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Well with other developed countries they've got reasons in their history as to why they're so developed.
Japan and Germany, other developed countries, are full of hard working people. The work ethic is a big part of those cultures which explains why they're so developed.
The USA also has very hard working people
In conclusion - Australia shouldn't be developed because they don't have hard working people?
Well it's got 25 million people and abundance of natural resources, for one.
Africa also has an abundance of natural resources, its a very rich continent, and its got far more people than 25 million, and there are no developed countries in Africa.
Low population ,rich in resources following a Westminster political system hard to see why it wouldn't develop. That's not to say it was easy for large segments of the population. Australia hurt badly during the Great Depression. It was a long hard fight to achieve a living standard later enjoyed by so many, for so long. That in turn made Australia a desirable country to immigrate to and prosper.
In later times it has been due to location, no longer dependant on Mother England but increasingly inter twinned within the Asian growth sphere, China in particular.
The future is probably far less certain but Australia has long turned a wining hand, with limited intervention on its part with luck playing a very hefty part of the outcome.
Resource wealth alone is only part of the story. Otherwise a number of countries on the African continent would indeed be equally prospering. Is it also the system in place, more so after the war that saw the population as a whole benefit from a high standard social welfare system, individual rights of the citizen which allowed them a place in society and a fairly high minimum wages, in recent times close to highest in the world.
To be a successful country, it requires all citizens to feel a part of that nation, be valued if you like. That means reaching out to the weaker members of society as well and allowing people the freedom of care from worry in age, in sickness , with disability, in times of hardship.
The wheel has spun around too much in the other direction over past decade so hopefully we will be able to regain an even keel and restore some of the values seriously under threat and develop as one and not along more American type lines . Time will tell.
Just for the record, most countries that have English as their official language are not rich or developed. Only a handful of English speaking countries actually are developed.
Belize, Jamaica, Nigeria; Kenya, South Africa, India comes to mind.
For the record, being part of the Anglosphere doesn't mean having English as the official language. None of the countries you list are part of the Anglosphere.
I know that GDP isn't everything but Australia has a GDP of 1.3 trillion. That might sound like a lot but Mexico has a GDP of 2.5 trillion and Australia is considered a relatively developed country and Mexico isn't.
Australia isn't a relatively developed country. By all objective measures (according to the UN) it is one of the most developed countries in the world.
With regard to your comparison with Mexico, what you demonstrated with your numbers is how much wealthier Australia is compared to Mexico. There is nearly 130 million people in Mexico and only approx 25mil in Australia.
After the first British colony in Sydney was founded in 1788, the population of the colony very nearly starved. It was only with the discovery of gold in the middle of the nineteenth century that there was a big boost to the population and a lot of wealth was created. Australia, like many other places, suffered in the depressions at the end of that century.
Two innovations made a huge difference to the Australian economy around this time. One was the introduction of some type of refrigeration in ships and the other was the practice of fencing large areas of farmland. Around the turn of the century both Argentina and Australia were able to greatly increase their exports and both were becoming wealthy.
Unfortunately for Argentina, which should be as wealthy as Australia, bad governance and corruption have held it back. The Australian colonies managed to federate in 1901, peacefully, and the new country was one of the earliest in the world to grant women the vote. Education has been free (realtively) and compulsory from very early. Much if the wealth continued to come from exports, particularly wool, as others have said.
Just for the record, most countries that have English as their official language are not rich or developed. Only a handful of English speaking countries actually are developed.
Belize, Jamaica, Nigeria; Kenya, South Africa, India comes to mind.
Oh, that's a good one! Please clarify that for me:
The UK government classifies the following overseas countries as majority native English speaking:
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