Commonwealth of Australia | |
---|---|
Anthem: "Advance Australia Fair"[N 1] | |
Capital | Canberra 35°18′29″S 149°07′28″E / 35.30806°S 149.12444°E |
Largest city | Sydney (metropolitan) Melbourne (urban)[N 2] |
National language | English (de facto) |
Religion |
|
Demonym(s) |
|
Government | Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
• Monarch | Charles III |
David Hurley | |
Anthony Albanese | |
Legislature | Parliament |
Senate | |
House of Representatives | |
Independence from the United Kingdom | |
• Federation and Constitution | 1 January 1901 |
15 November 1926 | |
9 October 1942 | |
3 March 1986 | |
Area | |
• Total | 7,688,287[7] km2 (2,968,464 sq mi) (6th) |
• Water (%) | 1.79 (2015)[8] |
Population | |
• 2024 estimate | 27,110,900[9] (53rd) |
• 2021 census | 25,890,773[10] |
• Density | 3.5/km2 (9.1/sq mi) (192nd) |
GDP (PPP) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | $1.719 trillion[11] (20th) |
• Per capita | $64,674[11] (23rd) |
GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | $1.688 trillion[11] (14th) |
• Per capita | $63,487[11] (10th) |
Gini (2020) | 32.4[12] medium |
HDI (2022) | 0.946[13] very high (10th) |
Currency | Australian dollar ($) (AUD) |
Time zone | UTC+8; +9.5; +10 (AWST, ACST, AEST[N 4]) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+10.5; +11 (ACDT, AEDT[N 4]) |
DST not observed in Qld, WA and NT | |
Date format | dd/mm/yyyy[14] |
Driving side | left |
Calling code | +61 |
ISO 3166 code | AU |
Internet TLD | .au |
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia,[15] is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands.[b] Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country. Australia is the oldest,[16] flattest,[17] and driest inhabited continent,[18][19] with the least fertile soils.[20][21] It is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east, tropical savannas in the north, and mountain ranges in the south-east.
The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south-east Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during the last glacial period.[22][23][24] They settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world.[25] Australia's written history commenced with European maritime exploration. The Dutch were the first known Europeans to reach Australia, in 1606. British colonisation began in 1788 with the establishment of the penal colony of New South Wales. By the mid-19th century, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and five additional self-governing British colonies were established, each gaining responsible government by 1890. The colonies federated in 1901, forming the Commonwealth of Australia.[26] This continued a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom, highlighted by the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942, and culminating in the Australia Acts of 1986.[26]
Australia is a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states and ten territories. Its population of nearly 27 million[9] is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard.[27] Canberra is the nation's capital, while its most populous cities are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.[28] Australian governments have promoted multiculturalism since the 1970s.[29] Australia is culturally diverse and has one of the highest foreign-born populations in the world.[30][31] Its abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade relations are crucial to the country's economy, which generates its income from various sources: predominately services (including banking, real estate and international education) as well as mining, manufacturing and agriculture.[32][33] It ranks highly for quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, civil liberties and political rights.[34]
Australia has a highly developed market economy and one of the highest per capita incomes globally.[35][36][37] It is a middle power, and has the world's thirteenth-highest military expenditure.[38][39] It is a member of international groups including the United Nations; the G20; the OECD; the World Trade Organization; Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation; the Pacific Islands Forum; the Pacific Community; the Commonwealth of Nations; and the defence and security organisations ANZUS, AUKUS, and the Five Eyes. It is also a major non-NATO ally of the United States.[40]
:02
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).Australia has the oldest, most highly weathered soils on the planet.
:4
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).:9
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).[In Australia], multiculturalism as policy emerged in the 1970s. It replaced the initial policy approach of assimilation that was adopted towards mass immigration from Europe in the immediate post-Second World War years. In the very simplest of terms, multiculturalism means there is public endorsement and recognition of cultural diversity. It means a national community defines its national identity not in ethnic or racial terms, but in terms that can include immigrants. It means a national community accepts that its common identity may evolve to reflect its composition.
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