OceaniaAustralia
Discover Australia - a continent-nation of ancient Aboriginal culture, the Great Barrier Reef, deadly wildlife, and cities that consistently rank among the world's most livable.
Where Is Australia?
Australia is a country in Oceania. Its capital is Canberra.
- Capital Canberra
- Population 27.6M
- Area 7,692,024 km²
Australia is an entire continent pretending to be a country. It is roughly the same size as the contiguous United States, yet holds only 26 million people - most of them clinging to the coast while the vast interior stretches out in shades of red and ochre under a sky that seems to go on forever. The Aboriginal Australians have been here for at least 65,000 years, making theirs the oldest continuous civilization on Earth. They mapped the land through Songlines, painted the Kimberley rocks, and developed a relationship with fire that shaped the entire ecosystem.
Then the British showed up in 1788 and things got complicated. Modern Australia is a mashup of Indigenous heritage, British colonial bones, and a fiercely multicultural society that has absorbed waves of migration from Europe, Asia, and everywhere in between. The result is a country where you can eat Vietnamese pho for breakfast in Melbourne, surf world-class waves at lunch, and watch a sunset over Uluru that will rearrange your understanding of color. The wildlife is famously trying to kill you - box jellyfish, saltwater crocodiles, eastern brown snakes, funnel-web spiders - but Australians shrug it off with the same laconic humor they bring to everything.
The Great Barrier Reef stretches for over 2,300 kilometers along the Queensland coast. The Outback holds landscapes so ancient they make the Grand Canyon look like a fresh scratch. Sydney's Opera House is one of the most iconic buildings ever designed. And Australian slang remains a legitimate dialect that turns "afternoon" into "arvo" and "breakfast" into "brekkie" without a shred of self-consciousness.
At a glance
Largest cities in Australia
Sydney
Melbourne
Brisbane
Perth
Adelaide
Famous people from Australia
Cate Blanchett
FilmTwo-time Academy Award-winning actress considered one of the finest of her generation, from Melbourne to Hollywood royalty
Steve Irwin
ScienceThe Crocodile Hunter who became the world's most beloved wildlife conservationist and put Australian wildlife on global TV
Nicole Kidman
FilmAcademy Award-winning actress with a career spanning four decades, one of the most bankable stars in cinema history
Hugh Jackman
FilmWolverine himself, a Sydney-born actor who moved from musical theatre to becoming one of the biggest action stars alive
Kylie Minogue
MusicPop princess who went from Neighbours to global superstardom, selling over 80 million records and earning a Damehood
Traditional cuisine of Australia
- Meat Pie
- Australia's unofficial national dish - flaky pastry filled with minced beef and gravy, consumed at footy games and bakeries nationwide
- Vegemite on Toast
- The great divider - dark, salty yeast extract spread thinly on buttered toast, an acquired taste that Australians start at birth
- Barramundi
- Australia's premier fish, a large freshwater and saltwater species with buttery flesh, grilled or pan-fried across the Top End
- Lamington
- Squares of sponge cake coated in chocolate icing and desiccated coconut, the quintessential Australian afternoon tea treat
- Tim Tam
- Chocolate-coated biscuit with a creamy center, best consumed via the Tim Tam Slam - biting both ends and using it as a straw
- Pavlova
- Crispy meringue with a marshmallow center topped with cream and fruit, fiercely claimed by both Australia and New Zealand
Nature and landmarks in Australia
- Great Barrier ReefCoast
- World's largest coral reef system stretching 2,300 kilometers off Queensland, visible from space and home to thousands of marine species
- UluruLandmark
- Sacred sandstone monolith rising 348 meters from the red desert of the Northern Territory, a spiritual heart of Aboriginal Australia
- Great Ocean RoadCoast
- Stunning coastal drive in Victoria featuring the Twelve Apostles limestone stacks, shipwreck coasts, and rainforest
- Daintree RainforestForest
- The oldest tropical rainforest on Earth at 180 million years, where the jungle meets the reef in Far North Queensland
- Kakadu National ParkNational Park
- Vast wilderness in the Top End with 20,000-year-old Aboriginal rock art, wetlands, and crocodile-filled rivers
Sports in Australia
- Cricket
- Australia has won the Cricket World Cup a record five times and dominated the Ashes rivalry with England for generations
- Australian Rules Football
- A uniquely Australian sport invented in Melbourne in the 1850s, the AFL Grand Final draws over 100,000 spectators
- Swimming
- One of the great Olympic swimming powers with over 70 gold medals, producing legends like Ian Thorpe and Dawn Fraser
Did you know?
Australia is the only country that is also a continent, covering 7.7 million square kilometers with just 26 million people
The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on Earth and can be seen from space
There are roughly 74 million sheep in Australia - about three for every human
Aboriginal Australians have been on the continent for at least 65,000 years, making theirs the oldest continuous civilization on Earth
Australia has over 10,000 beaches - you could visit a new one every day for over 27 years
The Australian Alps receive more snow annually than the Swiss Alps
Kangaroos and emus were chosen for the coat of arms because neither animal can easily walk backward, symbolizing a nation moving forward
Read more about Australia
Can you find Australia on a map?
Drop a pin where you think it is and see how close you got. A few rounds and you will place Australia and its neighbours without a second thought.
