Australia (pronounced /əˈstreɪljə/ ə-STRAYL-yə or /ɒˈstreɪljə/ o-STRAYL-yə, or /ɔːˈstreɪliə/ aw-STRAY-lee-ə), officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent (the world’s smallest), the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.N4 Neighboring countries include Indonesia, East Timor, and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia to the north-east, and New Zealand to the southeast.
For some 40,000 years before European settlement commenced in the late 18th century, the Australian mainland and Tasmania were inhabited by around 250 individual nations of indigenous Australians. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the immediate north, and European discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, the eastern half of Australia was claimed by the British in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales, founded on 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in the following years; the continent was explored, and during the 19th century another five largely self-governing Crown Colonies were established.
On 1 January 1901 the six colonies became a federation and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. Since Federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and remains a Commonwealth realm. The population is 22 million, with approximately 60% concentrated in and around the mainland state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. The nation’s capital city is Canberra, located in the Australian Capital Territory.
Australia is a prosperous developed country, with a multicultural society. It ranks highly in many international comparisons of national performance such as human development, quality of life, health care, life expectancy, public education, economic freedom and the protection of civil liberties and political rights. Australian cities rank among the world’s highest in terms of cultural offerings and quality of life. It is a member of the United Nations, G20, Commonwealth of Nations, OECD, ANZUS, APEC, South Pacific Forum and the World Trade Organization.
Other Information
- Anthem : Advance Australia Fair
- Capital : Canberra
- Largest city : Sydney
- Official language : None
- National language : English
- Demonym : Australian, Aussie (colloquial)
- Government : Federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy
- Monarch : Queen Elizabeth II
- Governor-General : Quentin Bryce
- Prime Minister : Kevin Rudd - Independence : from the United Kingdom
- Constitution : 1 January 1901
- Statute of Westminster : 11 December 1931
- Statute of Westminster Adoption Act : 9 October 1942 (with effect from 3 September 1939)
- Australia Act : 3 March 1986 - Area
- Total : 7,617,930 km2 (6th), 2,941,299 sq mi - Population
- 2010 estimate : 22,196,162 (51st)
- 2006 census : 19,855,288
- Density : 2.833/km2 (232nd), 7.3/sq mi - GDP (PPP) 2008 estimate
- Total : $799.054 billion (18th)
- Per capita : $36,918 (15th) - GDP (nominal) 2008 estimate
- Total : $1.013 trillion (14th)
- Per capita : $46,824 (13th) - HDI (2007) : ▲ 0.970 (very high) (2nd)
- Currency : Australian dollar (AUD)
- Time zone : various (UTC+8 to +10.5)
- Summer (DST) : various (UTC+8 to +11.5) - Drives on the : left
- Internet TLD : .au
- Calling code : +61
Wellington