Australia. Australia is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands

Australia is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east

Australia is a constitutional monarchy with a federal division of powers. It uses a parliamentary system of government with Queen Elizabeth II at its apex as the Queen of Australia, a role that is distinct from her position as monarch of the other Commonwealth realms. The basic law of the state is the Constitution, approved by Queen Victoria in 1900. In the Senate (the upper house), there are 76 senators: twelve each from the states and two each from the mainland territories (the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory). The House of Representatives (the lower house) has 150 members elected from single-member electoral divisions.

A highly developed country, Australia is the world's 13th-largest economy and has the world's sixth-highest per capita income. Australia ranks highly in many international comparisons of national performance, such as quality of life, health, education. Australia is a member of the G20, OECD, WTO, APEC, UN, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, and the Pacific Islands Forum.

Population on September 15, 2012 is 23, 018, 491, most of whom live in cities on the East Coast.

The climate of Australia is under significant influence of ocean currents, including the Indian Ocean Dipole and the El Niñ o, which create periodic droughts and the seasonal tropical low pressure, which leads to the formation of cyclones in northern Australia. Nearly three-quarters of Australia is a desert and semidesert.

In the 17th century Dutch explorers landed on the northern and eastern coasts of Australia and discovered the island of Tasmania. William Dempir was the first Briton to have landed on the north-western part of the Australian continent in 1688.

In 1770 James Cook discovered and raised on the map east coast of Australia. Cook named his discovery of the New South Wales land and declared it the property of the United Kingdom. European settlement of Australia began in 1788, when it was founded the first British colony for criminals.

By the late 19th century, Australia was made up of six independent colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia. Each of the colonies was an autonomous political unit with its own parliament, the Governor, with its laws and regulations. In the end, it was decided to merge the colonies in order to protect and advance common interests. The first national government was established on 1 January 1901.

After the Second World War, a lot of people who lost their homes in the country, immigrated to Australia. The total number of migrants was 6 million. The arrival of migrants from more than 200 countries to change Australian society, making Australia the most diverse country in the world.

Nowadays, Australia - one of the most popular countries for tourism. People come to see the great attractions of the country, as modern well as ancient.