Australia - Facts & Figures

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Flag of Australia	Flag of the Australian Aborigines	Coat of arms of Australia

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Australia - a continent of contrasts

The official name for the country is Commonwealth of Australia. But it is also known as Down Under, the Red Continent or some people just call it Oz. The Name Australia comes from the Latin word Terra Australis which simply means southern land. The capital Canberra is situated in the ACT (Australian Capital Territory) and has a population of approximately 345000.

Australia - the ultimate adventure and unlimited freedom. The red Continent has a lot of great things to offer, I would say there is something to suit everyone’s taste. You can do a guided bus tour, a 4WD trip through the Outback, shopping in one of the glittering cities, outdoor activities of all kind, yes - Australia is a country where you can do your style of travelling.

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Map of Australia

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Australia is the only country in the world which covers a whole continent. Down Under has a size of nearly 7.7 square kilometres and is the sixth largest country on planet earth. Countries like Russia, Canada, the United States of America, China and Brazil are bigger than Australia. The population clock on the website of the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed 22 062 351 people on the 22nd of November 2009.

That means less than 3 people per square kilometre in average. The reality is a little bit different, because most Australians live in the big cities along the coast. The Red Continent has huge Outback areas with no residential at all. Australia has six states and two territories. There are some islands in the Indian and Pacific Ocean which belong also to the country, as well as an area of the Antarctica.

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Australia’s dimension from the west coast to the east coast is about 4000 kilometres. The north – south expansion including Tasmania stretches out for around 3700 kilometres. According the official figures of the Australian government the coastline of the mainland has a length of 35877 km, plus the figures of the islands around Down Under you have 59736 km. That does not include the overseas territories. Anyway - these are huge dimensions.

Australia is located in the southern hemisphere. This fact may induce Europeans to give Australia the name Down Under, because for them the Red Continent is on the other side of the world. The country is cosmopolitan and multicultural; the society is composed of immigrants from all over the world. The Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000 gave Down Under a real upturn, the tourism business is booming. You find more about travelling in Australia on other pages on this website. It is sorted by states, cities and towns. Use the navigation menu on the top left side.

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Melbourne Tram

States, abreviations, capitals

■ New South Wales, NSW (Sydney)

■ Queensland, QLD (Brisbane)

■ South Australia, SA (Adelaide)

■ Tasmania, TAS (Hobart)

■ Victoria, VIC (Melbourne)

■ Western Australia, WA (Perth)

Territories, abreviations, capitals

■ Australian Capital Territory, ACT (Canberra)

■ Northern Territory, NT (Darwin)

Jervis Bay Territory - a curiosity

In fact there is another territory on the Australian mainland – the Jervis Bay Territory (JBT). It is a peninsula of nearly 70 square kilometres, located approximately 150 kilometres south of Sydney. The whole thing is a curiosity. In 1915 - the future capital Canberra was build. To make sure the city got its own access to the ocean, the federal government of Australia bought Jervis Bay Territory from the state government of New South Wales. Around 600 people live in Jervis Bay Territory. The area was separated from the ACT in 1989, but the region is mainly still administered under the law of the Capital Territory.

Overseas territories

■ Ashmore & Cartier Islands

■ Australian Antarctic Territory

■ Christmas Island

■ Cocos (Keeling) Islands

■ Coral Sea Islands

■Heard & McDonald Islands

■ Norfolk Island