Outline of Australia
{{see also|Index of Australia-related articles}}
{{Short description|Continent and country}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2011}}
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File:Australia (orthographic projection).svg]]
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.{{cite web|date=2 July 2009|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/australia/|title=Australia|work=The World Factbook|publisher=United States Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=23 July 2009}} 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.[http://news.softpedia.com/news/Both-Aborigines-and-Europeans-Rooted-in-Africa-54225.shtml Both Australian Aborigines and Europeans Rooted in Africa – 50,000 years ago] After sporadic visits by fishermen from the north and then European discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606,MacKnight, CC (1976).The Voyage to Marege: Macassan Trepangers in Northern Australia. Melbourne University Press 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.
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General reference
- Pronunciation: {{IPAc-en|audio=EN-Australia-Pronunciation.ogg|ə|ˈ|s|t|r|eɪ|l|i|ə|,_|ɒ|-}}
- Common English country name: Australia
- Official English country name: The Commonwealth of Australia
- Common endonym(s): Land Down Under
- Official endonym(s): Australia
- Adjectival(s): Australian
- Demonym(s): 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
File:Topography of australia.jpg]]
File:Australia-climate-map MJC01.png]]
File:Australian Map Extremities.svg
{{Further|Australia (continent)}}
- 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
- Time zones:
- Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) (UTC+10), Australian Eastern Summer Time (AEDT) (UTC+11)
- Australian Central Standard Time (ACST) (UTC+09:30), Australian Central Summer Time (ACDT) (UTC+10:30),
- Australian Western Standard Time (AWST) (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 {{convert|2228|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
- Lowest Point – Lake Eyre {{convert|-15|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
- Land boundaries: none
- Coastline: 25,760 km
- Population of Australia: 25,694,393 people {{cite web | title=Australian Demographic Statistics December 2020 | url=http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3101.0 | access-date=3 May 2021}} (December 2020) – 54th most populous country
- Area of Australia: {{convert|7741220|km2|abbr=on}} – 6th largest country
- Atlas of Australia
- Surveying in Australia
=Environment=
- 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
{{Clear}}
Image:Koala climbing tree.jpg|A koala.
Image:Kangaroo-in-flight cropped.jpg|A kangaroo.
Image:SaltwaterCrocodile('Maximo').jpg|The Saltwater crocodile is the largest species of crocodile in the world.
Image:Emoe.jpg|An emu.
Image:Chlamydosaurus kingii.jpg|Frill-necked lizard.
==Geographic features==
{{See also|Category:Landforms of Australia}}
=Regions=
{{Main|List of regions in Australia|l1=Regions of Australia}}
==Multi-state regions==
==Administrative divisions==
{{Australia Labelled Map|float=right}}
===States===
===Territories===
====Mainland territories====
====External territories====
===Municipalities===
=Demography=
class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right;" | ||||||
style="text-align: center; background: #cccccc"
|width="24%"| State/territory |width="15%"| Land area (km2) | width="4%"| Rank | width="4%"| Rank
|width="15%"| Population density (/km2) | width="4%"| Rank
|width="15%"| % of population in capital | width="4%"| Rank | ||
align="left"| 25x15px New South Wales
| 800,642 | 5th
| 7,348,900 | 1st | 9.18 | 3rd | 63.5% | 5th |
align="left"| 25x15px Victoria
| 227,416 | 6th
| 5,679,600 | 2nd | 24.97 | 2nd | 74.8% | 4th |
align="left"| 25x15px Queensland
| 1,730,648 | 2nd
| 4,610,900 | 3rd | 2.66 | 5th | 47.5% | 7th |
align="left"| 25x15px Western Australia
| 2,529,875 | 1st
| 2,472,700 | 4th | 0.98 | 7th | 76.7% | 3rd |
align="left"| 25x15px South Australia
| 983,482 | 4th
| 1,662,200 | 5th | 1.69 | 6th | 76.8% | 2nd |
align="left"| 25x15px Tasmania
| 68,401 | 7th
| 512,400 | 6th | 7.49 | 4th | 42.3% | 8th |
align="left"| 25x15px Australian Capital Territory
| 2,358 | 8th
| 379,600 | 7th | 160.98 | 1st | 98.7% | 1st |
align="left"| 25x15px Northern Territory
| 1,349,129 | 3rd
| 236,900 | 8th | 0.18 | 8th | 55.6% | 6th |
List all suburbs in Australia
Government and politics
[[File:Australian states political.gif|thumb|right|Political parties in government in 1945.
{{legend|red|Labor}}
{{legend|blue|Liberal}}
{{legend|#3C0|National/Country}}
{{legend|#87CEFA|Other Coalition}}
{{legend|#F4A460|Other}}
{{legend|#DCDCDC|No government}}]]
{{Monarchy of Australia}}
{{main|Government of Australia|Politics of Australia}}
- 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=
==Branches of the government==
===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===
===Judicial branch===
==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=
{{Main|Foreign relations of Australia|Diplomatic history of Australia}}
=International organisation membership=
The Commonwealth of Australia is a member of the:
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-2}}
- Asian Development Bank (ADB)
- Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (dialogue partner)
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum (ARF)
- Australia Group
- Australia-New Zealand-United States Security Treaty (ANZUS)
- Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
- Colombo Plan (CP)
- Commonwealth of Nations
- East Asia Summit (EAS)
- European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
- Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
- Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (G20)
- Informal social partnership (MIKTA)
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
- International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
- International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
- International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
- International Criminal Court (ICCt)
- International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol)
- International Development Association (IDA)
- International Energy Agency (IEA)
- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRCS)
- International Finance Corporation (IFC)
- International Hydrographic Organization (IHO)
- International Labour Organization (ILO)
- International Maritime Organization (IMO)
- International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO)
- International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- International Olympic Committee (IOC)
- International Organization for Migration (IOM)
- International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
- International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRM)
- International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
{{Col-2}}
- International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO)
- International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
- Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)
- Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
- Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) (guest)
- Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)
- Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
- Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
- The Pacific Community (SPC)
- Pacific Islands Forum (PIF)
- Paris Club
- Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)
- South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) (observer)
- South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Co-operation Agreement (Sparteca)
- United Nations (UN)
- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
- United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
- United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT)
- United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS)
- United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
- United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO)
- Universal Postal Union (UPU)
- World Customs Organization (WCO)
- World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
- World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
- World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
- World Trade Organization (WTO)
- World Veterans Federation
- Zangger Committee (ZC)
{{Col-end}}
=Law and order=
- 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=
{{See also|Local government}}
History
{{Main|History of Australia|Timeline of Australian 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=
Culture
- 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
- 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=
Education
{{main|Education in Australia|Lists of schools in Australia}}
=States education=
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
- 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
- Basketball in Australia
- Cricket in Australia
- Field hockey in Australia
- Golf in Australia
- Motorsport in Australia
- Netball in Australia
- Pickleball in Australia
- Skiing in Australia
- Swimming in Australia
- Swimming Australia
- List of Australian records in swimming
- Women's swimming in Australia
- Tennis in Australia
- Australian horse racing
- Winter sport in Australia
See also
{{Portal|Australia|Oceania}}
- {{PrefixAllPages|Australia}}
- {{PrefixAllPages|Australian}}
- {{Intitle|Australia}}
- {{Intitle|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
{{Clear}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Wikiatlas|Australia}}
- {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20150928172858/http://detailed-map-of-australia.atlas-map.com/ Detailed map of Australia]}}
{{Sister bar|auto=1|Australia|iw=en}}
{{Australia topics}}
{{Outline footer}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Australia}}