Austraalia

Austraalia (English: Australia) is a country and continent located in the southern hemisphere, surrounded by the Indian Ocean to the west, the Pacific Ocean to the east, and the Southern Ocean to the south. It covers about 7.7 million square kilometers and is the world's sixth-largest country by land area.

The country is a federation and constitutional monarchy. It comprises six states—New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, and Tasmania—and several territories, including the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. The Commonwealth has a bicameral parliament (the Senate and the House of Representatives). The Governor-General represents the monarch, and the Prime Minister serves as head of government.

Canberra is the capital, while Sydney is the largest city. Other major urban centers include Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. The de facto national language is English; there is no official language at the federal level. The currency is the Australian dollar.

Australia has a high-income market economy. Services account for the majority of GDP, with mining, agriculture, and tourism also important. Major exports include iron ore, coal, natural gas, and agricultural products; key trading partners include China, Japan, India, the United States, and South Korea.

Geographically diverse, the country features the arid interior known as the Outback, tropical regions in the north, and temperate zones along the coasts. Notable landmarks include the Great Barrier Reef and the Great Dividing Range. Australia is known for its biodiversity and unique wildlife, including species found nowhere else.

Indigenous peoples have inhabited Australia for tens of thousands of years before British colonization began in 1788. The nation federated in 1901, and modern Australia is a multicultural society with a strong immigration history. Australia is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and participates in international organizations such as the G20, OECD, and the United Nations, and it maintains security ties with the United States through the ANZUS alliance.