Australia

AU / AUS -25.0°, 133.0°

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It has a land area of 7,688,287 km2 (2,968,464 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest country in the world, and is the world's flattest and driest inhabited continent. It is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, including deserts in the interior and tropical rainforests along the coast.

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Capital

Canberra

Population

27,614,411

Area

7,692,024 km2

Climate

Desert or arid

Government

Federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy

Currency

Australian dollar

Languages

English 72%, Mandarin 2.7%, Arabic 1.4%

Sells

iron ore, coal, natural gas, gold

Sells to

China 37%, Japan 16%, S. Korea 6%

Land borders

None

Drives on the

left

Calling code

+61

Founded

1901

Hemisphere

Southern

Where it is

Languages

Share of the population that speaks each. Click one to see every country that speaks it.

Englishofficial

72.0%

Mandarin

2.7%

Arabic

1.4%

Vietnamese

1.3%

Cantonese

1.2%

What it sells, and to whom

Every line is a thread: click a commodity or a partner to see who else trades in it.

Farms and fisheries

wheat
sugarcane
barley
rapeseed
milk
cotton

Largest cities

Sydney	5,638,830
Melbourne	5,435,590
Brisbane	2,780,063
Perth	2,384,371
Adelaide	1,469,163

Wars and conflicts

Click one to see everyone else who fought in it.

War in Afghanistan (2001-2021)2001–2021 World War II1939–1945 World War I1914–1918 Vietnam War1955–1975 Korean War1950–1953 Gulf War1990–1991 Iraq War2003–2011 Russian Civil War1917–1922 War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)2001–2021 Second Boer War1899–1902 Anglo-Iraqi War1941 Malayan Emergency1948–1960 Indochina Wars1946–1989

Form of government

Federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy.

representative democracy federation1901–now constitutional monarchy

Money, belief and alliances

Money

Australian dollar

Belongs to

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations United Nations World Meteorological Organization International Development Association Antarctic Treaty System International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance International Energy Agency ASEAN International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes Pacific Community Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Australia Group Pacific Islands Forum Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Asian Development Bank

Climate and geography

generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north

Climate zone

Desert or arid

Highest point

Mount Kosciuszko

Landmarks and landscapes

Uluru Great Barrier Reef Sydney Opera House Outback

Southern hemisphere.

In charge right now

Charles III Head of state

Anthony Albanese Head of government

Peter Cosgrove Head of state

Figures from its history

Edmund Barton First prime minister, 1901 Sir Edmund "Toby" Barton was the first prime minister of Australia, serving from 1901 to 1903.

Ned Kelly Bushranger and folk figure Edward Kelly was an Australian bushranger, gang leader and police-murderer.

Gough Whitlam Prime minister dismissed in 1975 Edward Gough Whitlam was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from December 1972 to November 1975.