Contents

Australia

Australia
Country







Capital
Canberra
Largest city
Sydney





Demonym
Australian




Legislature
Parliament of Australia








Currency
Australian dollar(AUD)



Calling code
+61






Website
[australia.gov.au Official website]


Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, numerous smaller islands and several external territories. It lies between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean in the Southern Hemisphere and forms part of Oceania. Canberra is the national capital, while Sydney is the largest city.[2]

With an area of 7,688,287 square kilometres, Australia is the sixth-largest country in the world by area.[3] The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated its population at 27,921,150 on 31 March 2026. Population growth over the preceding year was 1.4 per cent, with net overseas migration accounting for most of the increase.[4]

Australia is a representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy and a federation. Charles III is King of Australia and head of state, represented federally by Governor-General Sam Mostyn.[5][6] Anthony Albanese has served as prime minister since May 2022.[7]

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the First Peoples of Australia. Current research places their presence on the continent at more than 60,000 years.[8] European maritime contact is recorded from the early seventeenth century. Britain established a penal colony at Sydney Cove in 1788, and six British colonies eventually developed on the continent. They federated on 1 January 1901 to create the Commonwealth of Australia.[9]

Australia has a high-income, diversified economy in which services, mining, agriculture, manufacturing and international trade all contribute. The World Bank recorded nominal gross domestic product of about US$1.8 trillion in 2025 and GDP per person of about US$65,130.[10] Australia is also culturally diverse: at the 2021 Census, 27.6 per cent of residents had been born overseas.[11]

History

First Peoples and early contact

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples comprise many distinct peoples and communities with their own languages, cultural traditions, beliefs and social practices. Archaeological and other research indicates that First Peoples have lived on the Australian continent for upwards of 60,000 years.[12]

The first recorded European contact with the Australian mainland occurred in 1606, when Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon, sailing the Duyfken, reached and mapped part of the western coast of Cape York Peninsula.[13] Dutch, Spanish, English and French navigators subsequently explored or charted sections of the surrounding seas and coastline.

In 1770, British naval officer James Cook sailed along and mapped much of the eastern coast aboard HMS Endeavour. At Possession Island, he claimed the eastern coast for the British Crown and used the name New South Wales.[14]

British colonisation

The British government chose New South Wales as the site of a penal settlement after losing access to its former North American colonies. The First Fleet, commanded by Arthur Phillip, left Britain in 1787 and reached Botany Bay on 18 January 1788. Phillip subsequently moved the settlement to Sydney Cove, where the colony of New South Wales was established.[15]

Between 1788 and 1868, more than 162,000 convicts were transported to Australian colonies.[16] Free migration expanded alongside transportation, pastoral settlement and the growth of colonial towns. British expansion resulted in the dispossession of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and was accompanied in different regions by frontier conflict, introduced disease and major disruption to Indigenous societies.[17]

Separate British colonies were established or developed in Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland. The discovery of payable gold in New South Wales and Victoria in 1851 produced large-scale migration and rapid economic expansion. Australia's population grew from about 430,000 in 1851 to 1.7 million in 1871.[18]

Federation and the twentieth century

During the late nineteenth century, political movements sought closer union among the six self-governing colonies. A constitution was drafted through conventions and approved in colonial referendums before being enacted by the British Parliament. On 1 January 1901, New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania became states of the new Commonwealth of Australia.[19][20]

Australia participated extensively in the First World War. A total of 416,809 Australians enlisted, and more than 60,000 were killed. The Australian War Memorial records a further 156,000 as wounded, gassed or taken prisoner.[21]

Australia again fought as part of the Allied powers in the Second World War, during which the country faced direct attacks, including the bombing of Darwin and submarine attacks in Australian waters. The war also accelerated Australia's strategic relationship with the United States. In 1942 the Australian Parliament adopted key provisions of the 1931 Statute of Westminster, strengthening the Commonwealth Parliament's legislative independence from Britain.[22]

Postwar Australia experienced substantial immigration, industrial expansion and urban growth. Migration programs brought millions of people from Europe and later increasingly from Asia, the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere, contributing to the country's contemporary multicultural population.[23]

The Australia Act 1986 ended the remaining ability of the British Parliament to legislate for Australia, ended United Kingdom government responsibility for Australian state matters and terminated remaining appeals from Australian courts to the Privy Council. It commenced on 3 March 1986.[24][25]

Indigenous rights and reconciliation

Government policies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries included controls over many aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' lives and the forced removal of children from their families. Those removed have become known as the Stolen Generations. The national Bringing Them Home inquiry documented removals carried out by governments, churches and welfare bodies and their long-term effects on families and communities.[26]

A 1967 constitutional referendum received a national Yes vote of 90.77 per cent. The amendments removed a constitutional exclusion relating to Aboriginal people from the Commonwealth's race power and removed section 127, which had excluded Aboriginal people from population counts for certain constitutional purposes.[27]

In 1992, the High Court of Australia delivered its decision in Mabo v Queensland (No 2), recognising native title and rejecting the legal fiction of terra nullius as a basis for denying pre-existing Indigenous land rights. The decision was followed by the federal Native Title Act 1993.[28]

Geography

Australia occupies a land area of 7,688,287 square kilometres, including its mainland and islands counted by Geoscience Australia, making it the world's sixth-largest country.[29] The mainland extends from tropical latitudes in the north to temperate latitudes in the south and is surrounded by the Indian, Southern and Pacific ocean regions.

The continent is generally low and relatively flat. The eastern highlands include the Great Dividing Range and the Australian Alps. Mount Kosciuszko, at 2,228 metres above sea level, is the highest mountain on the mainland. Mawson Peak on Heard Island, an external Australian territory, reaches 2,745 metres.[30]

Major geographical regions include the eastern highlands, central lowlands, western plateau, extensive inland deserts and broad coastal plains. The Murray–Darling Basin is one of the country's most important river systems and supports a substantial share of irrigated agriculture.

Australia consists of six states—New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania—and several territories. The Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory are the two principal self-governing mainland territories. Canberra, within the Australian Capital Territory, was developed as the national capital between the rival colonial-era centres of Sydney and Melbourne.[31]

Climate

Australia spans several climate zones. Tropical conditions occur in the north, subtropical conditions cover large parts of the centre and east, and temperate climates are found across much of the south. Large areas of the interior are desert or semi-arid.[32]

Rainfall varies considerably by region and from year to year. Northern Australia has a pronounced tropical wet season, while parts of southern Australia receive much of their rainfall during the cooler months. Climate is also influenced by ocean temperatures, the Great Dividing Range and large-scale climate systems such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation.[33]

Biodiversity and conservation

Australia's long geographical isolation has contributed to distinctive ecosystems and a high level of endemism. Native fauna include marsupials such as kangaroos, koalas and wombats; monotremes such as the platypus and echidnas; and a diverse range of birds, reptiles, fish and invertebrates.

The federal environment department reports that more than 1,700 species and ecological communities are listed as threatened. Major pressures include habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive species, altered fire regimes, changes to aquatic environments and climate change.[34]

Australia has 21 properties on the UNESCO World Heritage List: five cultural, twelve natural and four mixed properties. They include the Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu National Park, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, the Sydney Opera House, the Tasmanian Wilderness and the Murujuga Cultural Landscape.[35]

Government and politics

Australia's political system combines representative democracy, constitutional monarchy and federalism.[36] The Constitution divides law-making authority between the Commonwealth and the states. The Commonwealth Parliament may legislate in areas assigned to it by the Constitution, while the states retain broad powers in other fields. Where a valid Commonwealth law conflicts with a state law, the Commonwealth law prevails.[37]

The federal Parliament is bicameral and consists constitutionally of the monarch, the Senate and the House of Representatives.[38] Government is formed by the party or coalition able to command confidence in the House of Representatives. The prime minister is the head of government.

King Charles III is Australia's head of state. Most federal constitutional functions of the Crown are carried out by the Governor-General.[39] Sam Mostyn was sworn in as Australia's 28th Governor-General on 1 July 2024.[40]

Anthony Albanese, leader of the Australian Labor Party, has served as prime minister since 23 May 2022.[41] At the 2025 federal election, the Labor Party won 94 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives. The Liberal–National Coalition won 43 seats, while the remaining seats were won by the Greens, Centre Alliance, Katter's Australian Party and independents.[42]

The High Court of Australia is the country's highest court. It interprets the Constitution and hears matters within its original and appellate jurisdiction. Each state and territory also maintains its own courts and legal institutions within Australia's federal judicial system.

Foreign relations and defence

Australia is a member of the United Nations, G20, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Commonwealth of Nations and numerous regional organisations. Its foreign policy has longstanding connections with the Pacific and Southeast Asia as well as close economic and strategic relationships across the wider Indo-Pacific.

The United States is Australia's principal treaty ally under the ANZUS Treaty, signed in 1951. Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States also cooperate through the AUKUS security partnership, announced in 2021.[43] Australia is also a member of the Quad with India, Japan and the United States.[44]

The Australian Defence Force consists of the Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force, together with joint commands and supporting organisations.[45]

Economy

Australia has a developed market economy with substantial service, resources, construction, manufacturing and agricultural sectors. According to the World Bank, Australia's nominal GDP was approximately US$1.8 trillion in 2025, with GDP per capita of US$65,129.7. Real GDP growth for that year was 1.4 per cent.[46]

Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed real GDP rising by 0.4 per cent in the June quarter of 2026 and by 2.1 per cent compared with the June quarter of 2025.[47]

Mining is particularly important to exports. Australia is a major international supplier of commodities including iron ore, coal, natural gas and various critical minerals. Agriculture produces commodities including beef, wheat, wool, dairy products, wine and other food products for domestic and international markets.

China is Australia's largest trading partner. In 2025, two-way goods and services trade with China was valued at A$326 billion, equivalent to about 25 per cent of Australia's total goods and services trade. Australian exports to China were valued at A$196 billion.[48] Japan was Australia's third-largest trading partner and second-largest export market in 2025, with major exports including coal, natural gas and iron ore.[49]

Tourism is another important part of the economy. Australia recorded about 9.1 million short-term international visitor arrivals in the 2025–26 financial year, an increase of 8.3 per cent from the previous year. New Zealand was the largest source country for those arrivals.[50]

Demographics

Population and settlement

Australia's estimated resident population was 27,921,150 at 31 March 2026. During the preceding year the population increased by 392,700 people, or 1.4 per cent. Natural increase contributed 100,600 people and net overseas migration contributed 292,100.[51]

Australia is sparsely populated relative to its area, with a national population density of about 3.6 people per square kilometre in June 2025.[52] Most residents live in cities and regional centres near the coast. Sydney and Melbourne are the two largest metropolitan areas, followed by Brisbane and Perth.

Ancestry, migration, language and religion

The population has been shaped by Indigenous settlement, British and Irish colonisation, postwar European migration and later migration from Asia, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific and other regions.

At the 2021 Census, 27.6 per cent of Australia's population had been born overseas. The largest reported ancestry responses were English at 33.0 per cent, Australian at 29.9 per cent, Irish at 9.5 per cent, Scottish at 8.6 per cent and Chinese at 5.5 per cent. Respondents could report more than one ancestry.[53]

English is the national language and is the language used by government and most public institutions.[54] Australia is also highly multilingual. In the 2021 Census, the most common languages used at home other than English were Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese, Cantonese and Punjabi.[55]

Australia has no established state religion and its population includes people of many religious and non-religious backgrounds. In the 2021 Census, 38.9 per cent reported no religion, 20.0 per cent Catholicism, 9.8 per cent Anglicanism, 3.2 per cent Islam and 2.7 per cent Hinduism.[56]

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

In the 2021 Census, 812,728 people identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, representing 3.2 per cent of the Census population. Of this group, 91.4 per cent identified as Aboriginal, 4.2 per cent as Torres Strait Islander and 4.4 per cent as both.[57]

First Peoples encompass numerous nations, language groups and cultural communities. Indigenous languages remain in use across the country, though many were severely affected by colonisation and historical government policies.[58]

Education

Education responsibilities are shared between the Commonwealth, state and territory governments and non-government education providers. The Australian Curriculum provides a national framework for school learning, while state, territory and non-government authorities are responsible for its delivery and implementation.[59]

Australia has public and private school systems, universities and a large vocational education and training sector. Technical and Further Education institutions, commonly known as TAFE, are major providers of vocational education. Vocational courses are also delivered by registered training organisations and some universities.[60]

Australian universities conduct teaching and research across a wide range of disciplines and enrol both domestic and international students. International education has also developed into a significant service export.

Health

Australia has a mixed public and private health system involving the Commonwealth, state and territory governments, private providers and community organisations. Medicare is the national health insurance system and covers the cost of treatment as a public patient in public hospitals while subsidising many medical and other health services.[61]

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme subsidises the cost of thousands of prescription medicines for eligible patients. Private health insurance and private hospitals operate alongside the public system.[62]

Culture

Australian culture reflects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditions, British and Irish colonial influences and the contributions of successive waves of migration. Cultural life varies considerably between regions and communities.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures include continuing traditions of storytelling, visual art, music, ceremony, land and sea management, and cultural knowledge transmitted through many generations. Contemporary Indigenous artists, writers, musicians and filmmakers are also prominent in Australian cultural life.

Australian literature, film, television, music, theatre and visual arts have developed both local traditions and international audiences. Cultural institutions include the National Gallery of Australia, National Museum of Australia, National Library of Australia, Australian War Memorial and state-based museums, galleries and performing arts organisations.

Sport occupies a prominent place in Australian public culture. Widely followed sports include Australian rules football, cricket, rugby league, rugby union, association football, tennis and swimming. Australia has hosted major international sporting events, including the Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000.

The country's built, cultural and natural heritage includes internationally recognised places ranging from the Sydney Opera House and Australian Convict Sites to the Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu and Uluru-Kata Tjuta. UNESCO listed 21 Australian World Heritage properties as of 2026.[63]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Area of Australia – States and Territories, Geoscience Australia. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  2. ↑ About Australia, Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  3. ↑ Australia's size compared, Geoscience Australia, 5 September 2025. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  4. ↑ National, state and territory population, March 2026, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 17 September 2026. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  5. ↑ Infosheet 20 – The Australian system of government, Parliament of Australia. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  6. ↑ About the Governor-General, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  7. ↑ About the Prime Minister, Prime Minister of Australia. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  8. ↑ First Peoples of Australia, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  9. ↑ Federation, National Museum of Australia. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  10. ↑ Australia, World Bank. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  11. ↑ Cultural diversity: Census, 2021, Australian Bureau of Statistics. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  12. ↑ First Peoples of Australia, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  13. ↑ Janszoon maps northern Australian coast, National Museum of Australia. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  14. ↑ Cook claims Australia, National Museum of Australia. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  15. ↑ Convict transportation peaks, National Museum of Australia. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  16. ↑ Convict transportation peaks, National Museum of Australia. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  17. ↑ Chapter 2 – National Overview, Australian Human Rights Commission, Bringing Them Home. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  18. ↑ Gold rushes, National Museum of Australia. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  19. ↑ Constitution, Federal Register of Legislation. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  20. ↑ Federation, National Museum of Australia. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  21. ↑ First World War 1914–18, Australian War Memorial. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  22. ↑ John Curtin: during office, National Archives of Australia. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  23. ↑ Cultural diversity of Australia, Australian Bureau of Statistics. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  24. ↑ Australia Act 1986, Federal Register of Legislation. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  25. ↑ Australia Act 1986, Parliamentary Education Office. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  26. ↑ The Stolen Generations, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  27. ↑ 1967: Changing the Constitution, National Museum of Australia. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  28. ↑ Mabo decision, National Museum of Australia. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  29. ↑ Australia's size compared, Geoscience Australia. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  30. ↑ Highest Mountains, Geoscience Australia. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  31. ↑ About Australia, Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  32. ↑ Australian climate zones, Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  33. ↑ Climate classification maps, Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  34. ↑ Threatened species under the EPBC Act, Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, 21 April 2026. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  35. ↑ Australia, UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  36. ↑ Infosheet 20 – The Australian system of government, Parliament of Australia. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  37. ↑ Constitution, Federal Register of Legislation. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  38. ↑ Composition, Parliament of Australia. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  39. ↑ Infosheet 20 – The Australian system of government, Parliament of Australia. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  40. ↑ The Governor-General's biography, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  41. ↑ About the Prime Minister, Prime Minister of Australia. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  42. ↑ 2025 Federal Election – House of Representatives final results, Australian Electoral Commission. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  43. ↑ United States of America country brief, Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  44. ↑ The Quad, Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  45. ↑ Organisation structure, Australian Government Department of Defence. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  46. ↑ Australia, World Bank. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  47. ↑ Australian National Accounts, June 2026, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2 September 2026. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  48. ↑ China country brief, Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  49. ↑ Japan country brief, Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  50. ↑ Overseas arrivals and departures, Australia – 2025–26 financial year, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 14 August 2026. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  51. ↑ National, state and territory population, March 2026, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 17 September 2026. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  52. ↑ Regional population, 2024–25, Australian Bureau of Statistics. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  53. ↑ Cultural diversity: Census, 2021, Australian Bureau of Statistics. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  54. ↑ English—our national language, Australian Government Department of Home Affairs. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  55. ↑ Cultural diversity: Census, 2021, Australian Bureau of Statistics. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  56. ↑ Cultural diversity: Census, 2021, Australian Bureau of Statistics. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  57. ↑ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: Census, 2021, Australian Bureau of Statistics. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  58. ↑ First Peoples of Australia, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  59. ↑ Australian Curriculum, Australian Government Department of Education. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  60. ↑ Vocational Education and Training and TAFE, Study Australia, Australian Government. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  61. ↑ The Australian health system, Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  62. ↑ What Medicare covers, Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. Accessed 23 September 2026.
  63. ↑ Australia, UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Accessed 23 September 2026.
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