Australia is both a country (officially called Commonwealth of Australia) and a continent. It anchors the area of Oceania known as Australasia, which, in addition to Australia, includes Tasmania, New Zealand and surrounding islands.
The total area of the mainland and nearby islands is estimated at 2,969,890 square miles (7,692,024 square kilometers), making Australia the world's sixth largest country and smallest continent. Its area is roughly equal to that of the United States. Because of its overall flatness and regular coastline, Australia has been described as a "sprawling pancake." It is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the west and south, the Pacific Ocean on the east, the Tasman Sea on the southeast, and the Timor, Arafura, and Coral seas on the north.
The Commonwealth of Australia is a national federation of six states; New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia and two federal territories (the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory). Its parliamentary government is similar to Britain's, but its federal system resembles that of the United States. The capital is Canberra.
Australia's earliest inhabitants were the ancestors of the present-day Aborigines who migrated from the Southeast Asian region in prehistoric times. The first European settlers arrived from Britain in 1788 and later British groups founded the colonies that eventually became the Australian nation. As a result, Australians of British ancestry still make up the majority of the population. But in recent decades immigration has increased from other European countries and Asia.
Its population was estimated as 20,090,437 in 2005. English is spoken throughout Australia, although it is a distinctive dialect with many uniquely Australian words and phrases. About 75 percent of Australians acknowledge belonging to one or another Christian denomination. According to the most recent census, in percentages of people responding, Roman Catholics (28 percent) and Anglicans, or members of the Church of England (24 percent), are the main religious groups.
The unit of currency is the Australian dollar.
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