ABOUT AUSTRALIA

Officially known as the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia consists of a continent and several small islands, the largest being Tasmania. Australia is the sixth-largest country in the world by total land area. Other countries close to Australia include PNG, Indonesia, The Pacific Islands and New Zealand.

Australia has been inhabited by indigenous Australians for at least the last 45,000 years .Europeans first settled in Australia in the late 18th century. Dutch explorers first discovered Australia around 1600. Great Britain claimed the east coast of Australia around 1770 and settled in the colony in January 1788 in NSW. The Australian population grew steadily with the transportation of British convicts.

In 1901 six federated colonies formed the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has been a stable democratic country since 1901 and functions as a federal democratic country. The Australian federation consists of six states and one territory. Australia’s population as at 2017 was approx. 23 million, the majority of Australia’s population reside on the east coast of Australia. Australia’s largest city (an alpha city) and Australia’s financial hub is Sydney (the harbour city) , in NSW, with a population of approx. 5 million people, followed closely by Melbourne, in Victoria and then Brisbane, in Queensland, followed by Perth in Western Australia, with a population of approx. 2 million people (Perth is one of the world’s most remote cities, and is closer to Asia than east coast Australia) and then the smallest major center, Adelaide in South Australia. The most northern center is Darwin in the Northern Territory.

Australia is a technologically advanced and well developed country, with the world’s 12th-largest economy. Australia has the world’s sixth-highest per capita income. Australia ‘ranks 13th in the world terms of military expenditure. Australia is one of the world’s highest countries on the human development index has one of the highest. Australia ranks highly in many global comparisons of performance, such as health, economic freedom, civil liberties, political rights, education and wealth. Australia is a member of the G20, WTO, UN and Commonwealth of Nations.

Australia ranks highly for sports achievements on the global stage including international cricket, tennis, swimming, sailing, Rugby League, Rugby Union and many others.