Australia (pronounced /əˈstreɪljə/ ə-STRAYL-yə or /ɒˈstreɪljə/ o-STRAYL-yə,[7] or /ɔːˈstreɪliə/ aw-STRAY-lee-ə), officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent (the world's smallest),[8][9] the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.N4 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 southeast.
For some 40,000 years before European settlement commenced in the late 18th century, the Australian mainland and Tasmania were inhabited by around 250 individual nations[10] of indigenous Australians.[11] After sporadic visits by fishermen from the immediate north, and European discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606,[12] the eastern half of Australia was claimed by the British in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales, founded on 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in the following years; the continent was explored, and during the 19th century another five largely self-governing Crown Colonies were established.
On 1 January 1901 the six colonies became a federation and the Commonwealth of Australia was formed. Since Federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and remains a Commonwealth realm. The population is 22 million, with approximately 60% concentrated in and around the mainland state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. The nation's capital city is Canberra, located in the Australian Capital Territory.
Australia is a prosperous developed country, with a multicultural society. It ranks highly in many international comparisons of national performance such as human development, quality of life, health care, life expectancy, public education, economic freedom and the protection of civil liberties and political rights.[13] Australian cities rank among the world's highest in terms of cultural offerings and quality of life. It is a member of the United Nations, G20, Commonwealth of Nations, OECD, ANZUS, APEC, South Pacific Forum and the World Trade Organization.
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31 from the previous quarter, the Australia Bureau of Statistics said. A total of 44700 working days were lost, compared with 29100 in the three months to ...
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not void of difficulties and tribulations Upon our arrival immediately we had to deal with work and health issues on top of our existing problems and adjusting to a new and strange culture In 1970 another son was born Damiano but even this joyous event did nothing to improve our marriage which continued to deteriorate Pierantonio revealed himself to be a selfish and uncaring
