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Here are some interesting Australia Facts which were chosen and researched by kids especially for kids.

Name: Commonwealth of Australia

Government: Democracy

Population: About 25.5 million (2021)

Urban Population: 90%

Capital: Canberra with 462,000 people (2021)

Language: English

Unemployment: 12%

Currency: 1 Australian dollar ($) = 100 cents

Religion: mainly Christians

Timezones: 3

National Symbols: Golden wattle (flower), opal (gemstone), green and gold (colours) and the Commonwealth Star (a seven-pointed star)

National Animals: Kangaroo, emu

National Holiday: 26 January (Australia Day)

National Anthem: Advance Australia Fair

Australia Geography
Australia Maps

Australia is an island country in the Southern hemisphere and belongs to Oceania/Australia. Australia is surrounded by the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

Australia/Oceania is the smallest continent of the seven continents and although some consider Australia as the largest island in the world, Australia is commonly referred to as a country and a continent. (Greenland is the biggest island in the world).

Australia is also the driest inhabited continent of the world.

Did you know that Australia is the largest country in the Southern hemisphere and the largest country without land borders?

Australia is the sixth largest country in the world, after Russia, Canada, USA, China and Brazil.

The country is divided into six states (Southern Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania) and two self-governing territories: Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory (which is around Canberra, the capital city).

The country's interior consists of arid and semi-arid areas which are referred to as 'outback'. About 70% of Australia are outback, while the coastal plains are more fertile and house the majority of Australia's population. About 35% of Australia's land area are covered by deserts.

Most of Australia's population live in the eastern and southern parts of the country and along the coastline.

Australia is roughly the same size as the USA without the states of California and Texas.

Australia belongs to the Commonwealth countries. Read more here.

10 Australia Superlatives

1. The highest mountain of Australia is Mount Kosciuszko with 2,228 m/ 7,310 ft. This mountain is in the Great Dividing Range.

2. The Great Dividing Range is the longest mountain range in Australia stretching over 3,500 km/ 2,175 miles.

3. Uluru, previously referred to also as Ayers Rock, is located in the centre of the country and is the largest alone standing rock in the world.

4. The longest river of Australia is the Murray River with 2,508 km/ 1,558 miles.

5. The Great Barrier Reef in Eastern Australia is the biggest coral reef system in the world. The reef consists of more than 3,000 reefs and 900 islands. The Barrier Reef is home to over 350 species of corals and over 1,500 species of fish.

6. Australia is the world's largest exporter of coal.

7. Sydney is Australia's biggest city with more than 5 million inhabitants.

8. Australia's largest desert is the Great Victoria Basin which covers most of Western Australia and South Australia.

9. New South Wales is the most populous state of Australia. 65% of the country's population live in New South Wales.

10. The larges state of Australia is Western Australia.

More about the most famous Landmarks of Australia here.
Australia Facts | Australian Cities

The biggest cities in Australia are Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide. These cities are all located at the coast or close to the coast and are the only metropolitan cities in Australia with more than one million inhabitants.

Canberra is Australia's capital city and the only major city of the country further away from the coast. Canberra is located about 150 km/ 93 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean coastline and about 280 km/ 173 miles to the southwest of Sydney.
Read more about Australia's landmarks and attractions.
Australia Facts: Sydney is Australia's largest city with about 5 million inhabitants, which means that about 20% of all Australians live in this metropolitan city.

The main city in the country's interior is Alice Springs while Darwin is the biggest city in the Northern Territory.

Australia Facts
Australia Attractions for Kids

There are many great attractions in the country. Some of these are - listed in alphabetical order:

Adelaide: the main city in South Australia is surrounded with fertile agricultural and wine regions. Did you know that Adelaide is also known for one of the largest Christmas parades in the world?

Arnhem Land: The Northern Territory is home to a large population of aboriginal people who have a deep spiritual connection with the land and proudly will share their experiences with visitors.

Australian Alps: Experience mountain landscapes with snowy mountain tops even in summer and enjoy the fascinating remote wilderness. There are lovely hiking tracks especially near lake Jindabyne.

Brisbane: centre of the Australian Gold Coast with numerous resorts for an exciting beach holiday and a bit further to the north, there is the wonderful coral reef you cannot miss!

Great Barrier Reef: The world's largest coral reef is great for snorkelling and diving. Cairns is a popular beach resort town on the Northern Coast and Lady Elliott Island and Hamilton Island are wonderful family holiday islands.

Melbourne: The second largest city of Australia is the main city of the state of Victoria and has lots of trendy restaurants, shops and art galleries along the Yarra River.

Kakadu National Park: Experience the excitement of a real jungle in Australia's biggest national park and one of the world's most unique forests and woodlands and one of Australia's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. There you can also admire the Northern Territories highest waterfalls, the Jim Jim Falls.

Perth: The biggest city in Western Australia with lovely Fremantle nearby has lovely quarters to explore. And don't forget Rottnest Island where you can meet the friendly quokkas, the unique wallabies. Read more here.

Pinnacles Desert Park: Hundreds of limestone pinnacles can be seen in Nambung National Park in Western Australia. There you can also spot wild emus.
To read about Australian landmarks and the Top 10 Visitor Attractions in Australia, click here
Australia Facts | Australian People

Australia's first or indigenous people, are usually referred to as the aboriginal people of Australia. They make up 2% of Australia's population today. The indigenous Australians are said to be direct descendants of migrants from Africa who left the African continent about 75,000 years ago. They have migrated over the Australasian continent until they settled in Australia around 60,000 years ago.

Today aboriginal people live in all main cities in Australia but most of them still live in the desert areas of the Australian outback. On the image above, you can see a man playing the didgeridoo, a kind of wooden trumpet, which is really difficult to play. The aboriginal people are highly skilled in arts and crafts and share with visitors their vast knowledge about the land and the environment.

The 'outback' is the vast, dry and remote inland parts of the Australian continent. Some aboriginal people live still in the sacred area around Uluru, a huge rock formation in the centre of the continent.

Uluru was formerly referred to as Ayers Rock. Many groups of aboriginal people also live in the Northern Territory in Kakadu National Park, which they call 'Arnhem Land', the land of their ancestors.

Australia Facts | Australian Animals

Australia is home to many animal species. In fact, Australia houses more than 10% of the world's biodiversity (animals and plant varieties).

Among the most well-known Australian animals are kangaroos, wombats, koalas and the dingos.

Roadsigns in Australia warn drivers about wild animals mainly kangaroos that might cross the roads.

Kangaroos are marsupials, which means, they carry their babies in their pouches. See the cute little joey (this is how baby kangaroos are called).

Wombats are also marsupials. Wombats have sharp teeth, but are herbivores. This means they eat grasses, bark and roots. Wombats are mainly night-active, but can also be seen out looking for food on cool and overcast days, such as this wombat on the picture below.

Read more about the fascinating Australian wildlife on our special page here.
Australia Facts | Australia Quiz
Test your knowledge

Read more about Australia Popular Pages

Competition 2021 Essays

We hope you enjoyed these updated Australian facts:-)
Image credits on Australia Facts: Shutterstock.com and own images

Resources for Australia Facts Page:
Return from Australia Facts to KidsWorldTravelGuide Homepage

Central Intelligence Agency. "Australia." World Fact Book. Last update 15 November 2021. Last accessed 18 November 2021

The Commonwealth. "Australia Facts." Commonwealth Secretariat. Last accessed 18 November 2021

The Nature Conservancy. "Meet the Quokka." NatureAustralia.org. Last accessed 18 November 2021

Tammy Solonec. Why saying 'Aborigine' isn't ok. 8 Facts about indigenous people in Australia. Amnesty International. 9 August 2015. Last accessed 18 November 2021

Australia Government. Australia Covid and Travel Information. www.australia.gov.au. Last accessed 18 November 2021

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Australia Facts for Kids | Australia for Kids | Geography | Animals

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Here are some interesting Australia Facts which were chosen and researched by kids especially for kids.

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FAST FACTS

OFFICIAL NAME: Commonwealth of Australia

FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Federal parliamentary democracy; Commonwealth realm

CAPITAL: Canberra

POPULATION: 22,507,617

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: English

MONEY: Australian dollar

AREA: 2,969,906 square miles (7,692,024 square kilometers)

MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Great Dividing Range, Macdonnell Ranges

MAJOR RIVERS: Murray-Darling, Murrumbidgee, Lachlan

GEOGRAPHY

Australia is the only country in the world that covers an entire continent. It is one of the largest countries on Earth. Although it is rich in natural resources and has a lot of fertile land, more than one-third of Australia is desert.

Most Australian cities and farms are located in the southwest and southeast, where the climate is more comfortable. There are dense rain forests in the northeast. The famous outback (remote rural areas) contains the country's largest deserts, where there are scorching temperatures, little water, and almost no vegetation.

Running around the eastern and southeastern edge of Australia is the Great Dividing Range. This 2,300-mile (3,700-kilometer) stretch of mountain sends water down into Australia's most important rivers and the Great Artesian Basin, the largest groundwater source in the world.

PEOPLE & CULTURE

Australia is one of the world's most ethnically diverse nations. Nearly a quarter of the people who live in Australia were born in other countries. They come from the United Kingdom and other European countries, but also from China, Vietnam, North Africa, and the Middle East.

Australia's warm, sunny climate and abundance of open spaces gives the population a love of the outdoors. The people are also passionate about sports, including swimming, surfing, sailing, tennis, soccer, cricket, rugby, and their own invention, Australian rules football.

NATURE

Australia's ecosystem is an unusual one because of its remote location. As a result, there are many animal species that occur here and nowhere else in the world, such as the platypus, kangaroo, echidna, and koala. Australia has 516 national parks to protect its unique plants and animals.

One of Australia's most amazing sites rises like an enormous whale's back from a flat red-soil desert called the Red Center. This site is called Uluru, and it is a sacred natural formation at the heart of the country. Rising 1,100 feet (335 meters) tall, it is the largest rock in the world!

Australia is home to many of the deadliest species of animals on the planet. There are 36 species of poisonous funnel-web spiders in eastern Australia. There are also 20 types of venomous snakes, including the taipan, which attacks without warning and bites repeatedly, killing its victim in minutes.

There are several types of rain forests in Australia. Tropical rain forests, mainly found in the northeast, are the richest in plant and animal species. Subtropical rain forests are found near the mid-eastern coast, and broadleaf rain forests grow in the southeast and on the island of Tasmania.

Australian Dollar

Photograph by Showface, Dreamstime

GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY

As a commonwealth of the United Kingdom, Australia's head of state is the British monarch. Many Australians think the country should end its ties to Britain and become a republic. In a vote in 1999, Australians decided against separating from the UK, but the vote was close, and the debate continues.

Australia is an important exporter of agricultural goods like wool, wheat, beef, fruit, and wine. The country is also rich in minerals and metals and is the world's fourth largest producer of gold.

HISTORY

Aboriginal people arrived in Australia about 50,000 years ago. They may have traveled from Asia across land bridges that were exposed when sea levels were lower. The hardy Aborigines have learned to live in the harsh conditions of the outback.

Dutch explorers first landed in Australia in 1606, and the British began to settle there in 1788. Many settlers were criminals sent to live in Australia as punishment. For a short time, the newcomers lived peacefully with the Aboriginal people. But soon, fighting broke out over who owned the land.

In 1851, gold was discovered in Australia. A rush to find riches brought thousands of new immigrants, and by 1859, six separate colonies existed. In 1901, these colonies joined to form a British commonwealth.

Check out the interactive map and discover more countries.

Get Facts, Photos, and videos.

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Australia Country Profile - National Geographic Kids

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FAST FACTS OFFICIAL NAME: Commonwealth of Australia FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Federal parliamentary democracy; Commonwealth realm CAPITAL: Canberra POPULATION: 22,507,617 OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: English MONEY: Australian dollar AREA: 2,969,906 square miles (7,692,024 square kilometers) MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Great Dividing Range, Macdonnell Ranges MAJOR RIVERS: Murray-Darling, Murrumbidgee, Lachlan GEOGRAPHY Australia is the only country in the world that covers an entire continent.

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"Sheppard offers everything from early math to pre-algebra. The lessons include interactive activities to practice concepts. Students can shoot fruit, pop balloons, and even play math man (the math version of pac man!). Fractions, place value, money, and basic operations are some of the areas that are covered. Check it out at https://www.sheppardsoftware.com/math.htm. "
--Shannon Jakeman , sjakeman.blogspot.com

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This free section of Sheppard Software was written for children. Mostly all of the material you'll find at the site is completely free for kids to use. These fun online math games cover all of the math fundamentals, including early math, basic and mixed operations, fractions, pre-algebra, dollars & cents and place value. While teachers often use worksheets to solidify the math concepts learned in the classroom, these sort of games actually have the same educational impact on the child, and the format of the examples as an exciting game keeps the child engaged, interested and coming back for more.

From the main page parents or children will find a simple and easy to navigate menu featuring the different levels of math games and the various math concepts that are available. Children from pre-k up to 8th grade will find fun online math games that teach important math skills that are appropriate for their age level.

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For slightly older kids, there are a number of very popular arcade-style "popup" math games. In these games, the child is presented with a math problem and must find the creature that's holding the correct answer and smack it on the head with the hammer. The comical expression the creature makes and the sound effects make this game so fun that children will forget that they're learning math! "
--Written March 30, 2010 by Ryan Dube in Educational Freeware -- Reviews of the best learning games, software, and websites --http://www.educational-freeware.com/online/sheppard-math.aspx

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"Sheppard offers everything from early math to pre-algebra. The lessons include interactive activities to practice concepts. Students can shoot fruit, pop balloons, and even play math man (the math version of pac man!). Fractions, place value, money, and basic operations are some of the areas that are covered.

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