Australia is a federal country occupying the Australian mainland, Tasmania and other islands. Its capital is Canberra.
Oceania and its surrounding regions. The dot marks Canberra; the mapped territory is highlighted in gold.
Natural Earth · locator mapAustralia contains a dry interior, eastern uplands, broad lowland basins and long, varied coasts. The Great Dividing Range follows much of the eastern side. Large distances separate tropical northern environments from temperate southern regions.
Uluru is a prominent sandstone landform within the central interior. The Great Barrier Reef is a very different marine landscape off northeastern Australia. Tasmania and many smaller islands add further environments beyond the mainland.
Much of the interior is arid or semiarid. The north is tropical, while southern and eastern regions include temperate climates.
Desert, grassland, tropical and temperate forest, wetlands and reefs all occur within Australia. Rainfall is highly variable in many regions. River basins and groundwater are important where surface water is limited, and fire is a major ecological influence in several habitats.
Blue, with the UK flag in the upper-left quadrant and a large seven-pointed star in the lower-left quadrant; on the right half is a representation of the Southern Cross constellation in white, with one small five-pointed star and four larger seven-pointed stars
Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile · Australian Government · Statute of Westminster Adoption Act · Australian Government · Australia Act
,_Uluru-Kata_Tjuta_National_Park,_Uluru,_Kuniya_Walk_--_2019_--_3674.jpg)
Red sandstone rises from the dry interior of central Australia.
Photo: Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Underwater reef habitats contrast with Australia’s arid interior.
Photo: Dmitry Brant · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
English is the national language in everyday and institutional use, though Australia has no single federal law making it the official language.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages form a diverse set of language traditions. Mandarin, Arabic, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Punjabi and many other languages are spoken by resident communities, and Auslan is the main Australian sign language. English’s predominance does not make Australia monolingual.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have lived in Australia for tens of thousands of years. British colonisation began at Sydney in 1788 and brought dispossession and major disruption to Indigenous societies. Six colonies federated as the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. Independence developed through later legal changes, including adoption of the Statute of Westminster and the Australia Act, rather than a single war of independence.
Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile · Australian Government · Statute of Westminster Adoption Act · Australian Government · Australia Act
Services account for much of Australia’s economic activity, including health, education, finance and professional services. Mining supplies major exports such as iron ore, coal and natural gas. Agriculture, tourism, construction and manufacturing also matter. Commodity prices and trade with Asian markets influence export earnings.
Mining, energy production, food processing, manufacturing, construction and a broad range of services.
Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile · Australian Government · Statute of Westminster Adoption Act · Australian Government · Australia Act
Dated World Bank observations. Population uses selected years; real GDP uses all available annual observations.
Population estimates may be revised. Selected years are shown.
Sources: World Bank · Population
| Year | People | Millions of people |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 12,507,000 | 12.507 |
| 1980 | 14,692,000 | 14.692 |
| 1990 | 17,065,128 | 17.065 |
| 2000 | 19,028,802 | 19.029 |
| 2010 | 22,031,750 | 22.032 |
| 2020 | 25,649,248 | 25.649 |
| 2025 | 27,614,411 | 27.614 |
Constant prices adjust for inflation. This is total economic output, not current-dollar GDP or income per person. Missing years are left as gaps.
Sources: World Bank · Real GDP
| Year | Constant 2015 US$ | Trillions of constant 2015 US dollars |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 630,990,273,461 | 0.631 |
| 1991 | 628,563,287,009 | 0.629 |
| 1992 | 631,285,380,040 | 0.631 |
| 1993 | 656,826,136,947 | 0.657 |
| 1994 | 682,960,226,532 | 0.683 |
| 1995 | 709,528,553,282 | 0.710 |
| 1996 | 736,956,619,706 | 0.737 |
| 1997 | 765,830,271,633 | 0.766 |
| 1998 | 801,646,726,962 | 0.802 |
| 1999 | 841,955,290,890 | 0.842 |
| 2000 | 874,926,744,106 | 0.875 |
| 2001 | 892,700,520,464 | 0.893 |
| 2002 | 927,960,453,450 | 0.928 |
| 2003 | 956,646,310,281 | 0.957 |
| 2004 | 997,006,658,240 | 0.997 |
| 2005 | 1,028,467,016,035 | 1.028 |
| 2006 | 1,056,965,077,771 | 1.057 |
| 2007 | 1,097,018,464,974 | 1.097 |
| 2008 | 1,136,774,249,983 | 1.137 |
| 2009 | 1,158,996,461,663 | 1.159 |
| 2010 | 1,184,610,839,240 | 1.185 |
| 2011 | 1,212,979,128,949 | 1.213 |
| 2012 | 1,260,921,781,881 | 1.261 |
| 2013 | 1,294,392,358,274 | 1.294 |
| 2014 | 1,328,061,960,035 | 1.328 |
| 2015 | 1,356,805,839,936 | 1.357 |
| 2016 | 1,394,194,533,275 | 1.394 |
| 2017 | 1,426,167,740,135 | 1.426 |
| 2018 | 1,467,158,231,105 | 1.467 |
| 2019 | 1,499,347,932,644 | 1.499 |
| 2020 | 1,497,345,824,797 | 1.497 |
| 2021 | 1,527,396,783,520 | 1.527 |
| 2022 | 1,592,357,665,099 | 1.592 |
| 2023 | 1,649,424,913,624 | 1.649 |
| 2024 | 1,672,078,242,948 | 1.672 |
| 2025 | 1,694,657,951,604 | 1.695 |
The Human Development Index combines health, education and income. Scores range from 0 to 1.
The latest values refer to 2023. All historical scores use the same report edition. HDI does not describe every aspect of inequality or quality of life.
Sources: UNDP · Human Development Report 2025
A federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The Governor-General represents the monarch, and the Prime Minister leads the government. The federal Parliament has a House of Representatives and a Senate. States and territories have their own governments.
Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile · Australian Government · Statute of Westminster Adoption Act · Australian Government · Australia Act
Three questions about Australia.
Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile · Australian Government · Statute of Westminster Adoption Act · Australian Government · Australia Act
Prepared 24 September 2026. World Bank series: SP.POP.TOTL (persons) and NY.GDP.MKTP.KD (constant 2015 US dollars); downloaded 24 September 2026, provider update 13 July 2026. UNDP values use the 2025 report and 2023 observation year. These are dated statistical snapshots, not live population or economic counters.
Maps use Natural Earth geographic data. Background geography, flag descriptions and selected historical facts use archived public-domain CIA World Factbook profiles, supplemented by the sources linked above. The Factbook is no longer updated; dated statistics here come from the separately named providers.
