Outline of Australia

This outline of Australia is an overview of and topical guide to various aspects of the country of Australia.

Australia refers to both the continent of Australia and to the Commonwealth of Australia, the sovereign country.

The continent of Australia, the world's smallest continent, is in the Southern Hemisphere and borders both the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

The Commonwealth of Australia comprises the mainland of the Australian continent, the major island of Tasmania, other nearby islands, and various external territories.^[1]

Neighbouring countries are Indonesia, East Timor, and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east.

The Australian mainland has been inhabited for at least 50,000 years by Aboriginal Australians.^[2] After sporadic visits by fishermen from the north and then European discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606,^[3] the eastern half of Australia was later claimed by the British in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation as part of the colony of New South Wales, commencing on 26 January 1788. As the population grew and new areas were explored, another five largely self-governing Crown colonies were established during the 19th century.

General reference

• Pronunciation: /əˈstreɪliə, ɒ-/ ^ⓘ
• Common English country name: Australia
• Official English country name: The Commonwealth of Australia
• Common endonym(s): Land Down Under
• Official endonym(s):
• Adjectival(s): Australian
• Demonym(s): Australian, Aussie (Colloquially)
• Etymology: Name of Australia
• International rankings of Australia
• ISO country codes: AU, AUS, 036
• ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:AU
• Internet country code top-level domain: .au

Geography

Geography of Australia

• Australia is...
  • a continent
  • a country
    • a nation state
    • a Commonwealth realm
    • a megadiverse country
• Location:
  • Australia is a region or subregion of:
    • The World (Australia is a continent on the planet Earth)
      • Southern Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere
      • Oceania
        • Australasia
  • Australia lies between:
    • Indian Ocean
    • Pacific Ocean
      • South Pacific Ocean
    • Southern Ocean by some reckonings
  • Time zones:
    • Australian Eastern Standard Time (EST) (UTC+10), Australian Eastern Summer Time (EDT) (UTC+11)
    • Australian Central Standard Time (CST) (UTC+09:30), Australian Central Summer Time (CDT) (UTC+10:30),
    • Australian Western Standard Time (WST) (UTC+08)
  • Extreme points of Australia (mainland)
    • Northernmost Point – Cape York, Queensland (10°41' S)
    • Southernmost Point – South Point, Wilsons Promontory, Victoria (39°08' S)
    • Westernmost Point – Steep Point, Western Australia (113°09' E)
    • Easternmost Point – Cape Byron, New South Wales (153°38' E)
    • Highest Point – Mount Kosciuszko 2,228 m (7,310 ft)
    • Lowest Point – Lake Eyre −15 m (−49 ft)
  • Land boundaries: none
  • Coastline: 25,760 km
• Population of Australia: 25,694,393 people ^[4] (December 2020) – 53rd most populous country
• Area of Australia: 7,741,220 km² (2,988,900 sq mi) – 6th largest country
• Atlas of Australia
• Surveying in Australia

Environment

Environment of Australia

• Climate of Australia
  • Bushfires in Australia
  • Climate change in Australia
  • Effects of global warming on Australia
• Ecoregions of Australia
• Environmental issues in Australia
• Renewable energy in Australia
  • Geothermal power in Australia
  • Solar power in Australia
  • Wind power in Australia
• Geology of Australia
• National parks of Australia
• Protected areas of Australia
• Wildlife of Australia
  • Flora of Australia
  • Fauna of Australia
    • Birds of Australia
    • Mammals of Australia

• Iconic wildlife of Australia
• 
  A koala.
• 
  A kangaroo.
• 
  The Saltwater crocodile is the largest species of crocodile in the world.
• 
  An emu.
• 
  Frill-necked lizard.

Geographic features

• Islands of Australia
• Lakes of Australia
• Mountains of Australia
  • Volcanoes in Australia
• Rivers of Australia
• Valleys of Australia
• Waterfalls of Australia
• World Heritage Sites in Australia

Regions

• Ecoregions in Australia

Multi-state regions

• Barkly Tableland
• Capital Country
• Eastern states of Australia
• East Coast of Australia
• Lake Eyre basin
• Murray–Darling basin
• Northern Australia
• The Nullarbor
• Outback
• Southern Australia

Administrative divisions

States and territories of Australia

States

•  New South Wales
•  Victoria
•  Queensland
•  Western Australia
•  South Australia
•  Tasmania

Territories

Mainland territories

•  Australian Capital Territory
•  Northern Territory
•  Jervis Bay Territory

External territories

• Ashmore and Cartier Islands
• Australian Antarctic Territory
• Norfolk Island
• Christmas Island
• Cocos (Keeling) Islands
• Coral Sea Islands Territory
• Heard and McDonald Islands

Municipalities

Local government in Australia

• Cities of Australia

Demography

Demographics of Australia

State/territory	Land area (km2)	Rank	Population (2012)[4]	Rank	Population density (/km2)	Rank	% of population in capital	Rank
New South Wales	800,642	5th	7,348,900	1st	9.18	3rd	63.5%	5th
Victoria	227,416	6th	5,679,600	2nd	24.97	2nd	74.8%	4th
Queensland	1,730,648	2nd	4,610,900	3rd	2.66	5th	47.5%	7th
Western Australia	2,529,875	1st	2,472,700	4th	0.98	7th	76.7%	3rd
South Australia	983,482	4th	1,662,200	5th	1.69	6th	76.8%	2nd
Tasmania	68,401	7th	512,400	6th	7.49	4th	42.3%	8th
Australian Capital Territory	2,358	8th	379,600	7th	160.98	1st	98.7%	1st
Northern Territory	1,349,129	3rd	236,900	8th	0.18	8th	55.6%	6th

Government and politics

• Form of government: Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Capital of Australia: Canberra
• Elections in Australia
  • 1901 – 1972 – 1974 – 1975 – 1977 – 1980 – 1983 – 1984 – 1987 – 1990 – 1993 – 1996 – 1998 – 2001 – 2004 – 2007 – 2010 – 2013 – 2016 – 2019 – 2022
  • Australian electoral system
    • Compulsory voting
    • Preferential voting
  • Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives
• Human rights in Australia
• Political parties in Australia
  • Liberal Party of Australia
  • Australian Labor Party
  • National Party of Australia
  • Australian Democrats
  • Australian Greens
• Political scandals of Australia
• Republicanism in Australia
• Taxation in Australia

Federal government

Government of Australia

Branches of the government

Separation of powers in Australia

Executive branch

• Head of state: King of Australia (King Charles III)
  • Head of state's representative: Governor-General (David Hurley)
• Head of government: Prime Minister of Australia (Anthony Albanese)
• Cabinet
• Federal Executive Council

Legislative branch

• Parliament of Australia
  • Australian monarch
  • Australian Senate
  • Australian House of Representatives
    • Opposition Leader (currently: Peter Dutton)

Judicial branch

Judiciary of Australia

• High Court of Australia
• Australian court hierarchy
• Constitution of Australia

Military

Australian Defence Force (ADF)

• Command
  • Commander-in-chief: Governor-General as the King's representative.
    • Minister for Defence of Australia (Richard Marles)
• Forces
  • Army of Australia: Australian Army
  • Navy of Australia: Royal Australian Navy
  • Air force of Australia: Royal Australian Air Force
  • Special forces of Australia
• Military history of Australia
• Australian Defence Force ranks

Foreign relations

• ANZUS
• Australia–United States relations
• Australia–New Zealand relations
• Australia–Indonesia relations
• Australia–China relations
• Australia–Japan relations
• Anglo-Australian relations
• Australia and the United Nations

International organisation membership

The Commonwealth of Australia is a member of the:^[1]

Law and order

Law of Australia

• Citizenship
• Cannabis in Australia
• Constitution of Australia
• Crime in Australia
• Law enforcement in Australia
  • National law enforcement agencies
    • Australian Border Force (ABF)
    • Australian Federal Police (AFP)
    • Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC)
    • Australian Crime Commission (ACC)
    • Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC)
    • Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
  • Regional law enforcement agencies – the following policing agencies are regulated by their respective State or Territory Government and are highly visible:
    • Australian Capital Territory Police
    • New South Wales Police Force
    • Northern Territory Police
    • Queensland Police Service
    • South Australia Police
    • Tasmania Police
    • Victoria Police
    • Western Australia Police

State and territory governments

• Governors of the Australian states
• Parliaments of the Australian states and territories
• Premiers of the Australian states
• Government of New South Wales
• Government of Queensland
• Government of South Australia
• Government of Tasmania
• Government of Victoria
• Government of Western Australia
• Government of the Australian Capital Territory
• Government of the Northern Territory

Local government

Local government in Australia

• Local government in Australia

History

• Prehistory of Australia
• Australian archaeology
• European exploration of Australia
• History of Australia (1788–1850)
• History of Australia (1851–1900)
• History of Australia (1901–1945)
  • Australian Federation
  • Australia in World War I
  • Australia in World War II
  • Stolen Generations
• History of Australia since 1945
• Constitutional history of Australia
• Immigration history of Australia
• Postage stamps and postal history of Australia

History of states

• History of New South Wales
• History of Queensland
• History of South Australia
• History of Tasmania
• History of Victoria
• History of Western Australia

Culture

Culture of Australia

• Architecture of Australia
  • Architecture of Western Australia
  • Australian architectural styles
• Australian art
  • Indigenous Australian art
• Cinema of Australia
• Australian cuisine
• Dance in Australia
• Festivals in Australia
• Australian folklore
• Humour in Australia
• Languages of Australia
  • Australian Aboriginal languages
  • Australian Aboriginal English
  • Australian English
• Australian literature
• Media of Australia
  • Television in Australia
  • Cinema of Australia
• Music of Australia
  • Australian music charts
  • Australian country music
  • Australian hip hop
  • Australian jazz
  • Australian rock
  • Indigenous Australian music
  • Music of immigrant communities in Australia
• National symbols of Australia
  • Coat of arms of Australia
  • Flag of Australia
  • National anthems:
    • Official national anthem: Advance Australia Fair
    • Royal anthem: God Save the King
• People of Australia
  • Australian diaspora
  • Australian of the Year
• Prostitution in Australia
• Public holidays in Australia
• World Heritage Sites in Australia
• Theatre of Australia

Economy and infrastructure

Economy of Australia

• Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 14th (fourteenth)
• Agriculture in Australia
• Telecommunications in Australia
  • Internet in Australia
• Reserve Bank of Australia
  • List of pizzerias in Australia
  • List of restaurant chains in Australia
• Currency of Australia: Dollar
  • ISO 4217: AUD
• Economic history of Australia
• Energy in Australia
  • Energy in Australia
  • Energy policy of Australia
    • Effects of global warming on Australia
    • Garnaut Climate Change Review
  • Coal in Australia
  • Carbon capture and storage in Australia
  • Geothermal power in Australia
  • Solar power in Australia
  • Wind power in Australia
• Health care in Australia
• Median household income in Australia and New Zealand
• Mining in Australia
  • Coal mining in Australia
• Australian Securities Exchange
• Tourism in Australia
  • Visa policy of Australia
• Transport in Australia
  • Airports in Australia
  • Rail transport in Australia
  • Road transport in Australia
  • Tunnels in Australia
• Water supply and sanitation in Australia

State economies

• Economy of New South Wales
• Economy of Queensland
• Economy of South Australia
• Economy of Tasmania
• Economy of Victoria
• Economy of Western Australia

Education

• Homeschooling and distance education in Australia
• Public and private education in Australia
• Universities in Australia
  • Group of Eight

States education

• Education in New South Wales
• Education in Queensland
• Education in South Australia
• Education in Tasmania
• Education in Victoria
• Education in Western Australia
• Education in the Australian Capital Territory

Religion and belief systems in Australia

• Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology
• Irreligion in Australia
• Religion in Australia
  • Buddhism in Australia
  • Christianity in Australia
    • Catholicism in Australia
    • Protestantism in Australia
  • Hinduism in Australia
  • Islam in Australia
  • Judaism in Australia
    • History of the Jews in Australia
  • Sikhism in Australia

Sport

Sport in Australia

• Australia at the Olympics
• Australia at the Commonwealth Games
• Football in Australia
  • Soccer in Australia
  • Australian rules football in Australia
  • Rugby union in Australia
  • Rugby league in Australia
• Cricket in Australia
• Golf in Australia
• Field hockey in Australia
• Motorsport in Australia
• Tennis in Australia
• Basketball in Australia
• Netball in Australia
• Swimming in Australia
  • Swimming Australia
  • List of Australian records in swimming
  • Women's swimming in Australia
• Skiing in Australia
• Australian horse racing
• Winter sport in Australia

See also

• All pages with titles beginning with Australia
• All pages with titles beginning with Australian
• All pages with titles containing Australia
• All pages with titles containing Australian
• Index of Australia-related articles
• List of Australia-related topics
• List of articles about Australia and New Zealand jointly
• Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations
• Members states of the Group of Twenty
• Member states of the United Nations
• Outline of geography
• Outline of Oceania
• List of place names of Dutch origin

References

External links

Wikimedia Atlas of Australia

• Detailed map of Australia