quite long distances. The settlement of the region by Europeans proceeded in parallel with the study. It began in the 17th century. From the 18th to the 19th centuries, Oceania was divided between France, Spain, Great Britain, and later the USA and Japan were included. The islands were colonized for coconut trees and sugar cane. However, poverty in raw materials, remoteness from markets, and small population led to the persistence low level development of island states.

Racial composition of the population. Aboriginal people in the region make up about 2.2% of the population. In Australia, the largest racial group is Caucasians: the “white” population is 92%, Mongoloids 7%. The proportion of the indigenous population is only 1%. New Zealand is home to about 15% indigenous Maori people.

Australia until the end of the eighteenth century. was inhabited only by Aborigines, just like Fr. Tasmania and Torres Strait Islands. The number of Aborigines who lived in Australia is unknown. It was revealed that before the arrival of Europeans the aborigines spoke 200 - 300 various languages, of which about 70 have now survived. 50 of them are on the verge of extinction. The “white” settlement of Australia began in 1788, when the first batch of convicts arrived from the British Isles. They formed the city of Port Jackson (modern Sydney). Since 1820, when sheep began to be raised in Australia, voluntary colonization began. It intensified in 1851 - 1861, when the “gold rush” began, which contributed to the settlement of the west and southwest. Most of the immigrants from Europe were immigrants from Great Britain - English, Scots, Irish. Over the course of 10 years, the number of displaced people tripled and reached a million people. Some of the settlers settled in the eastern and southeastern lands.

In 1900, the colonies formed a federation. The relationship between Europeans and Aborigines in Australia began with violent conflicts. The aborigines did not know private property and did not engage in either agriculture or animal husbandry. For them, the sheep that the settlers began to breed were the same object of hunting as any other animal on the continent. They didn't understand why these strange people they are chased and even killed when they approach the herd. Therefore, among sheep farmers, one of the ways of spending time was “hunting blackbirds.”

Cruelty forced the indigenous population, under fear of complete destruction, to retreat into desert and semi-desert areas. Most Aboriginal people live in Northern Australia. As in North America, reservations were formed in Australia. This saved the indigenous inhabitants of the mainland from complete destruction. Some peoples still lead a nomadic lifestyle, hunting and collecting wild edible plants. They have experience in making fire, searching and extracting water, and making unique weapons - boomerangs. The Aborigines of Tasmania were completely destroyed. Until 1974, in this civilized country, the indigenous population was not counted even in population censuses. The census showed that Aboriginal people made up about 2% of the population. A further increase in immigration from Europe and Asia led to a decrease in the share of aborigines to 1%, although their absolute numbers increased. There is high unemployment among Aboriginal people, and their standard of living and education differs significantly from the Australian average. It is no coincidence that the average life expectancy of Australian Aborigines is 17 years shorter than that of the white population. In Australia, one in four residents was born outside of Australia.

Unlike Australia, New Zealand began to be actively settled in 1762, mostly by voluntary settlers. To reconcile the indigenous population, who opposed the development of their lands, an agreement was concluded regulating the relationship between the indigenous population and immigrants. Thanks to this, many conflicts and the use of violence on both sides were avoided. In 1984, the Maori language was officially recognized as the country's second official language. About 150 thousand people consider him family. Many indigenous people use modified English language. On the islands of Oceania there is a large proportion of mixed population, combining features of the Mongoloid and Australoid and Caucasian populations.

Until the early 70s, Australia did not accept immigrants from Asian countries. However, the increase in the production of coal, bauxite and iron ore, and the development of tourism have exacerbated Australia's constant problem - the shortage of labor. It was especially felt in industries requiring low qualifications. Australians, including preschool education, study for an average of 20 years. The bulk of Asian immigrants are Chinese and Vietnamese. The influx of Asians, mainly Indonesians, has also increased in the island countries. People from India have been migrating to Fiji for a long time. Among modern immigrants from Europe there are many Greeks, Italians, Yugoslavs, and Germans. There is a large influx of immigrants to Australia from New Zealand.

Thus, the population of Australia and Oceania is becoming increasingly diverse in national and religious composition. This poses the problem of mitigating inequality between old residents and recent immigrants and preventing conflicts between them.

Developed areas include the Fiji Islands, the Marshall Islands and Micronesia in general. The remaining areas of Australia and Oceania are classified as backward or underdeveloped.
Australia's natural conditions and resources have become the foundation for the development of the mining, metallurgical, light and food industries, as well as mechanical engineering in this country.
The bulk of Australia's electricity is generated by thermal and hydroelectric power plants.
In 2003, Australia produced 200 billion kWh of energy, and New Zealand - 40 billion kWh.
Australia annually produces 30 million tons of oil, 30 billion km3 of natural gas, 350 million tons of coal; smelts 9-10 million tons of steel; produces up to 300 thousand passenger cars.
Its annual harvest is 35-40 million tons of grain and 0.5 million tons of cotton.
Australia's cattle population is estimated at 30 million and New Zealand's at 10 million. Sheep farming is one of Australia's leading industries. Total number of small horned animals
The country's livestock is estimated at 150 million and New Zealand's 60 million. Australia annually harvests 4 million tons of meat and produces 8 million tons of milk, and New Zealand - 1.5 million tons and 9 million tons, respectively.
Australia's steel industry centers are located in the cities of Port Kembla, Newcastle and Vendôme; The centers of the non-ferrous metallurgy are Mount Isa, Cloncurry, Bel Bay, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Port Pirie, Canberra, Hobart and Reesden.
Mechanical engineering and metalworking are concentrated in large and medium-sized cities. Mechanical engineering centers are Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, etc.
Australia has developed forestry, wood processing and pulp and paper industries. The country produces up to 2.0 million tons of high-quality paper. The centers of the wood processing industry are located mainly in the southeast of the country.
Australia produces 5-6 million tons of cement annually, and also large quantities a wide variety of building materials. Australia's construction industry gravitates towards large and medium-sized cities.
Light industry Australia specializes in the production of goods from the textile and leather and footwear industries. The centers of the textile industry are the cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Ballarat, Adelaide, Perth, Albany, etc.
The food industry is concentrated in various localities and specializes in the production of food products: sugar, meat, milk, canned fish, and also produces feed for livestock.
Pasture sheep breeding plays a leading role in agriculture. As you know, Australia has vast grazing lands, which are favorable conditions for raising cattle.
Australia's agriculture is highly productive. Specializes in the cultivation of sugar cane, cotton, but mainly grain crops.
Agriculture and livestock farming provide the country's food and light industries with the necessary raw materials.
Transport and foreign economic relations. Rail transport occupies an important place in the country's internal transportation, and sea transport is the main vehicle in foreign trade operations.
IN Lately In Australia, pipeline transport has developed.

Australia's foreign trade turnover is US$55 billion. Exports account for 60% and imports 40%.
Australia's main trading partners are the USA, Japan and Western European countries.
Australia exports mining raw materials, metal, various equipment, as well as light and food industry products. Currently, Australia has become a raw material base for many countries in East and Southeast Asia. At the same time, Australia supplies industrial products and goods to many countries around the world. high technology.
Questions and tasks What industries are basic to Australia? What regions are the centers of heavy industry and mechanical engineering located in? Give brief description agriculture in Australia. Are Australia's natural conditions conducive to raising small ruminants?
^ Practical work Draw an economic map of Australia and Oceania on a contour map and analyze it. Reveal general features external economic relations characteristic of Australia and Oceania.

Due to the long period of colonial rule and some other factors in the vast majority of countries, Oceania has not received significant development. These are mainly agricultural countries, the basis of which is the tropical economy - the cultivation of various vegetables and fruits and partly animal husbandry. Those types of agricultural production in which the colonial powers were interested (for example, the cultivation of coconut palms - their fruits in the form of dried pulp - copra are used to produce various products) received preferential development. Only in some countries (Caledonia, Nauru), where mineral raw materials were available, was the mining industry created.

A significant hindrance to socio-economic development was the geographical disunity of most island territories, their distance from each other, and their position on the periphery of the world capitalist market. All these factors taken together contributed to the social and economic conservation of the Oceanic countries.

As a result of the rule of the colonialists of the country of Oceania over time, they turned into raw material appendages of the metropolises, exporting agricultural and industrial raw materials from there. And although, as mentioned above, many countries have now received or achieved self-government, their economic and social enslavement continues, but in the form of neo-colonialism. Taking advantage of the economic backwardness of countries, their lack of funds to finance the economy, monopolistic associations, individual entrepreneurs from Japan, the USA, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand invest their capital in the development of industries that are beneficial to them. Foreign capitalists are also attracted by mineral raw materials and favorable conditions for the production of tropical agricultural products: coconut palm fruits, coffee, cocoa beans, bananas; fish wealth, the opportunity to develop a very profitable sector of the economy - and much more. And they organize forestry here, create mining enterprises, fish, develop transport and communications, build airfields and piers, trading enterprises, hotels and tourist centers.

Controlling the economies of Oceania, the imperialist powers also direct their social life, establishing orders and norms inherent in the bourgeois social system.

The modern economy of Oceania is characterized by the presence of different social structures. In most countries, the basis of the economy is made up of natural or semi-natural farms of the islanders, where tropical and tropical crops are grown for their own needs, and small amounts of poultry and livestock are kept. Part of the products produced on these farms is sold.

In many countries there are large capitalist plantation economies that use cheap labor. Some of these farms were created by the colonialists on lands taken away from the indigenous people. Now these large-scale capitalist enterprises, which produce coconut palm fruits, bananas and other crops that are in great demand on the world market, are owned not only by individual farmers, but also by monopolistic associations. The latter carry out storage of the crop, its processing and marketing. They also lease land to small farmers.

With the development of the capitalist plantation economy and economic relations with the outside world, the traditional local economy underwent profound changes. Small tenant farmers appeared from among the local population, development intensified commodity-money relations. However, to this day a significant part of the indigenous population is not drawn into the commodity sector of the economy.

Oceanic countries conduct foreign trade mainly with Australia, New Zealand, USA, Japan, Great Britain, Canada, France. As mentioned above, these states export mineral raw materials and various agricultural products from Oceania, and import industrial and food products there. Thus, it remains one of the channels for the economic expansion of major capitalist powers. The table below shows (in %) their participation in the foreign trade of some Oceanic states in the late 70s.

Dependency of Oceania countries from major capitalist powers in the field of trade, as well as the penetration of foreign capital into all areas of their economic and social life, impedes the achievement of economic independence of the island states and threatens their sovereignty. This encourages the Oceanic states to look for ways and means to unite in order to jointly overcome economic and social backwardness and solve problems common to all.

Australia is the name of the smallest continent on the globe, which is washed by the waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans. The state of Australia is also called the Commonwealth of Australia, which includes a group of small islands and, of course, Tasmania. Australia is also amazing for its unique nature, which was formed separately from the other continents. Numerous endemic and completely unique plants and animals have made Australia a tourist paradise. Despite the fact that the country is highly developed both in terms of industry and agriculture, it is for the most part an ecologically clean continent, undisturbed by humans.

Population

Indeed, despite the fact that Australia is developing according to all European demographic laws - low birth rates and low deaths, it also has its own differences. The large influx of the working-age population into this country sets the population growth figure at more than 215 thousand people for 2016.

Another feature of the population is its density. It is considered the lowest in the world - 2 people per 1 sq. km among the general indicators for countries. And although urbanization, again European, is very high - 86%, a city here is considered a settlement with a population of more than 1000 people. There are only 5 cities in Australia with a population of more than 1 million - Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. The country's capital, Canberra, has only about half a million residents.

According to the latest census, Australia has a population of twenty-four and a half million people. Australia is a multinational country, and here is another amazing statistic - 25% of all residents were born outside the Commonwealth of Australia, and another 25% of the population have both non-Indigenous parents, and the next 25% have at least one parent born outside of Australia. Australia.

Industry of Australia

For the development of industry, and especially energy and mechanical engineering, the country always needs its own mineral resources. Australia has sufficient reserves of natural gas, as well as hard and brown coal. There is little oil here, and it is mostly imported. But the country ranks second in the world in uranium production. There is a large amount of non-ferrous and precious metals in the bowels of the continent. The country ranks first in the production of lead, opals, manganese, gold and silver and iron ore.

Energy

(Coal plant in the mountains of Australia)

Power stations run on their own fuel, and in the Tasmanian Mountains and Snowy Mountains hydroelectric stations produce 10% of all Commonwealth electricity.

Mechanical engineering

(Australian car manufacturer Holden, originally independent, now part of General Motors)

The automotive and aircraft industries in the country are at the proper level. Australia is one of the few countries in the world that is engaged in its own automotive industry from design inventions to production. Agricultural engineering is a vital industry in the country, and it is developing according to modern quality standards.

Transport

(Australia's neat rail lines)

Since Australia is located at a great distance from other countries, it has a lot of ports. Sea freight takes first place in all logistics of the country. Numerous railways and roads solve transportation problems within the state.

Agriculture

For most of its history, Australia has been an agricultural country. The phrase “Australia rides on a sheep” meant that the country had a well-developed sheep industry. And today sheep breeding occupies not the last place in Australian livestock farming. Lamb exports today are worth more than 400 thousand Australian dollars. But breeding and selling cattle is now in first place in the country's agricultural sector. Last year, beef exports amounted to more than AU$900 thousand. The sale of its own dairy products is in 4th place in the country's exports.

(Sheep farming in Australia)

Australia produces large quantities of wool and cotton. Fish farming and aquaculture are growing every year. But poultry breeding and beekeeping are focused mainly on the domestic market.

(The Amazing Blue Salt Ponds of Australia)

Like any state, Australia's economy directly depends on its geophysical and climatic conditions. With the exception of remoteness and frequent droughts, the country can overcome other problems painlessly, and Australia has long been solving these two shortcomings with few losses.

ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY OF AUSTRALIA AND OCEANIA.

Australia, New Zealand and numerous islands in the central and southwest Pacific form a special region - Australia and Oceania.

Australia and Oceania do not represent a single whole, either naturally, culturally or socio-economically. Oceania is formed by several thousand islands located over a vast area (an area of ​​60 million sq. km) in the central and southwestern parts of the Pacific Ocean, between 29 * northern latitude. and 53* S. and 130* E. and 109* W. The total land area of ​​Oceania is relatively small and is only about 1.3 million square kilometers (six times less than the area of ​​Australia). At the same time, its two largest islands - New Guinea (area 829 thousand sq. km) and New Zealand (265 thousand sq. km) occupy almost 90% of its land area and only 10% (i.e. approximately 200 thousand sq. km) .km) - the remaining several thousand islands.

The islands of Oceania, being in the tropical and subtropical zone of the Southern Hemisphere, have a warm, mild climate (one of the most comfortable on the globe) with temperature conditions and the amount of atmospheric precipitation sufficient to grow crops cultivated in these latitudes - coconut palms, bananas, cocoa, coffee, tea, tobacco, sugar cane, cotton, tubers (taro, sweet potatoes, yams, cassava), etc. Natural conditions allow you to harvest several crops per year.

Oceania is also rich in various mineral resources: deposits of coal (New Zealand), combustible gas, iron ore, copper and manganese ores, platinum, silver (New Guinea), nickel (New Caledonia), gold (Fiji), phosphate raw materials (Nauru) have been discovered ) and etc.

Oceania- the area of ​​settlement of Papuans, Melanesians, Micronesians and Polynesians, was discovered by Europeans at the beginning of the 16th century. (Mariana Islands in 1521, during the circumnavigation of Ferdinand Magellan in 1519 - 1522). The most numerous groups of the modern population are formed by aborigines (Papuan peoples and peoples speaking languages ​​of the Austronesian family) and immigrants and their descendants (Anglo-New Zealanders, Americans, English, Indians, French, Anglo-Australians, Chinese, Croes, Vietnamese, etc.). Most countries in Oceania are characterized by high fertility, natural increase and low mortality. In most countries, men outnumber women, the proportion of young people is high, and the majority of residents are employed in agriculture, mining, and the service sector (services for tourists). There are significant migration flows of people between countries. In terms of average population density (8.1 people per 1 sq. km), Oceania is almost four times larger than Australia. The population is distributed unevenly - along with the densely populated islands (Tuvaku, Nauru, Mbau, etc.), there are also uninhabited islands.

In socio-economic terms, all countries of Oceania are developing, mainly agricultural, with economic specialization - tropical agriculture (growing various vegetables and fruits, cotton, coffee, cocoa, etc.) and livestock farming (raising cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry ). The industry is characterized by the dominant position of mining industries (on the island of Nauru - mining of phosphorites, in New Caledonia - nickel, etc.) and industries processing agricultural products (production of coconut oil, tea, tobacco products, sugar, juices, fruit canning, fish processing industry, etc.). The products of these industries and agriculture also determine the nature of the participation of most oceanic states in foreign trade. According to the average per capita GDP, the countries of Oceania are differentiated into states where this indicator reaches 15 thousand dollars (Nauru), 1500 dollars (Fiji), 900 dollars (Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu), from 400 to 600 dollars (Western Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvaku).

Australia was "discovered" by Europeans twice - the first time in early XVII V. by the Dutch navigator W. Janszoon (its northern coast), and somewhat later, in the second half of the same century, by the English navigator James Cook (eastern coast). At first, this continent was a place of convict settlement (criminals from England) and only in the second half of the 19th century, after the discovery of rich gold deposits, did it become an area of ​​mass free immigration.

AUSTRALIA (Australian Union)

Australia is a federal state that is part of the Commonwealth, led by Great Britain.

The Commonwealth of Australia includes six states: New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania, as well as two territories - the Northern Territory and the Capital Territory.

The country is located in the Southern Hemisphere and occupies the territory of the entire Australian continent and the adjacent islands (Tasmania, King, Kangaroo, Flinders, Barrow, etc.).

Square Australia 7 ,7 million kv. km, population - 18 ,2 million Human. The capital is Canberra. Official language- English. The majority of the population professes Christianity.

Australia is one of the economically developed countries of the world, but its economy is mainly characterized by a raw material orientation. In the international division of labor, Australia plays a leading role in the production and export of wheat, meat, sugar, wool, various types mineral raw materials (bauxite, polymetals, iron ore, coal, etc.).

Geographical position. Distinctive feature The geographical location of Australia is a significant distance from other continents. The country is surrounded on all sides by the waters of the World Ocean, its northern and eastern shores are washed by the Pacific Ocean, its western and southern shores by the Indian Ocean.

Population. The main core of the Australian population consists of Anglo-Australians (descendants of immigrants from Great Britain and Ireland) and immigrants from different countries peace. Aboriginal Australians make up less than 1% of the country's population.

Australia is characterized by significant immigration, which accounts for up to 20% of population growth. The average population density of Australia is 2 people per 1 sq. km. Most of the population (over 2/3 of the country's inhabitants) is concentrated on the eastern and southeastern coasts, which are naturally favorable (here the density in some places reaches 10-50 people per 1 sq. km). The rest of the territory is sparsely populated.

Australia is one of the most urbanized countries in the world: more than 85% of its population are city dwellers. The largest cities are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Newcastle. Almost all of them are ports.

Natural conditions, their economic grade.

The relief of Australia is predominantly flat. Mountains occupy less than 5% of the territory of this continent. The Watershed Range stretching along its eastern edge (the highest point is Mount Kostsyushko - 2230 m) does not pose an insurmountable obstacle to economic development. The climate in most of Australia is unfavorable for agriculture. Sufficient precipitation (500 mm per year) falls only on the elevated eastern and southeastern edges of the continent. The vast desert areas (they occupy 2/5 of the country's area) of Central and Western Australia have insufficient moisture and can only be used as pasture for sheep.

The river network is poorly developed. The only high-water Murray River with a Darling tributary.

Farm. Among the industries, the most important to the Australian economy are the mining, metals and food processing industries. The products of these industries are not only widely used within the country, but are also exported in large quantities.

Australia occupies a prominent place in the world in reserves and production of bauxite, iron, lead, zinc, copper, manganese, tungsten and uranium ores, and coal. Non-ferrous and ferrous metallurgy is closely connected with the mining industry, the main branches of which are the aluminum industry, smelting of copper, tin, lead and zinc, special steels and alloys.

Leading branches of the food industry - meat, dairy, flour milling, sugar, fruit and vegetable canning - process local agricultural raw materials. Enterprises in these industries are mainly located in port cities in the southeast of the country (Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Adelaide).

Mechanical engineering (production of trucks and cars, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, various instruments, etc.), oil refining, chemical (production of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers, plastics and chemical fibers, etc.) and light (production of footwear, fabrics and knitwear) industries in are mainly of local importance.

Agriculture Australia has a livestock-raising bias. Leading industries livestock farming- sheep breeding and cattle breeding for meat and dairy purposes. The country ranks first in the world in the number of sheep, production and export of wool, lamb, beef and veal. Horse breeding, camel breeding and poultry farming are developed. In connection with the livestock-raising orientation of agriculture in general, the cultivation of fodder crops is important in crop production (up to 49% of the arable land area is occupied). Australia's main export crops are wheat, sugar cane, and cotton. The main area of ​​their cultivation is the east and southeast of the country. Australia ranks one of the first in the world in the production and export of wheat. Important branches of crop production are horticulture, viticulture, and vegetable growing.

Transport. In the transportation of goods, a large role (up to half of the cargo turnover) is played by sea transport, passengers - automobile and aviation. The length of the railways is not great. There is almost no inland water transport.

The main export items are mineral raw materials ( iron ore, coal, bauxite, etc.) and agricultural products (wool, wheat, meat, sugar). Australia imports mainly industrial goods.