G’Day mate…and welcome to Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia; home to the kangaroo, the koala, the boomerang, and some of the most stunning coastlines you'll ever come across. It’s the largest country in Oceania and the sixth largest country in the world. Although it is the smallest continental land mass, it is, in fact, the world’s largest island; just to compare, the UK would fit into Australia approximately 32 times!
The most surprising statistic though is Australia’s population density - one of the lowest in the world. Only 26 million inhabit the country, that’s around 3 people per square meter. Most of the inhabitants are concentrated in or around the coastal areas of all the main states/territories.
Made up of six states - New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia & Tasmania, and two territories - Northern Territory (NT) and Australian Capital Territory (ACT), much of inland Australia is deserted. Though most people mistakenly believe Sydney to be the capital, it is, in fact, Canberra which is in southeastern Australia, in ACT. Australia is almost 4000km from east to west and 3200km from north to south, a flight that would take approximately 4.
5hrs each way! Generally, the north is hot and tropical while the south is subtropical or temperate, with most rainfall happening around the coast. There is even some snow in southern Australia and Tasmania during the winter months.
As one of the most ethnically diverse nations, nearly a quarter of the country’s inhabitants were born elsewhere, making it the eighth largest immigration population in the world. Following World War II, Australia promoted itself with a “Populate or Perish” slogan, urging foreigners to visit and eventually settle, which most of them did. Firstly, from Britain, then Europe, and, finally, Asia became the largest source of immigrants in the 21st century.
The national language is English, though Aboriginal Australians have their own set of languages and customs. Today there are an estimated 400,000 Aborigines (indigenous people of Australia). As a commonwealth of the UK, Australia’s Head of State is Queen Elizabeth II who is represented by a Governor-General and a Prime Minister.
Power is divided between the federal and state governments. Australia is a highly developed country with a strong economy, 13th in the world actually. An important exporter of agricultural goods, such as wool, wheat, beef, fruit and wine, there is also a need to import major items, most notably petroleum and crude oils, cars, phones, computers, and medicines.
The national sport of Australia is cricket during summer and football during winter. Not ‘Football’ in the UK sense, but ‘Australian Football’ which at first glance compares to rugby with the use of hands as well as feet. As a result of their fantastic coastline, Australia is also famous for water sports, and you’ll be hard-pushed to find a local who doesn't know how to surf!
We couldn’t possibly finish without talking about some of Australia’s most famous landmarks. Sydney Opera House, located on the banks of Sydney Harbour, was designed by a Danish architect, took 14 years to construct, and has become one of the most famous structures the world over. Right next to it is the Sydney Harbour Bridge which is the tallest steel arch bridge in the world and more than 150,000 vehicles cross it every day.
Finally, Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, is a massive sandstone formation situated almost dead-center of Australia in the Northern Territory. Listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site, Uluru is sacred to the Aboriginal people with its abundance of springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings. With so much to see and do and so much ground to cover, Australia is a tourist’s paradise…what are you waiting for…get yourself to the Land Down Under!
