How Australia Compares is a handy reference that compares Australia with 17 other developed countries across a wide range of social, economic and political dimensions. Whenever possible, it gives not only snapshot comparisons from the present, but charts trends over recent decades or even longer. Encyclopaedic in scope, it provides statistics for a huge range of human activity, from taxation to traffic accidents, homicide rates to health expenditure, interest rates to internet usage. This new edition is fully revised and updated, and features two new chapters: The Howard Impact and The Search for Scoreboards. New sections include obesity, advertising, broadband internet access, childcare and corruption. Information is highly accessible with double-page spreads for each topic. Tables and graphs are presented on one page, and clear explanation and analysis on the facing page. In each discussion the focus is to put the Australian experience into international perspective, drawing out the implications for the nation's performance, policies and prospects.

Table of Contents

1. People; 2. Government and politics; 3. Economy; 4. Work and the labour force; 5. Government taxes and spending; 6. Health; 7. Education; 8. Inequality and social welfare; 9. International relations; 10. Environment; 11. Science and technology; 12. Telecommunications and computing; 13. Media; 14. Family; 15. Lifestyles and consumption; 16. Crime and social problems; 17. The search for scoreboards; 18. The Howard impact.

About the Author

Rod Tiffen is Associate Professor, Government and International Relations, University of Sydney. Ross Gittens is Economics Editor, Sydney Morning Herald.