geographic(al) position
- With a total area of 7.69 million square kilometers, Australia is the world's largest island and smallest continent.
- The Australian mainland is 3700 km north-south and 4000 km east-west. It is the sixth largest country after Russia, Canada, China, the United States and Brazil.
- Australia is also the only continent governed by a single country. Sometimes it is called an "island" continent surrounded by an ocean.
- Australia's territorial waters span three oceans, covering an area of about 12 million square kilometers, ranking third in the world. Australia's coastline also ranks among the world's largest urban residents, with more than 80 percent living within 100 kilometers of the coastline. At present, Australia has a population of nearly 23 million people.
Australian Government and Government
- Australia has three levels of government: the Federal Government of Australia, the governments of six states and two territories, and about 700 local government agencies. Since January 1, 1901, Australia has been a country with a single government. Although Australia is divided into states and territories, each has its own state governments, but it is still a unified country.
- Australia adopts a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state, so the Australian flag contains the British flag, as well as federal and southern cross stars. The Queen, on the advice of the elected Australian Government, appointed the Governor of Australia as its representative. The Governor appointed ministers at the suggestion of the Prime Minister. Australia's government system is based on a tradition of liberal democracy, including religious tolerance and freedom of expression and association.
- Australia's constitution sets out the functions of the Australian government, such as foreign relations and foreign trade, defence and immigration. State and territorial governments are responsible for matters beyond the scope of federal government affairs. There are two main government political groups in the Commonwealth and states: the Labour Party of Australia, (Australian Labor Party), and a coalition of Liberal (Liberal Party) and National Party (National Party).
- Australian citizen elections decide whether to form a government by a majority or coalition. Other major political parties or coalitions are called "opposition parties".
Multicultural Australia
- Australian society consists of people from diverse cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds, which is a feature of modern Australian society. Aboriginal and Torres Strait (Torres Strait) Islanders have lived in Australia for tens of thousands of years. Most Australians are immigrants or descendants of immigrants who have emigrated to Australia from more than 200 countries over the past 200 years. Australia's common language is English, the most common religion is Christianity, and other languages and religious beliefs are widespread.
Cities, states and territories
Australia is divided into six states and two territories.
- Capital Territory (Australian Capital Territory): includes Canberra and Jervis Bay Territory (Jervis Bay Territory), Canberra, Australia's capital and government center, about 290km south of Sydney. Canberra is located in the ancient lands of the (Ngunnawal), the indigenous people, whose name is intended to be "meeting place" and derived from the indigenous language "Kamberra". It is home to important national institutions, including the Australian Parliament and the High Court of Australia.
- (New South Wales):, New South Wales, is Australia's oldest and most populous state. Originally a prisoner exile on the (Port Jackson) coast of Port Jackson, Sydney, the bustling capital city, is located here. More than 1/3 Australians live in New South Wales, Australia's largest city.
- Victoria (Victoria): is the smallest and second most populous state on the Australian continent. The capital, Melbourne, is also Australia's second-largest city with a population. Melbourne was one of the largest and richest cities in the world during the gold rush of the nineteen fifties. Melbourne, known as Australia's Cultural Capital, is home to Australian films, television, art, dance and music. The Victorian passion for sports has long been the source of the Australian football (Australian Rules football).
- Queensland (Queensland): is Australia's second largest state. Its capital, Brisbane, is Australia's third-largest city with a population. Queensland is the perfect place for outdoor and water sports compared to the rest of Australia, where Queensland enjoys more warm winter sun. (Great Barrier Reef), the world-famous Great Barrier Reef, is also home to Queensland's five World Heritage-listed national parks.
- South Australia's (South Australia): is located in the heart of southern Australia and covers some of the driest parts of the continent. It is Australia's fourth-largest state, bordering all the states on the Australian continent and the Northern Territory of (Northern Territory). Its capital is Australia's fifth-largest city, Adelaide.. South Australia is known for its booming arts, known as the "holiday state" (Festival State), which celebrates more than 500 festivals a year.
- The Northern Territory of (Northern Territory): is located in the northernmost part of Australia, the northern coast of Darwin is the capital of the Northern Territory, and Alice Springs (Alice Springs) is its main inland town. Alice Springs is Australia's geographical center, almost at the heart of the country's geography. The Northern Territory is home to the famous Ururu (Uluru) (Ayers Rock, Catachuta (Kata Tjuta) (Olgas) and Kakadu National Park (Kakadu national park).
- Western Australia (Western Australia): is Australia's largest state. About 3/4 of the state's population lives in the capital Perth, Australia's fourth-most populous city. The eastern part of the state is almost all desert, while the west is nearly 13000 kilometers of pristine coastline. Gold was discovered in Western Australia in the 1890's and is still one of the state's largest industries.
- (Tasmania):, Tasmania, is the smallest state in Australia, separated by (Bass Strait) in the Bath Strait from the Australian mainland. Founded in 1804, the capital Horbart was once a prisoner exile and is now Australia's second-oldest capital city after Sydney. National parks and wasteland account for 1/5 of Tasmania's area. Tasmania, one of the world's most mountainous islands, reflects Australia's links with the Antarctic continent millions of years ago.
- Australia also has a number of overseas territories, including Ashmore and (Ashmore and Cartier Islands), Christmas Island, (Christmas Island), Cocos Islands, (Cocos Islands), or (Coral Sea Islands), (Keeling Islands), Coral Sea Islands. Hurd Island and Macdonald Islands (Heard and McDonald Islands), Norfolk Island (Norfolk Island), Australian Antarctic Territory (Australian Antarctic Territory) (covers 42% of Antarctica's continent).
