Outline of Australia

This outline of Australia is an overview of and topical guide to various aspects of the country of Australia:

Australia refers to both the continent of Australia and to the Commonwealth of Australia, the sovereign country. The continent of Australia, the world's smallest continent, is in the Southern Hemisphere and borders both the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. The Commonwealth of Australia comprises the mainland of the Australian continent, the major island of Tasmania, other nearby islands, and various external territories.^[1] Neighbouring countries are 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 south-east.

The Australian mainland has been inhabited for at least 50,000 years by Aboriginal Australians.^[2] After sporadic visits by fishermen from the north and then European discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606,^[3] the eastern half of Australia was later claimed by the British in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation as part of the colony of New South Wales, commencing on 26 January 1788. As the population grew and new areas were explored, another five largely self-governing Crown colonies were established during the 19th century.

General reference

Pronunciation: /əˈstreɪliə, ɒ-/
Common English country name: Australia
Official English country name: The Commonwealth of Australia
Common endonym(s): Land Down Under
Official endonym(s): Australia
Adjectival(s): Australian
Demonym(s): Aussie (colloquially)
Etymology: Name of Australia
International rankings of Australia
ISO country codes: AU, AUS, 036
ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:AU
Internet country code top-level domain: .au

Geography

An enlargeable topographic map of Australia

Climatic zones in Australia based on Köppen classification

Geography of Australia

Australia is:
- a continent
- a country
  - a nation state
  - a Commonwealth realm
  - a megadiverse country
Location:
- Australia is a region or subregion of:
  - The World (Australia is a continent on the planet Earth)
    - Southern Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere
    - Oceania
      - Australasia
- Australia lies between:
- Time zones:
  - Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) (UTC+10), Australian Eastern Summer Time (AEDT) (UTC+11)
  - Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) (UTC+09:30), Australian Central Summer Time (ACDT) (UTC+10:30),
  - Australian Western Standard Time (AWST) (UTC+08)
- Extreme points of Australia (mainland)
  - Northernmost Point – Cape York, Queensland (10°41' S)
  - Southernmost Point – South Point, Wilsons Promontory, Victoria (39°08' S)
  - Westernmost Point – Steep Point, Western Australia (113°09' E)
  - Easternmost Point – Cape Byron, New South Wales (153°38' E)
  - Highest Point – Mount Kosciuszko 2,228 m (7,310 ft)
  - Lowest Point – Lake Eyre −15 m (−49 ft)
- Land boundaries: none
- Coastline: 25,760 km
Population of Australia: 25,694,393 people ^[4] (December 2020) – 54th most populous country
Area of Australia: 7,741,220 km² (2,988,900 sq mi) – 6th largest country
Atlas of Australia
Surveying in Australia

Environment

An enlargeable satellite image of Australia

Environment of Australia

Iconic wildlife of Australia
A koala.
A kangaroo.
The Saltwater crocodile is the largest species of crocodile in the world.
An emu.
Frill-necked lizard.

Geographic features

Regions

Ecoregions in Australia

Multi-state regions

Administrative divisions

States and territories of Australia

States

Territories

Mainland territories

External territories

Municipalities

Local government in Australia

Cities of Australia

Demography

Demographics of Australia

State/territory	Land area (km²)	Rank	Population (2012)^[4]	Rank	Population density (/km²)	Rank	% of population in capital	Rank
New South Wales	800,642	5th	7,348,900	1st	9.18	3rd	63.5%	5th
Victoria	227,416	6th	5,679,600	2nd	24.97	2nd	74.8%	4th
Queensland	1,730,648	2nd	4,610,900	3rd	2.66	5th	47.5%	7th
Western Australia	2,529,875	1st	2,472,700	4th	0.98	7th	76.7%	3rd
South Australia	983,482	4th	1,662,200	5th	1.69	6th	76.8%	2nd
Tasmania	68,401	7th	512,400	6th	7.49	4th	42.3%	8th
Australian Capital Territory	2,358	8th	379,600	7th	160.98	1st	98.7%	1st
Northern Territory	1,349,129	3rd	236,900	8th	0.18	8th	55.6%	6th