Australia is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island

of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands.

The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis ("southern land"), a name used for a
hypothetical continent in the Southern Hemisphere since ancient times. When Europeans first
began visiting and mapping Australia in the 17th century, the name Terra Australis was naturally
applied to the new territories.
With an area of 7,617,930 square kilometres, Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania
and the world's sixth-largest country. Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited
continent, with the least fertile soils.
Indigenous Australians have inhabited the continent for approximately 65,000 years. The
European maritime exploration of Australia commenced in the early 17th century with the arrival
of Dutch explorers. 26 January 1788, a date which became Australia's national day
Politically, Australia is a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy, comprising six states and
ten territories. Australia's population is nearly 26 million. It is highly urbanised and heavily
concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Canberra is the nation's capital, while the largest cities
are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. Australia's demography has been
shaped by centuries of immigration, with immigrants accounting for 30% of the country's
population. Australia's abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade
relations are crucial to the country's economy, which generates its income from various sources
including services, mining exports, banking, manufacturing, agriculture and international
education.
In the early 21st century Australia's trade relations became increasingly oriented towards East
Asia, with China becoming the nation's largest trading partner by a large margin. The federal
government signed trade agreements with countries including China, South Korea, Japan and
Indonesia.
Australia is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and
climates, with deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east, and mountain ranges in
the south-east. Australian forests are mostly made up of evergreen species.
The Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef, lies a short distance off the north-east
coast and extends for over 2,000 km.
Mount Kosciuszko is the highest mountain on the Australian mainland
Eastern Australia is marked by the Great Dividing Range
Australia has at least 755 species of reptile, more than any other country in the world.
Among well-known Australian animals are the platypus and echidna; kangaroo, koala, and
wombat, and birds such as the emu and the kookaburra. Australia is home to many dangerous
animals including some of the most venomous snakes in the world. The story about the wild dog
Dingo also comes from here.
Australia has 37 government-funded universities and three private universities, as well as a
number of other specialist institutions that provide approved courses at the higher education
level.
Australian national university - 31
University of Sydney - 40
University of Melbourne - 41
University of new south wales - 44
Tasmania
It is Australia's least populated state. The state capital and largest city is Hobart.

It is a significant destination for eco-tourism. About 42% of its land area, including national parks
and World Heritage Sites (21%) is protected in some form of reserve. The first environmental
political party in the world was founded in Tasmania.