Country profile · 12 papers

What about Australia?

A continent, a country and a federation of eight very different jurisdictions — which is why so many practical questions in Australia have eight different answers. This section explains the country itself: the land, the people, the system of government that decides who is responsible for what, and the economy that pays for it.

Land area: 7.69 million km²; Sixth-largest country on Earth
Population: ≈ 27.4 million; ABS estimate, 2025
States & territories: 6 + 2 + 8; States, mainland territories, external territories
Head of state: King Charles III; Represented by the Governor-General
Currency: Australian dollar (AUD); Issued by the Reserve Bank of Australia
Official language: None in law; English in practice; 167 Indigenous languages still spoken

Figures from Geoscience Australia and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Each is sourced again, in context, on the page it belongs to.

Country profile

What is Australia — country, continent and federationAustralia is the world's sixth-largest country by land area, the only nation that occupies an entire continent, and a federation of …9 min8 sources

Government & law

Australia's legal system, and the rights it actually gives youAustralia inherited English common law and built a federal court hierarchy on top of it. This explains how the courts fit together, …9 min7 sources

How Australia is governedA constitutional monarchy with a Westminster parliament and an American-style federation. Here is how the three tiers of government …10 min8 sources

States & territories

Australia's states and territories — and why the differences matterSix states and two mainland territories, each with its own parliament, police force, tenancy law, licensing rules and taxes. This is…10 min9 sources

People & society

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia, explainedTwo distinct First Peoples, hundreds of nations, at least 65,000 years of occupation, and a set of legal and political arrangements …9 min9 sources

Australian culture and etiquette, for people who did not grow up hereEgalitarian to the point of being aggressive about it, informal in ways that confuse newcomers, and governed by unwritten rules abou…8 min6 sources

Who lives in AustraliaAbout 27.4 million people, more than a quarter of them born overseas, concentrated on a thin coastal strip. This is what the Census …8 min7 sources

Economy

Australia's economy — what the country actually earns fromA high-income services economy that pays its way in the world by digging things up. This explains the split between what employs Aus…9 min8 sources

The cost of living in AustraliaHousing dominates everything, groceries are expensive for structural reasons, healthcare and university are cheaper than most people…9 min9 sources

Land & environment

Australia's climate and environmentThe driest inhabited continent, running on a wet-dry tropical north and a temperate south, with rainfall governed by ocean cycles mo…9 min7 sources

History & symbols

Australia's flags, anthem, symbols and national daysThree official flags, an anthem whose words changed in 2021, a coat of arms with two animals chosen because neither can walk backwar…8 min8 sources

A short history of AustraliaAt least 65,000 years of continuous Aboriginal occupation, then 1788, then a set of British colonies that federated in 1901 and spen…10 min9 sources