Australia, officially the 

Commonwealth of Australia,[12] is a sovereign country comprising

the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller
islands. It is the largest country in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country by total
area. The neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and East Timor to the
north; the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-
east. The population of 26 million[6] is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the
eastern seaboard.[13] Australia's capital is Canberra, and its largest city is Sydney. The
country's other major metropolitan areas are Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide.
Indigenous Australians inhabited the continent for about 65,000 years prior to European
discovery[14] with the arrival of Dutch explorers in the early 17th century, who named it New
Holland. In 1770, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain and
initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26
January 1788, a date which became Australia's national day. The population grew steadily
in subsequent decades, and by the time of an 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had
been explored and an additional five self-governing crown colonies established. On
1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia.
Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system that functions as
a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy, comprising six states and ten territories.
Being the oldest,[15] flattest[16] and driest inhabited continent,[17][18] with the least fertile soils,[19]
[20]
 Australia has a landmass of 7,617,930 square kilometres (2,941,300 sq mi).
[21]
 A megadiverse country, its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes, with deserts in the
centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east and mountain ranges in the south-east.
Its population density, 2.8 inhabitants per square kilometre, remains among the lowest in
the world.[22] Australia generates its income from various sources including mining-related
exports, telecommunications, banking, and manufacturing.[23][24][25]
Australia is a highly developed country, with the world's 14th-largest economy. It has
a high-income economy, with the world's tenth-highest per capita income.[26] It is a regional
power and has the world's 13th-highest military expenditure.[27] Australia has the
world's eighth-largest immigrant population, with immigrants accounting for 29% of the
population.[28][29] Having the third-highest human development index and the eighth-highest
ranked democracy globally, the country ranks highly in quality of life, health,
education, economic freedom, civil liberties and political rights,[30] with all its major cities
faring well in global comparative livability surveys.[31] Australia is a member of the United
Nations, G20, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD), World Trade Organization, Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation, Pacific Islands Forum, and the ASEAN Plus Six mechanism.