AUSTRALIA

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern hemisphere comprising the mainland of the world's smallest continent and a number of 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.

Location

Located in the south-west Pacific Ocean, the country comprises the main island continent of Australia with the Coral and Tasman Seas (Pacafic Ocean to the west, and the offshore island of Tasmania. Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea are to the Torres Strait and across the Timor and Arafura Seas. New Zealand is 1,800 km to the south-east across the Tasman Sea.

Capital

Canberra

Population

19 500 000

Climate

Generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north

Language

English

Monetary Unit

Australian Dollar

Largest Cities

Sydeny, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, New Castle, Gold Coast, Wollongong, Hobart, Geelong, Townsville, Launceston, Cairns, Ballarat, Darwin, Bendigo.

Principal rivers

Murray, Darling, Lachlan, Flinders, Diamentina, Ashburton, Fitzroy.

Places to Visit

Adelaide, Alice Springs, Brisbane, Canberra, Gold Coast, Mackay, Melbourne, Perth, Syoney, Hamilton Island.

Air Ports

Melbourne International Air Port, Kingsford Smith Airport - Sydney (14.5 km), Alice Springs Airport, Brisbane Airport, Canberra Airport, Hamilton Airport, Hobart Airport, Perth Airport.