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Australia is one of the least densely populated countries in the world.As of 2011，there were more than 22 million people living in Australia，of whom 44％ are of English and Irish descent，35％ are Australian descent，about 6％ of Asian origin，and 0.02％ of native people（known as Aborigines）.About 80％ of this population lives in cities，making Australia the world’s most urbanized country.About 60％ of the population are Christians and about 6％ belong to other religions such as Judaism，Islam and Buddhism.The remainder of the population are non⁃believers.

The Aborigines have lived in Australia since time immemorial.But when European colonization started more than two hundred years ago，they were greatly victimized by white settlers.Many of them lost their traditional homes and were forced to live in reservations.Two centuries of white persecution and indifference have greatly reduced their population and left them in a marginalized state.The government has made efforts to improve their situation in recent decades，including through providing education and job opportunities and granting them voting rights for elections.Nonetheless，living conditions for many of them are still far from equal to those generally enjoyed by whites.Some of them still live a nomadic life far away from the center of civilization.