Outline of Australia

Summary

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

Location 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 edit

 
An enlargeable basic map of Australia

Geography edit

 
An enlargeable topographic map of Australia
 
Climatic zones in Australia, based on Köppen classification.
 
Extreme points of mainland Australia

Geography of Australia

Environment edit

 
An enlargeable satellite image of Australia

Environment of Australia

Geographic features edit

Regions edit

Multi-state regions edit

Administrative divisions edit

 
Australian external territories

States and territories of Australia

States edit
Territories edit
Mainland territories edit
External territories edit
Municipalities edit

Local government in Australia

Demography edit

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

Government and politics edit

 
Political parties in government in 1945.
  Labor
  Liberal
  National/Country
  Other Coalition
  Other
  No government

Federal government edit

Government of Australia

Branches of the government edit

Separation of powers in Australia

Executive branch edit
Legislative branch edit
Judicial branch edit

Judiciary of Australia

Military edit

Australian Defence Force (ADF)

Foreign relations edit

International organisation membership edit

The Commonwealth of Australia is a member of the:[1]

Law and order edit

Law of Australia

State and territory governments edit

Local government edit

Local government in Australia

History edit

 
Map showing the creation of the colonies/states and mainland territories.

History of states edit

Culture edit

Culture of Australia

Economy and infrastructure edit

Economy of Australia

State economies edit

Education edit

States education edit

Religion and belief systems in Australia edit

Sport edit

Sport in Australia

See also edit


References edit

  1. ^ a b "Australia". The World Factbook. United States Central Intelligence Agency. 2 July 2009. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
  2. ^ Both Australian Aborigines and Europeans Rooted in Africa – 50,000 years ago
  3. ^ MacKnight, CC (1976).The Voyage to Marege: Macassan Trepangers in Northern Australia. Melbourne University Press
  4. ^ a b "Australian Demographic Statistics December 2020". Retrieved 3 May 2021.

External links edit

  Wikimedia Atlas of Australia

  • Detailed map of Australia