Australia is a country in the southern hemisphere between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. Its official name is the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia is the sixth biggest country in the world by landmass, and is part of the Oceanic and Australasian regions. The Australian emblem is a flower called the Golden Wattle.
23–24 million people live in Australia, and about 80% of them live on the east coast. About 60% live in and around the mainland state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. Australia's capital city is Canberra.
Geography of Australia
Australia's landmass of 7,617,930 square kilometers is on the Indo-Australian plate.The continent of Australia, including the island of Tasmania, was separated from the other continents of the world many millions of years ago. Because of this, many animals and plants live in Australia that do not live anywhere else. These include animals like the kangaroo, the koala, the emu, the kookaburra, and the platypus.
Regions and cities
Australia has six states, two major mainland territories, and other minor territories. The states are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia. The two major mainland territories are the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory.
Australia is a very big country, but much of the land is very dry, and the middle of the continent is mostly desert. Only the areas around the east, west and south coast have enough rain and a suitable climate (not too hot) for many farms and cities.