Australia Fast Facts

• Country name: Commonwealth of Australia
• Area: 7,686,850 sq km (2,967,909 sq mi)
• Population: 19,357,594
• Capital city: Canberra
• People: 92% Caucasian, 7% Asian, 1% aboriginal and other
• Language: English; regional languages are also spoken in some areas
• Religion: Anglican, Roman Catholic, other Christian
• Major industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel
•  Australian Citizenship Facts: After immigration, you need to spend two years as a permanent resident in Australia before you can apply for Australian Citizenship.
• Biggest State: Western Australia is the biggest Australian state and covers one third of the continent. Its total area is over 2.5 million square kilometres. That makes it 3.6 times bigger than Texas, 4.6 times bigger than France and 11 times bigger than the UK. It's an interesting fact that, despite its large size, Western Australia is home to only around two million people.
• Natural Hazards: Australia's main natural hazards are cyclones (hurricanes), drought and forest fires. The biggest killer of all has been heatwaves.
• Highest and Lowest Temperatures: Australia's highest temperature, 51 degrees C (123 degrees F), was recorded at Oodnadatta, South Australia in 1960. The lowest temperature was minus 23 degrees C (minus 9 degrees F) measured high in the mountains at Charlotte Pass, New South Wales.
• Australia's Desert Country: One third of Australia's land is desert. Australia has 10 deserts of which the largest is the Great Victoria Desert, covering just under 5 percent of the country. Ironically, the Great Victoria Desert is not located in Victoria but is in Western Australia and South Australia. The Great Victoria Desert covers 348,750 square kilometres which makes it around one and a half times bigger than the UK or slightly smaller than Montana.
• Life Expectancy: Australian men born in the last few years can expect to live to around 77 years and women to 82 years. Life expectancy for Aboriginal Australians is around 20 years lower than for other Australians.
• AUSTRALIAN STATE DETAILS

 The figures below show the area, coastline and border length of all Australian states and the islands off their shores.                                                       

• STATE	Total mainland Area (sq km.)	Island Area	Coastline (km)	Borders (km)
  Australia	7,659,861	32,163	59,736	N/A
  A.C.T Canberra	2,358	none	none	327
  New South Wales	800,628	14	2,137	4,635
  Northern Territory	1,335,742	13,387	10,953	3,179
  Queensland	1,723,936	6,712	13,347	3,339
  South Australia	978,810	4,672	5,067	3,185
  Tasmania	64,519	3,882	4,882	none
  Victoria	227,010	406	2,512	2,541
  Western Australia	2,526,786	3,089	20,781	1,862