Australia

Australian facts

• Australia’s national language is English
• Currently, Australia’s population is approximately 22 Million
• Australia’s capital city is Canberra.
• The currency used in Australia is Australian dollars, or AUD.
• Countries surrounding Australia include Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, The Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Zealand.
• Before European settlements came to Australia, Indigenous Australians, more commonly known as Australian Aboriginals, occupied the continent.
• Australia, due to its size and isolation from other major continents, is often thought of as the World’s largest island
• Australia is well known for it’s multicultural communities and population.
• Australia is comprised of 6 states; Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia, and South Australia, and 2 territories; Australia Capital Territory, and Northern Territory.
• Australia has a landmass of 7,617,930 square kilometres and is situated on the Indo-Australian Tectonic Plate
• The Oceans surrounding Australia include the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
• Mt Kosciusko is Australia’s highest mountain; It’s located in New South Wales and reaches up 2228 metres.
• Australia is a very dry continent, and has been affected by droughts for many years
• The Murray river, which separates Victoria and New South Wales, is Australia’s longest river and is 2520km long
• Australia is a large exporter of opals, coal and wool.
• Australia is the only country, which is also a whole continent. Compared to other continents, Australia is the driest, smallest and flattest.
• Some of Australia’s famous landmarks include The Sydney Opera House, the
• Sydney Harbour Bridge, Uluru, The Great Barrier Reef, and The Twelve Apostles.
• Australia’s climate is generally dry, but has tropical climates in the North.
• Some of Australia’s natural hazards include cyclones along the coastline, life-threatening droughts and bush fires.
• The Australian flag is comprised of the Union Jack, representing Australia’s ties to Great Britain. The Southern Cross, a constellation in the southern hemisphere, and strongly associated with Australia in terms of its geographical location, and The Commonwealth Star, located beneath the Union Jack.
• In Australia, there are over 1500 species of Australian Spiders, 4000 species of ants, and 6000 species of flies.
• Within Australia there are over 150 million sheep, while the human population currently sits at 22 million.