One of the most beautiful countries of the world. The name Australia was derived from the Latin word that means “Southern”; it is an apt name for this country that lies in the southern hemisphere. People around the world also refer to it as Aussie which is pronounced as Oz. The first signs of habitation in the country date back to 42,000 to 48,000 years ago and were hunter gatherers who have been known to arrive through land bridges from South-East Asia. The Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon was the first European who had sighted the Cape York Peninsula near Australia in 1606.

Modern day Australia or the Commonwealth is constituted of the six states of Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania, South, Western, Victoria and the two major mainland territories Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory. The total area of is 2,941,300 sq mi, of which it has a coastline of 21,262 mi and an exclusive economic zone of 3,146,060 sq mi. It is the flattest continent of the world with the least fertile and oldest soils, it is also the driest inhabited continent. They also have the world’s largest monolith Mount Augustus in Western Australia that lies 1105 m above sea level and stretches over an area of 47.95 km². The world’s largest coral reef The Great Barrier Reef that comprises of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretches for 2,600 kms and covers a total area of 133,000 sq mi.

Australia is a multicultural country with a total population of 21,370,800 people. Every year thousands of people migrate there. The people of speak English, it is the national language. It is a country that has a sign language called Auslan which is used by about 6,500 deaf people residing in the country. The most common religion in is Christianity with 64% people following it, 26% of the people are Roman Catholics and 19% are Anglican and 5% of the population is Non Christian. The largest and most populous city is Sydney with a population of 4,336,374 and an area of 4,689.1 sq mi; it is also the capital. The other big cities in are Melbourne with a population of 3,806,092 and an area of 3,400.0 sq mi, Brisbane with a population of 1,867,594 people and an area of 2,279.9 sq mi.

The most popular sports played in are field hockey, cricket, rugby, soccer, horse racing and motor racing. They have international teams in sports such as field hockey, cricket, rugby, netball and football. The Australian cricket team led by Captain Kevin Petersen is one of the strongest cricket team in the world. They have always participated in every Commonwealth Games and summer Olympic Games. The people of Australia love theatre, ballet and music. There have been many international rock bands from here such as Silverchair, INXS and AC/DC and international singers like Kylie Minogue and Olivia Newton-John. There have been many famous movie actors like Hugh Jackman, Judith Anderson, Geoffrey Rush, Russell Crowe, Errol Flynn, Naomi Watts, Heath Ledger, Nicole Kidman, and Toni Collette who have called it their home.

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