Outline of Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Australia refers to both the continent of Australia and the Commonwealth of Australia, the country that comprises the continent, Tasmania, and other nearby islands. 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, plus the major island of Tasmania,.N4 The 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 more than 42,000 years by Indigenous Australians.[1] After sporadic visits by fishermen from the north and then European discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606,[2] 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.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Australia:
[edit] General reference
- Pronunciation:
- Australian English: /əˈstræɪ.ljə/
- British English: /ɒˈstreɪ.liː.ə/
- American English: /ɑˈstre.li.ə/
- Audio (US) (help·info)
- Common English country name: Australia
- Official English country name: The Commonwealth of Australia
- Common endonym(s):
- Official endonym(s):
- Adjectival(s): Australian
- Demonym(s):
- 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
[edit] Geography of Australia
- Main articles: Australia (continent), Australia, and Geography of Australia
- Australia is: a continent and a country
- Location:
- Australia is a region or subregion of:
- Australia lies within:
- Time zone(s): [[]]
- Extreme points of Australia
- North:
- South:
- East:
- West:
- High:
- Low:
- Land boundaries: none
- Coastline: 25,760 km
- Population of Australia: 21,370,000 people [3] (2008 estimate) - 53rd most populous country
- Area of Australia: 7,741,220 km2 (2,988,900 sq mi) - 6th largest country
- Atlas of Australia
[edit] Environment of Australia
- Climate of Australia
- Geology of Australia
- National parks of Australia
- Protected areas of Australia
- Wildlife of Australia
A koala. |
A kangaroo. |
The Saltwater Crocodile is the largest species of crocodile in the world. |
An emu. |
[edit] Geographic features of Australia
- Islands of Australia
- Lakes of Australia
- Mountains of Australia
- Rivers of Australia
- Valleys of Australia
- Waterfalls of Australia
- World Heritage Sites in Australia
[edit] Regions of Australia
[edit] Multi-state regions
- Barkly Tableland
- Capital Country
- Eastern states of Australia
- East Coast of Australia
- Lake Eyre Basin
- Murray-Darling Basin
- Northern Australia
- The Nullarbor
- Outback
- Southern Australia
[edit] Administrative divisions of Australia
- Main article: States and territories of Australia
[edit] States of Australia
[edit] Territories of Australia
[edit] Mainland territories of Australia
[edit] External territories of Australia
- Ashmore and Cartier Islands
- Australian Antarctic Territory
- Norfolk Island
- Christmas Island
- Cocos (Keeling) Islands
- Coral Sea Islands Territory
- Heard and McDonald Islands
[edit] Municipalities of Australia
[edit] Demography of Australia
- Main article: Demographics of Australia
State/territory | Land area (km²) | Rank | Population (2006) | Rank | Population density (/km²) | Rank | % of population in capital | Rank |
Australian Capital Territory | 2,358 | 8th | 336,400 | 7th | 137.53 | 1st | 99.6% | 1st |
New South Wales | 800,642 | 5th | 6,817,100 | 1st | 8.44 | 3rd | 63% | 5th |
Victoria | 227,416 | 6th | 5,188,100 | 2nd | 22 | 2nd | 71% | 4th |
Queensland | 1,730,648 | 2nd | 4,264,590 | 3rd | 2.26 | 5th | 46% | 7th |
South Australia | 983,482 | 4th | 1,581,400 | 5th | 1.56 | 6th | 73.5% | 2nd |
Western Australia | 2,529,875 | 1st | 2,105,800 | 4th | 0.79 | 7th | 73.4% | 3rd |
Tasmania | 68,401 | 7th | 492,700 | 6th | 7.08 | 4th | 41% | 8th |
Northern Territory | 1,349,129 | 3rd | 215,000 | 8th | 0.15 | 8th | 54% | 6th |
[edit] Government and politics of Australia
- Main articles: Australian governments, Government of Australia, and Politics of Australia
- Form of government: federative constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy
- Capital of Australia: Canberra
- Elections in Australia
- Human rights in Australia
- Political parties in Australia
- Political scandals of Australia
- Republicanism in Australia
- Taxation in Australia
[edit] Federal government of Australia
[edit] Branches of the government of Australia
[edit] Executive branch of the government of Australia
- Head of state: Queen of Australia (Queen Elizabeth II)
- Head of state's representative: Governor-General (Quentin Bryce)
- Head of government: Prime Minister of Australia (Kevin Rudd)
- Cabinet
- Federal Executive Council
[edit] Legislative branch of the government of Australia
[edit] Judicial branch of the government of Australia
[edit] Military of Australia
- Command
- Commander-in-chief: Governor-General as the Queen's representative.
- 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
- Military ranks of Australia
[edit] Foreign relations of Australia
- Anglo-Australian relations
- ANZUS
- Australia-Indonesia relations
- Australia-New Zealand relations
- Australia and the United Nations
- Japanese-Australian relations
- Sino-Australian relations
- United States-Australia relations
[edit] International organisation membership
Australia is a member of the:
[edit] Law and order in Australia
- Citizenship
- Constitution of Australia
- Crime in Australia
- Law enforcement in Australia
- National law enforcement agencies
- Australian Federal Police (AFP)
- Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)
- Australian Crime Commission (ACC)
- Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS)
- Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS)
- Australian Securities and 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:
- National law enforcement agencies
[edit] State and territory governments of Australia
- 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
[edit] Local government in Australia
[edit] History of Australia
- Main articles: 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)
- History of Australia since 1945
- Australian Federation
- Constitutional history of Australia
- Immigration history of Australia
- Stamps and postal history of Australia
- Stolen Generation
[edit] History of the states of Australia
- History of New South Wales
- History of Queensland
- History of South Australia
- History of Tasmania
- History of Victoria
- History of Western Australia
[edit] Culture of Australia
- Main article: Culture of Australia
- Architecture of Australia
- Cuisine of Australia
- Dance of Australia
- Festivals in Australia
- Folklore of Australia
- Humour in Australia
- Languages of Australia
- Media of Australia
- National symbols of Australia
- Coat of arms of Australia
- Flag of Australia
- National anthems of Australia:
- Official national anthem: Advance Australia Fair
- Royal anthem: God Save the Queen
- People of Australia
- Prostitution in Australia
- Public holidays in Australia
- Religion in Australia
- World Heritage Sites in Australia
[edit] The Arts in Australia
- Art of Australia
- Cuisine
- Literature of Australia
- Music of Australia
- Theatre in Australia
- Cinema of Australia
[edit] Sport in Australia
- Main article: Sport in Australia
- Australia at the Olympics
- Australia at the Commonwealth Games
- Football in Australia
- Cricket in Australia
- Rugby Union in Australia
- Rugby League in Australia
- Association football in Australia
- Winter sport in Australia
[edit] Economy of Australia
- Main article: Economy of Australia
- Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 14th (fourteenth)
- Economic history of Australia
- Energy policy of Australia
- Mining in Australia
- Tourism in Australia
- Transport in Australia
- Reserve Bank of Australia
- Australian Securities Exchange
- Economic history of Australia
- Median household income in Australia and New Zealand
[edit] Economy of the states of Australia
- Economy of New South Wales
- Economy of Queensland
- Economy of South Australia
- Economy of Tasmania
- Economy of Victoria
- Economy of Western Australia
[edit] Education in Australia
- Main articles: Education in Australia and Lists of schools in Australia
[edit] Education in the states of Australia
- Education in New South Wales
- Education in Queensland
- Education in South Australia
- Education in Tasmania
- Education in Victoria
- Education in Western Australia
- Education in the Australian Capital Territory
[edit] Infrastructure of Australia
- Communications in Australia
- Energy in Australia
- Health care in Australia
- Transportation in Australia
- Water supply and sanitation in Australia
[edit] See also
- Commonwealth realm
- Index of Australia-related articles
- List of Australia-related topics
- List of international rankings
- Member state of the Commonwealth of Nations
- Member state of the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors
- Member state of the United Nations
- Monarchy of Australia
- Outline of geography
- Outline of Oceania
[edit] References
- ^ Both Australian Aborigines and Europeans Rooted in Africa - 50,000 years ago
- ^ MacKnight, CC (1976).The Voyage to Marege: Macassan Trepangers in Northern Australia. Melbourne University Press
- ^ "Population clock". Australian Bureau of Statistics. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs%40.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/1647509ef7e25faaca2568a900154b63?OpenDocument. Retrieved on 2008-07-22.
[edit] External links
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Quotations from Wikiquote
Source texts from Wikisource
Images and media from Commons
News stories from Wikinews
- Wikimedia Atlas of Australia
- Australia at WikiMapia
- About Australia from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Australia entry at The World Factbook
- Governments of Australia Entry Point (Federal, State & Territory)
- Australian Government Entry Portal
- Australian Bureau of Statistics
- Community organisations portal
- Cultural Institutions
- Tourism Australia
- Australia travel guide from Wikitravel
- Outline of Australia at the Open Directory Project
- Expat in Australia info for anyone coming to Australia
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