Countries of the World Trivia | 50 facts about Australia

Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world’s sixth-largest country.

Let’s find out more about the country!

1. Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is comprised from the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands.
2. Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania.
3. It’s the world’s sixth-largest country.
4. It is a megadiverse country.
5. In Australia you will find deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east, tropical savannas in the north, and mountain ranges in the south-east.
6. The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south-east Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during the last glacial period.
7. Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world.
8. Australia’s written history commenced with the European maritime exploration of Australia.
9. The Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon was the first known European to reach Australia, in 1606.
10. In 1770, the British explorer James Cook mapped and claimed the east coast of Australia for Great Britain, and the First Fleet of British ships arrived at Sydney in 1788 to establish the penal colony of New South Wales.
11. The European population grew in subsequent decades, and by the end of the 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and an additional five self-governing British colonies were established.
12. Democratic parliaments were gradually established through the 19th century, culminating with a vote for the federation of the six colonies and foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901.
13. This began a process of increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom, highlighted by the Statute of Westminster Adoption Act 1942, and culminating in the Australia Act 1986.
14. Australia is a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states and ten territories.
15. Australia’s population is nearly 27 million.
16. The population is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard
17. A common mistake people make is Australia’s capital. Australia’s capital is not Sydney but Canberra.
18. Australia’s most populous cities are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.
19. Australia is home to numerous different ethnic groups and is the product of large-scale immigration. Almost half of the population having at least one parent born overseas.
20. Governments have promoted of policy of multiculturalism (meaning an endorsement and celebration of cultural diversity) since the 1970s.
21. Australia ranks highly for quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, civil liberties and political rights.
22. Australia has a highly developed market economy.
23. Australia has one of the highest per capita incomes globally.
24. Australia is a middle power, and has the world’s thirteenth-highest military expenditure.
25. It is a member of international groups including the United Nations; the G20; the OECD; the World Trade Organization; Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation; the Pacific Islands Forum; the Pacific Community; the Commonwealth of Nations; and the defence and security organisations ANZUS, AUKUS, and the Five Eyes.
26. It is a major non-NATO ally of the United States.
27. The Australian Alps get more snow than the Swiss Alps. The Australian Alps, are located between New South Wales and Victoria.
28. Snow usually falls between June and September.
29. Asutralia is located to the south hemisphare, which means that the seasons June is basically the beginning of… the winter!
30. 90% of Australians live on the coast
31. The island of Tasmania has the cleanest air in the world. Its air is as clean as Antarctica.
32. One third of the state is a national park or World Heritage protected.
33. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest eco system in the world, and it is located in Australia.
34. It is made up of nearly 2,500 individual reefs and visible from space.
35. It stretched halfway down the eastern coast of the country, meaning there are plenty of places to use as jumping-off points to explore the kaleidoscopic coral.
36. Australia is home to some of the world’s oldest vines and has 60+ wine regions that produce more than 100 different grape varieties.
37. The most famous wine region in Australia growing areas are the Margaret River Wine Region, the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, Claire Valleys, and the Swan Valley near Perth.
38. Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world, but swimming is not exactly recommended.
39. Swimming in the sea on Fraser Island is not recommended, because the ocean around the island is known for powerful riptides that can pull even the strongest swimmers out to sea.
40. It’s also home to large numbers of sharks and jellyfish, lifeguards don’t patrol the beaches, and medical services are limited.
41. Sydney Opera House is Australia’s most famous landmark, and it is also one of the world’s most instantly recognisable and iconic buildings.
42. Uluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock, is the world’s largest monolith.
43. In Australia you can find an actual heart shaped reef. You will find it n Hardy Reef, as it’s one the most famous Queensland landmark.
44. Kakadu is a World Heritage Listed National Park.
45. It is 19,804 km2 (7,646 sq mi), which basically means it is about half the size of Switzerland.
46. Australia’s most famous animal is by far the kangaroo. So, there is actually a Kangaroo Island in Australia.
47. 80% of the animals are unique to Australia
48. One third of the island declared a conservation area or National Park.
49. The Great Ocean Road is one of the most famous drives in Australia.
50. It was built by returning soldiers after World War One, and the road was dedicated as a memorial to those who died fighting and was designed to connect the isolated communities that clung to the edge of Victoria’s rugged coastline.