Australia

Commonwealth of Australia
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Advance Australia Fair Royal anthem: God Save the Queen
Capital	Canberra 35°15′S 149°28′E
Largest city	Sydney
Official languages	English (de facto 1)
Government	Constitutional monarchy (federal)
- Queen	Elizabeth II
- Governor-General	Michael Jeffery
- Prime Minister	John Howard
Independence	from the UK
- Constitution	1 January 1901
- Statute of Westminster	11 December 1931
- Australia Act	3 March 1986
Area
- Total	7,741,220 km² (6th) 2,988,888 sq mi
- Water (%)	1
Population
- 2006 estimate	20,555,3002 (53rd)
- 2001 census	18,972,350
- Density	2.6 /km² (224th) 6.7 /sq mi
GDP (PPP)	2006 estimate
- Total	$674.9 billion (17th)
- Per capita	$32,220 (World Bank) (14th)
GDP (nominal)	2005 estimate
- Total	$708.5 billion (15th)
- Per capita	$34,740 (IMF) (17th)
HDI (2004)	0.957 (high) (3rd)
Currency	Australian dollar (AUD)
Time zone	various3 (UTC+8 to +10.5)
- Summer (DST)	various3 (UTC+8 to +11.5)
Internet TLD	.au
Calling code	+61
1 English does not have de jure official status (source) 2 mid-2006 population projection using Series B (medium variant) from ABS 3 There are minor variations from these three time zones, see Time in Australia.

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania and a number of other islands in the Southern, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the French dependency of New Caledonia to the northeast, and New Zealand to the southeast.

The mainland of Australia has been inhabited for more than 42,000 years by Indigenous Australians. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the north and by European explorers and merchants starting in the seventeenth century, the eastern half of the mainland was claimed by the British in 1770 and officially settled through penal transportation as the colony of New South Wales on 26 January 1788. As the population grew and new areas were explored, another five largely self-governing Crown Colonies were successively established over the course of the 19th century.

On 1 January 1901, the six colonies became a Federation, and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. Since federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and remains a Commonwealth Realm. The capital city is Canberra, located in the Australian Capital Territory. The current national population is approximately 20.6 million people, and is concentrated mainly in the large coastal cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.