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Australia: The land "Down Under"



Anthem Advance Australia Fair
Watch on youtube (with lyrics)
Capital Canberra
Largest city Sydney
National language English (de facto)
Demonym(a name for a resident of a locality, often the same as the name of the people's native language)
  • Australian
  • Aussie/Ozzie (colloquial)
Government Federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy
Area 1,7,617,930 km2, 2,941,299 sq mi
Population ~ 22 million
Currency Australian dollar (AUD)
Internet TLD .au


Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere(half of the Earth) comprising the mainland of the Australian continent (the world's smallest), the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor, and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia to the northeast, and New Zealand to the southeast. Australia has six states—New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia—and two major mainland territories(a geographic area under control of a single governing entity such as state or municipality)—the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
The capital city of Australia is Canberra. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth largest Australian city overall. The largest city in Australia and Oceania is Sydney with a population of 4,504,469. It is also the state capital of New South Wales, and is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. Other large cities are the mainland state capitals: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

Society and culture

Since 1788, the primary basis of Australian culture has been Anglo-Celtic Western culture. Distinctive(that is characteristic or typical of something) cultural features have also arisen(to start to exist) from Australia's natural environment and Indigenous(native to a land or region) cultures. Since the mid-20th century, American popular culture has strongly influenced Australia, particularly through television and cinema. Other cultural influences come from neighbouring Asian countries, and through large-scale(large in amount, scope or extent) immigration from non-English-speaking nations.


Most of the estimated 22 million Australians are descended(to come down, as from a source, original, or stock; to be derived; to proceed by generation) from colonial-era settlers(someone who settles in a new location, especially one who makes a previously uninhabited place his home) and immigrants from Europe, with almost 90% of the population being of European descent. For generations, the vast(very great in size, amount, degree, intensity, or especially extent) majority of immigrants came from the British Isles, and the people of Australia are still mainly of British or Irish ethnic origin. In the 2006 Australian Census(an official count of members of a population), the most commonly nominated ancestry(ancestral lineage; hence, birth or honourable descent) was Australian (37.13%), followed by English (31.65%), Irish (9.08%), Scottish (7.56%), Italian (4.29%), German (4.09%), Chinese (3.37%), and Greek (1.84%).


English is the national language. Australian English has a unique(being the only one of its kind) accent and a small number of unique terms(a word or phrase, especially one from a specialised area of knowledge), some of which have found their way into other dialects(a variety of a language that is characteristic of a particular area, community or group) of the English-speaking world. Grammar and spelling are largely based on those of British English. According to the 2006 Census, English is the only language spoken at home for close to 79% of the population. The next most common languages spoken at home are Italian (1.6%), Greek (1.3%) and Cantonese (1.2%).


Australia has no state religion. In the 2006 Census, 64% of Australians listed themselves as Christian, including 26% as Roman Catholic and 19% as Anglican. The second-largest religion in Australia is Buddhism (2.1%), followed by Islam (1.7%), Hinduism (0.8%), and Judaism (0.5%). Overall, fewer than 6% of Australians identify with non-Christian religions. About 19% of the population cited "No religion", and a further 12% did not answer (the question is optional). Religion does not play a central role in the lives of much of the population, although young adults are somewhat more religious than their elders(an older person).

Government and politics

The Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional democracy(rule by the people, especially as a form of government; either directly or through elected representatives) based on a federal division(separation) of powers. The form of government used in Australia is a constitutional monarchy(a government with a hereditary head of state) with a parliamentary system of government. Queen Elizabeth II is the Queen of Australia. There are three branches of government: the legislature(a governmental body with the power to make, amend and repeal laws) (the Commonwealth Parliament, comprising the Queen, the Senate, and the House of Representatives), the executive(responsible for enforcing laws and judicial decisions, and for the day-to-day running of the state) (the Federal Executive Council, the Prime Minister and Ministers of State) and the judiciary(responsible for maintaining the courts of law and for the administration of justice) (the High Court of Australia and other federal courts).


Australia's per capita GDP(Gross Domestic Product) is slightly higher than that of the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and France. All of Australia's major cities fare(to be, to succeed) well in global comparative(using comparison as a method of study) liveability(the property of being endurable, survivable, suitable for living in) surveys. There has been an emphasis(a special attention or prominence given to something) on exporting commodities(anything movable (a good) that is bought and sold) rather than manufactured goods since the start of the century. The service sector of the economy, including tourism, education, and financial services, accounts for 69% of GDP. Although agriculture and natural resources(any source of wealth that occurs naturally, especially minerals, fossil fuels, etc.) account for only 3% and 5% of GDP, they contribute(to give something, that is or becomes part of a larger whole) substantially to export performance. Australia's largest export markets are Japan, China, the US, South Korea, and New Zealand.

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