Western Australia, state of western Australia occupying that part of the continent most isolated from the

major cultural centres of the east. The state is bounded to the north by the Timor Sea, to the northwest
and west by the Indian Ocean, and to the south by the portion of the Indian Ocean commonly called the
Southern Ocean (or Antarctic Ocean) in Australia. To the east lie the deserts of the Northern Territory
and South Australia. The capital is Perth.

CAPITAL

Perth

POPULATION

(2016) 2,474,410

TOTAL AREA1 (SQ MI)

976,790

TOTAL AREA1 (SQ KM)

2,529,875

PREMIER

Mark McGowan (Australian Labor Party)

DATE OF ADMISSION

1900

STATE BIRD

black swan

STATE FLOWER

red-and-green kangaroo-paw

SEATS IN FEDERAL HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

15 (of 150)

TIME ZONE

Australian Western Standard Time (GMT + 8)

Western Australia occupies roughly one-third of the total area of the continent. It extends about 1,490
miles (2,400 km) from the monsoonal, tropical north to the windswept coastal heaths of the far south.
Most of the state is subarid, and the combination of low rainfall and high temperatures restricts most of
the population and agricultural activities to the so-called comfortable zone southwest of an imaginary
line stretching from north of Geraldton on the state’s western coast to Esperance on its southern coast.
The overwhelming majority of the population lives in the greater Perth area, which is one of the largest
metropolitan regions in Australia. Among the most isolated of the world’s administrative centres, Perth is
closer in distance and time zone to Jakarta and Singapore than to Sydney. Area 976,790 square miles
(2,529,875 square km). Population (2016) 2,474,410.

Climate

The northern and southern parts of Western Australia have entirely contrasting climates; the north is
tropical, with summer rainfall, while the south has a Mediterranean climate. The major determinant of
the weather is the movement of an anticyclone that produces winds in an east-west direction across the
continent for about half the year. In winter this system moves to the north and is responsible for clear
skies, sunny days, and easterly winds in the tropics. To the south of the anticyclonic system, westerly
winds and a procession of cold fronts associated with the “roaring forties” (windy zone between
latitudes 40° and 50° S) bring cool, cloudy weather and rain and westerly gales along the southern coast.
The anticyclonic belt has moved so far south by the summer that its axis is off the southern coast.
Easterly winds prevail over most of the state, but in the far north a depression develops, bringing
westerly monsoon (wet-dry) wind patterns to the coastal districts northeast of Onslow and to parts of
the Kimberley.

Plant and animal life

Western Australia supports a wealth of flora and fauna, especially in the southwestern region—which is
considered a particularly fertile “hot spot” of biodiversity. More than 10,000 species of vascular plants
have been documented in the state, and some one-third of these, including many carnivorous varieties,
are endemic to the area.

Resources and power

Mining accounts for about one-fourth of the Western Australian GDP, although it employs a relatively
small portion of the workforce. Iron ore, mined mainly in the Pilbara region, is the state’s major mineral
export commodity. Nickel, alumina, and gold are also produced in substantial quantities. Coal is mined
near Collie and is used to generate the bulk of Western Australia’s electric power. Tin and mineral sands
are quarried and processed nearby.Major reserves of petroleum and natural gas are extracted offshore
from the continental shelf (off the Port Hedland–Karratha coast), the coastal region north of Perth basin,
and the Timor Sea (in part a joint venture with East Timor [Timor-Leste]). Most of the crude oil from
those operations is exported; the remainder is refined in Kwinana for local consumption.

Services, labour, and taxation

The service sector is by far the largest component of Western Australia’s economy, employing more than
two-thirds of the labour force and providing well in excess of half the state’s income. Within the sector,
retail trade, property and business services, and health and community services are dominant.

Women form only a slightly smaller portion of the workforce than do men. However, women’s income
continues to be significantly less than that of men in most areas. The state has long had one of the
lowest unemployment rates in the country, but unemployment within the indigenous population
(although decreasing) has remained relatively high.

Economy

Western Australia’s economy is largely based on unprocessed primary products—mainly from mining but
also from agriculture (including pastoralism) and horticulture and, to a lesser extent, forestry and fishing.
The value of agricultural production and exports increased in total but decreased proportionately in the
latter half of the 20th century, while the value of mineral (including petroleum and natural gas)
extraction and export increased. However, despite Western Australia’s size and wealth in resources, the
state economy generates a relatively small portion of Australia’s overall gross domestic product (GDP).

History

Human occupation of the southwestern part of Western Australia dates to at least 40,000 years ago.
Intermittent contact with visiting Southeast Asian sea-cucumber fishermen led to the introduction of the
dingo, the native dog, about 5,000 years ago and possibly to the practice of circumcision at some later
date. Otherwise, the indigenous society of hunter-gatherers was largely undisturbed until European
contact. Conjecture puts the population of Aborigines on the eve of contact between 50,000 and
100,000.

Government And Society

Constitutional framework
The Constitution Act of 1889 granted self-government and a parliament to Western Australia. Since its
promulgation in 1890 the constitution has been modified many times; the contemporary document
consists of those sections of the original constitution that have remained unchanged and all subsequent
amendments. The state government is seated in Perth, and Western Australians are represented at the
federal level in Canberra.

Education

Education in Western Australia is compulsory from age 5 to 15, although an increasing number of
children continue beyond the upper age. Most children are educated in government (public) schools, but
a sizable number attend private schools, typically operated by religious institutions. For children of high-
school age in rural areas, there is often no choice but to be sent to private boarding schools in the city. In
remote pastoral and mining areas education is provided through the government-operated Schools of
Isolated and Distance Education (SIDE). The SIDE program consists of a primary and secondary school in
Leederville and several Schools of the Air—centres that conduct lessons largely through
telecommunications media—at Carnarvon, Derby, Kalgoorlie, Meekatharra, and Port Hedland.