Travel to Australia - Australian Tourism Information

It is estimated that less than 10% of Australia's fungi and insects have been named. In general, knowledge of vertebrates and flowering plants is better than for invertebrates and fungi. In January 2025, there were 168,386 named species on the Australian National Species List. The hottest regions are in the northwest of the country and the coolest in the southeast.
The mainland is the world's smallest continent and the country is the sixth-largest by total area. Of the 324,000 men who served overseas, about 60,000 were killed and another 152,000 were wounded. The six colonies individually gained responsible government between 1855 and 1890, managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire. The Swan River Colony (present-day Perth) was established in 1829, evolving into the largest Australian colony by area, Western Australia.
Between 1901 and 1940, 140,000 non-British European immigrants arrived in Australia (about 16 percent of the total intake). The census of 1901 showed that 98 percent of Australians had Anglo-Celtic ancestral origins. Out of the remaining 40 percent, 34 percent had been born in the British Isles, and 6 percent were of European origin, mainly from Germany and Scandinavia. In 1888, 60 percent of the Australian population had been born in Australia, and almost all had British ancestral origins. Settlers that arrived throughout the 19th century were from all parts of the United Kingdom and Ireland, a significant proportion of settlers came from the Southwest and Southeast of England, from Ireland and from Scotland. Far more Australians are descended from assisted immigrants than from convicts, the majority of Colonial Era settlers being British and Irish. Although some observers stress Australia's convict history, the vast majority of early settlers came of their own free will.
However, the states still retain the power to pass religiously discriminatory laws. Australia has no state religion; section 116 of the Australian Constitution prohibits federal legislation that would establish any religion, impose any religious observance, or prohibit the free exercise of any religion. The National Indigenous Languages Survey (NILS) for 2018–19 found that more than 120 Indigenous language varieties were in use or being revived, although 70 of those in use were endangered. Australian English is a major variety of the language with a distinctive accent and lexicon, and differs slightly from other varieties of English in grammar and spelling.
Discover how real Aussie vacations turned into lifelong memories. The population estimates do not include the Aboriginal population before 1961. The current Australian resident population is estimated at 28,652,000 (29 September 2026). According to Australian Aboriginal mythology and the animist framework developed in Aboriginal Australia, the Dreaming is a sacred era in which ancestral totemic spirit beings formed The Creation.
Between 1993 and 2022, the proportion of the population identifying religion as very or somewhat important in life declined from 48% to 29% respectively per Our World In Data Survey Metric (see Religion has become less important in some English speaking countries). Since pffc-online , Australia has pursued an official policy of multiculturalism; it has the world's eighth-largest migrant population, with immigrants accounting for 30 percent of the population in 2019. Australia ranked 35th in the world in 2012 for its proportion of obese women and near the top of developed nations for its proportion of obese adults; 63% of its adult population is either overweight or obese. In the Indo-Pacific, the country seeks to increase its trade ties through the open flow of trade and capital, while managing the rise of Chinese power by supporting the existing rules-based order. It is one of the world's oldest federations, in which power is divided between the federal and state governments. As a result of a 1967 referendum, the federal government gained the power to legislate with regard to Aboriginal Australians, and Aboriginal Australians were fully included in the census.
Climate change from increased greenhouse gas emissions has led to a 1.5 °C rise in Australian temperatures since 1910 and an increase in extreme heat and heavy rainfall events. The Murray-Darling is the major river system, draining most of inland New South Wales and Southern Queensland towards Lake Alexandrina and the sea in South Australia. This exclusive economic zone does not include the Australian Antarctic Territory. Australia is sometimes considered the world's largest island and is often dubbed the "island continent".
For the historical majority ancestry of the country since settlement, see Anglo-Celtic Australians. Geologists have discovered fossils from an ancient coral reef deep beneath the surface of outback Queensland, which have attracted the attention of international researchers. Crowds have been cleared and heavy machinery moved in as authorities begin removing a 13-metre long whale carcass that washed up at City Beach on Monday. SA Police are looking to identify individuals behind social media accounts and their "level of organisation" after videos emerged of public fights along Adelaide's metropolitan beaches on Tuesday. After a rare leadership ballot for the Greens, the NSW senator becomes the sixth leader in the party's history.