Australia

Australia: capital Canberra, population 27.6M, area 7,692,024 km². The 55th most populous country, in Oceania. Facts, map, neighbours and more.

Australia joins the world's largest coral reef ecosystem to an arid interior and cities concentrated mainly around the coast. Archaeology at Madjedbebe records human presence tens of thousands of years before the first documented European landfall in 1606. Its responses to distance and counterfeiting produced radio classrooms and polymer money, while its built and natural landmarks reveal their construction in tiles, reefs, sandstone and eroding limestone.

• Excavations at Madjedbebe published in 2017 dated its deepest occupation layer to about 65,000 years ago, pushing archaeological evidence for human presence far beyond earlier estimates.
• Willem Janszoon's 60-tonne Duyfken reached Cape York in 1606 and charted 300 kilometres of coast, recording the first known European contact with Australia's mainland.
• Arthur Phillip commanded the First Fleet's 11 ships into Botany Bay in January 1788, then began establishing the Sydney Cove settlement on 26 January.
• Six colonies federated as the Commonwealth on 1 January 1901; Australia's first federal parliament opened inside Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building on 9 May.

• David Unaipon patented an improved sheep-shearing handpiece in 1909; drawings of that mechanism and a manuscript of his Ngarrindjeri stories appear on Australia's $50 note.
• Barry Marshall drank a culture of Helicobacter pylori in 1984 and developed gastritis; he and Robin Warren received the 2005 medicine prize for linking the bacterium to ulcers.
• Cathy Freeman lit the Sydney 2000 Olympic cauldron, then won the 400 metres in 49.11 seconds, becoming Australia's first Aboriginal athlete to take an individual Olympic gold.
• Bob and Steve Irwin caught an unfamiliar turtle in the Burdekin River in 1990; John Cann described Elseya irwini as a new species in 1997.

• The Sydney Opera House roof carries exactly 1,056,006 ceramic tiles, assembled into 4,228 chevrons whose alternating gloss and matte surfaces prevent harsh glare beside the harbour.
• The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park extends about 2,300 kilometres along Queensland, covering 344,400 square kilometres and containing roughly 3,000 separate coral reefs.
• Uluru is an arkose sandstone formation rising about 340 metres above the surrounding plain; walking its base circuit covers a circumference of 9.4 kilometres.
• The Twelve Apostles never numbered twelve: Parks Victoria records nine stacks before one fell in 2005 and another in 2009, leaving seven visible limestone pillars.

• Fred Walker hired chemist Cyril Callister in February 1923 to turn brewer's yeast into a spread; Vegemite reached Australian shop shelves later that year.
• Alice Springs opened the first School of the Air in 1951, using pedal-powered radio transceivers to teach children living hundreds of kilometres from a classroom.
• Australia issued a polymer $10 note on 26 January 1988, the first national banknote printed on plastic with an optically variable anti-counterfeit device.
• A 1901 competition for Australia's new flag drew more than 32,800 submissions; five entrants with nearly identical designs divided the £200 prize.

What is the capital of Australia?

The capital of Australia is Canberra.

What is the population of Australia?

Australia has about 27.6M people — the 55th most populous country in the world.

How big is Australia?

Australia covers 7,692,024 km², making it the 6th largest country by area.

Which region is Australia in?

Australia is in Australia and New Zealand, Oceania.