National Color: Green and Gold

National Gemstone: Opal

National Animal: Kangaroo

National Bird: Emu

National personification Boxing Kangaroo

National Floral Emblem Golden Wattle

1 January 1901

Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession of the east coast in the name of Great Britain (all of Australia was claimed as British territory in 1829 with the creation of the colony of Western Australia). Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and II. In recent decades, Australia has transformed itself into an internationally competitive, advanced market economy. It boasted one of the OECD's fastest growing economies during the 1990s, a performance due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s. Long-term concerns include ageing of the population, pressure on infrastructure, and environmental issues such as frequent droughts.

Commonwealth of Australia

Canberra

English

21 million (July 2011 est.)

total area: 7,741,220 sq km

land: 7,682,300 sq km

water: 58,920 sq km

Total: 0 km

Catholic

lowest point: Lake Eyre -15 m

highest point: Mount Kosciuszko 2,229m

Murray

Murrumbidgee

Darling

Lachlan

Cooper

Flinders

Diamantina

Lake Alexandrina

Blue Lake

Brown Lake

Lake Victoria

Tabourie Lake