1. Australia

2. Geography Australia is a country and a continent. It is located in Oceania between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean. It is the sixth largest country in the world with a total area of 7,686,850 square kilometers. Australia has the largest area of ocean jurisdiction of any country on earth. It has no land borders.

3. Climate The climate of Australia varies widely, but by far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid – 40% of the landmass is covered by sand dunes. Only the south- east and south-west corners have a temperate climate and moderately fertile soil. The northern part of the country has a tropical climate.

4. Government Australia is a constitutional monarchy with a federal division of powers. It uses a parliamentary system of government with Queen Elizabeth II Queen of Australia. Australia has six states—New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia—and two major mainland territories : the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).

5. People For generations, the vast majority of immigrants came from the British Isles, and the people of Australia are still mainly of British or Irish ethnic origin. In the 2006 Australian census, the most commonly nominated ancestry was Australian (37.13%), followed by English (32%), Irish (9 per cent), Scottish (8%), Italian (4%), German (4%), Chinese (3%), and Greek (2%). Although Australia has no official language, English is so entrenched that it has become the de facto national language. Australian English is a major variety of the language with a distinctive accent and lexicon. Grammar and spelling are similar to that of British English with some notable exceptions. Australia has no state religion and section 116 of the Australian Constitution, prohibits the federal government from making any law to establish any religion, impose any religious observance, or prohibit the free exercise of any religion. In the 2006 census, 64 per cent of Australians were counted as Christian, including 26 per cent as Roman Catholic and 19 per cent as Anglican. School attendance is compulsory throughout Australia. Australia has an adult literacy rate that is assumed to be 99%.