1. Interesting Facts about Australia
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2. Australia Area: 7 686 850 km² (6th in the world)
The name Australia derives from Latin australis meaning southern, and dates back to 2nd century legends of an "unknown southern land" (Latin: terra australis incognita). The explorer Matthew Flinders named the land Terra Australis, which was later abbreviated to the current form.
Area: km² (6th in the world)
Population (as of July 2016): (52nd in the world)
Australia became an independent nation on 1 January Today Australia is a developed country and one of the wealthiest in the world, with the world's 12th-largest economy. In 2014 Australia had the world's fifth-highest per capita income. Australia's military expenditure is the world's 13th-largest.

3. The flag
of Australia
The Union Jack in the upper left corner acknowledges the history of British settlement.
Below the Union Jack is a white Commonwealth or Federation star. It has seven points representing the unity of the six states and the territories of the Commonwealth of Australia.
The Southern Cross is shown on the fly of the flag in white. This constellation of five stars can be seen only from the southern hemisphere and is a reminder of Australia’s geography.

4. Coat of Arms
A gold Commonwealth Star sits above the shield. Symbols of Australia’s six states appear together on the shield.
The kangaroo and emu are the native animals that hold the shield with pride. The kangaroo and emu were chosen to symbolise a nation moving forward because neither animal can move backwards easily.

5. The site of Canberra was selected for the location of the nation's capital in 1908 as a compromise between rivals Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's two largest cities.

6. Mount Kosciuszko (the highest mountain in Australia, 2,228 m)
is located on the Main Range
of the Snowy Mountains
in Kosciuszko National Park.

7. The Murray River is Australia's longest river, at 2,508 km (1,558 mi) in length. The Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains.

8. Area of Australia:
km²
Compare with the map of Europe at the same scale.

9. Population:
Every fourth Australian was born outside Australia.
80% of Australian population lives near the coast.
There are twice as many kangaroos in Australia as people.

10. The map of six states
(The Australian Capital Territory (or ATC) houses Canberra, Australia’s capital)
Population of cities over 1,000,000 in June 2015:
Sydney 4,526,479
Melbourne 4,353,514
Brisbane 2,209,453
Perth 1,958,912
Adelaide 1,288,681

11. The city of Perth (population about 2 mln) is built on the edge of
a desert. The closest neighbouring settlement is 322 km away.

12. Kangaroos are a primary road safety hazard in Australia
Kangaroos are a primary road safety hazard in Australia. Especially at dusk and dawn they suddenly jump in front of cars. Hitting a full sized kangaroo will certainly wreck your car. That is why most vehicles are equipped with bull-bars.

13. Australia is a large land mass and the distance between its major cities is huge. In order to make transportation more efficient special trucking vehicles are used, so called road trains.
A relatively normal tractor unit instead of towing one trailer,
it pulls up to twelve of them.

14. World's longest road trains: 1999 the town of Merredin, Western Australia made it into the Guinness Book of Records. The longest road train ever assembled was 1,018.2 m (3,340 ft) long and consisted of 79 trailers with
a combined weight of 1,072.3 tonnes (2.364 million lb).

15. The Indian Pacific is an Australian passenger rail service that operates between Sydney, on the Pacific Ocean, and Perth, on the Indian Ocean, includes the world's longest straight stretch of railway track, a 4352 km (2720 mi) stretch. A one-way trip originally took 75 hours, but with line and efficiency improvements it now takes 65 hours.

16. Red bananas, also known as red Dacca bananas, are popular in Australia.

17. The Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Queensland in northeastern Australia, is the largest living thing on Earth. The reef is 2,300 km long.

18. Coober Pedy is a town in northern South Australia is renowned for its below-ground residences, called "dugouts", which are built in this fashion due to the scorching daytime heat.

19. The Welcome Stranger is the biggest alluvial gold nugget found, which had a calculated refined weight of 3,123 oz (214.1 lbs or kg).
It was discovered on 5 February 1869 at Moliagul, Victoria, Australia.

20. Melbourne has the largest operating tram network in the world with 250 kilometres of double track. There are 1763 tram stops across the network; trams are operated on 25 routes.

21. School education is compulsory between the ages of six and sixteen
School education is compulsory between the ages of six and sixteen. An average IQ is 98. Wearing a uniform is compulsory in most Australian schools. Australians read for an average of 54 minutes per day.

22. Australians walk around in public places, shopping centres and restaurants barefoot. They say that shoes are not natural, shoes are uncomfortable and they wreck your feet.

23. Australians drive on the left-hand side of the road and use the metric system of distances and speeds. A zero tolerance policy means that one cannot exceed 0.0 promille. Speed limits in Australia range from 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph) on most highways, three highways have 130 kilometres per hour (81 mph) zones and two sections of the Stuart Highway are unlimited.

24. Tasmanian water is reputed to be some of the best in the world
Tasmanian water is reputed to be some of the best in the world. During the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, 5 tons of water was transported to Korea to provide the drinking water to sportsmen and spotswomen.

25. Fox attacks on endangered penguins at Quarantine beach in Sydney have led Australia's wildlife authorities to post snipers at night
to protect the birds.

26. The Victorian Acclimatisation Society released 24 rabbits on Christmas Day 1859 to hunt for sport and to help settlers feel more 'at home'. These days wild rabbits are a serious mammalian pest and invasive species in Australia causing millions of dollars of damage to crops.

27. Along with dingos, introduced species such as foxes, feral cats, and both domestic and feral dogs, pose a threat to kangaroo populations. Kangaroos are adept swimmers, and often flee into waterways if presented with the option. If pursued into the water, a large kangaroo may use its forepaws to hold the predator underwater so as to drown it.

28. Australia, the land of kangaroos and everything that will kill you.

29. Australia is home to some of the most dangerous animals in the world.
The world’s most venomous snakes, the world’s most dangerous spiders, bees, wasps, ants, sharks, jellyfish, crocodiles, scorpions, mosquitoes …

30. Australia is known for its dangerous snakes
Australia is known for its dangerous snakes. This is the only continent that has more venomous snakes than non venomous.
The eastern brown snake is responsible for the most snake-related deaths in Australia.

31. Synanceia is a genus of fish of the family Synanceiidae, the stonefishes, whose members are venomous, dangerous, and even fatal to humans. It is one of the most venomous fish known. Its venom can kill you in 2 hours.

32. Jellyfish account for more known deaths than stone fish, sharks and crocodiles together. Their tentacles that are generally invisible, can entangle you and have millions of harpoons that inject a lot of venom at once. It can kill you in minutes.

33. Each year there are several deaths from saltwater crocodiles, usually highly publicised due to their viciousness and aggression. The longest croc ever measured and verified was 6.4m (21ft). It could have weighed more than 1000 kg. It is the largest living vermin in the world.

34. Emus are soft-feathered, brown, flightless birds with long necks and legs, and can reach up to 1.9 metres (6.2 ft) and 150 pounds, so they are strong. Emus can travel great distances, and when necessary can sprint at 50 km/h (31 mph). If angry or frightened, they can kick in front of them like a rooster, and they have strong legs and sharp claws.

35. USA and Australia are the most sharks infested countries in the world.
From year 1580, a total of 592 shark attacks killed 155 people in Australia.
Shark Bay is located approximately 800 kilometres (500 mi) north of Perth. There are over 323 fish species, with many sharks and rays. Over visitors come every year to watch schools of sharks.

36. Giant cane toads have been discovered in a remote area of Northern Territory called Woop Woop. These cane toads, and there are thousands of them, appear to have an average weight of 30 kilograms, with a body length of approximately 1 metre! The cane toads have poison glands, and are highly toxic to most animals if ingested.

37. Australia has over 2,400 species of spider
Australia has over 2,400 species of spider. About 50 of them are harmful to humans. There are over 6,000 species of flies, 350 species of termites, and 44 species of scorpions. 44

38. Although the coastal belt and northern parts of the country are generally regarded as high hazard areas for subterranean termite infestation, species which damage timber-in-service occur throughout mainland Australia. In practice, any structure containing wood is exposed to possible subterranean termite infestation whether in the business heart of a city, in the suburbs or out in the country.

39. Australia has 75 million sheep, kept for both meat and wool, and almost all of them are in the southeast of the continent. The export of wool in particular is very important to the Australian economy. The problem? Wild dogs called dingoes are also in abundance, and they consider sheep to be a tasty snack. To prevent their sheep becoming a meal for hungry predators, the Australians started building fences to keep the vermin out. This is the world's longest fence. The Dingo Fence is almost 3,500 miles long and separates dingoes from sheep and cattle.

40. The first things that come to mind when we think of Australia are man-eating crocodiles, deadly snakes, poisonous spiders, and the baking hot sun. We also imagine it to be a place full of rugged men fighting off deadly predators and having grand adventures in the outback. Australia is one of the wealthiest and safest nations in the world. It has the 12th GDP in the world and GDP per capita in Australia reached 54, USD in 2015 (sixth in the world).
Australia is a land like no other. It is a far off land filled with natural wonders and a fascinating mix of ancient and modern cultures. It is a land of contrasts: of vibrant, cosmopolitan cities and rough and tough Outback towns; of sophisticated city dwellers and of timeless Aborigines moving to the ebb and flow of the seasons; of dry, inhospitable deserts to lush rainforests and endless stretches of white, sandy beaches.