Last updated on May 5th, 2023
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It has an area of 7,741,220 square km. Canberra is its capital and largest city. English is its national language. Australian dollar (AUD) is its official currency. It has no land bordering countries. Interestingly, Australia is both a country and a continent.
85 Interesting facts about Australia
These facts will give you insights into the country’s history, people, wildlife, culture, tourism, famous inventions and more…
1. The name Australia comes from the Latin, ‘Terra Australia Incognito’, which means the Unknown Southern Land.
2. According to fastmetrics.com, Australia has the 22nd fastest internet in the world (Ranked By Median Download Speeds, est. 2020).
3. Australia is also known as ‘the sports capital’ of the world. The reason is – more than 70% of its capital participates in a recreational activity or sports, at least once in a week.
Australia on the map
4. In the area (land); Australia is 32 times greater than that of the U.K, almost twice than that of Europe, and almost equal to that of the United States of America.
5. According to USA Today, Australia has the sixth lowest population density in the world—two people per square kilometer.
6. On the list of facts about Australia, this one is certainly unique. Australia is the only continent-nation in the world. It means, it is a continent and an independent country as well. It is also the smallest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent in the world.
7. Australia day, the national day of the country is celebrated on 26th January every year. The “day” is a form of celebration of Australia’s diversity and tolerance of different sects of people.
8. Kangaroo is the national animal of Australia. There were 34,303,677 kangaroos in Australia in 2011 within the commercial harvest area. And they (kangaroos) are found (naturally) only in Australia and Papua New Guinea.
9. If you know Australia’s total population, you can clearly see that the population of kangaroos in the country outnumbers that of the humans. And there are strict measures in place to check the population of the national animal.
10. In Australia, you can undergo a unique health treatment which is expected to be 40,000 years old. These Aboriginal cultures and healing techniques are believed to be the oldest in the world. Difficulties and illnesses such as depression, cancer and substance abuse can be treated with these century’s old techniques.
11. Another interesting thing on the list of facts about Australia is that it has the longest fence in the world, and it is 5,530 kilometers in length. It is called the ‘dingo fence’.
12. The first cops in the country were all criminals. They were a band of eight of the most well-behaved convicts, formed in 1789 by Governor Arthur Philip.
About Australian spiders, snakes, inventions, golf courses, mammals that lay eggs
13. If you are interested in the world’s deadliest spiders, you should definitely visit Australia. These spiders are available in the Australian Reptile Park, which is the only place in the world where these spiders are milked. These spiders are known as ‘the funnel web’. The venom is milked from these spiders and sent to a laboratory in the country where it is made into antivenom.
14. Australia is the only country in the world where there are more species of venomous snakes than the non-venomous snakes. The Inland Taipan is the most venomous snake, and with its one bite, it can kill at least 100 fully grown men or 2,50,000 mice.
15. The world’s highest steel arch bridge – the Harbor Bridge – is in Sydney, Australia. It spans 97.3 m and 134 m high above the mean sea level. It is recorded in the Guinness for its span.
16. Nullarbor Links is “the World’s Longest Golf course”, situated along 1,365 kilometers of the Eyre Highway that crosses the southern coast of Australia in two states (South Australia and Western Australia).
17. The platypus and echidna are the only two mammals in the world that lay egg. And you guessed it right; they are only found in Australia.
Flag of Australia
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18. If you are looking to learn facts about Australia to impress your friends or family, note that Australian’s invented a lot of things including the ultrasound, Vegemite, the tank, football, the refrigerator, the pre-paid postage, the BlackBox on airplanes, lawn mowers with engines, smoke alarms, asprin/aspirin, the pacemaker, and penicillin etc.
19. The world’s largest espresso machine is fitted in Australia. It can brew up to 18 cups of coffee at any given time, and at least 5 people are required to handle it while operating.
20. Australians eat 260 million meat pies every year, around 12 per head.
About white whale, languages, obesity, wages
21. They drink 75 litres of beer on an average per person in Australia.
22. The world’s only white whale – they call him – ‘Migaloo’ can be seen in Australia. If you are lucky, you could have a beautiful sight of this giant mammal, if you choose to visit Australia during spring and autumn seasons. Check this site for more information about this incredible whale – Migaloo.
23. Australia has a vibrant multicultural community of people from close to 200 countries.
24. And over 200 different languages and dialects are also spoken in the country which is very rich in diversity.
25. Amazingly, during winter Australia has more snow than Switzerland.
26. In 1902, Australia became the second country in the world to allow women the right to vote.
27. In Australia, 22.3% of its population speaks a language which is other than English (est. 2021).
28. Out of its population of more than 26 million, at least 14.56 million are obese in Australia. And obesity is killing more people prematurely than smoking and illness in the country.
29. Australians have swimming pools in their oceans, too.
30. The minimum wages in Australia is $21.38 (from 1 July 2022) while that in Georgia in the U.S. is $5.15.
31. There is a lake known as ‘Pink Lake’ in Australia. The name of this lake, which is a salt lake is named after its color. It is in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. However, the color of this lake is not always pink, and changes as a result of the change in salinity of the water and the concentration of brine prawn in the lake.
32. Lord Howe Island, a famous tourist destination in Australia, allows only 400 tourists at any time – no matter how many apply and want to get in there. Rules are rules!
33. In Australia, they have a town named ‘1770’. Yeah, the name just contains digits. The town is a six-hour drive north from Brisbane along the coast of Central Queensland.
34. Spanning some 1,850 km from Halls Creek to Wiluna in outback WA, the Canning Stock Route is the longest and most remote stock route in the world.
Facts about vegetation, beaches, Wi-Fi, oldest fossil, gambling
35. With around 12 million square kilometers and spanning three oceans, Australia has the world’s 3rd largest ocean territory.
36. In Victoria, Australia, only a licensed electrician can change an electric bulb.
37. Australia has more than 10,000 beaches. And if you decide to visit a new beach every day, it will take more than 27 years of your lifetime.
38. Wi-Fi is claimed by the Australians as the invention of its National Science Agency.
39. The last time a spider killed somebody in Australia was in 1981.
40. If you use the word ‘BARBIE’ (a plastic doll for kids) in Australia, you might be misunderstood to be referencing BBQ, or a party that usually takes place in the afternoon.
41. According to Forbes, Gina Rinehart, the wealthiest Australian woman has a net worth of $14.8 billion.
42. The world’s oldest fossil, with 3.4-billion-year-old cells, was found in Australia. The discovery was made by Brasier and David Wacey, a geologist at the University of Western Australia in Crawley.
43. Australia exports camels to Saudi Arabia. The Arabs use the camel for meat.
44. Australians are very fond of gambling, which is why they spend more money per capita on gambling than any other country in the world.
About Australian kangaroos, emus, and sheep; poker machine, the Opera House
45. Kangaroos and Emus cannot walk backward. Ironically, their’s this incapacity to move backward symbolize a nation moving forward.
46. As per 2011 census, there were 73 million sheep in Australia. And this surely outnumbers the total human population in Australia.
47. Australian sheep broke the world record for the heaviest wool haul from one shearing. It had 40 kg of wool removed from its body and it took 5 shearers to get the job done.
48. ‘God Save The King/Queen’ was the national anthem of Australia until 1984. The current national anthem of the country is ‘Advance Australia Fair.’
49. Melbourne, Australia has been ranked the world’s most liveable city for seven years in a row, from 2011 to 2017.
50. “Selfie” is an Australian slang term, which was named the international word of the year in 2013. It was first used in an online forum by a drunk from Australia in 2002. And today, as we all know, it is a widely used term all over the world.
51. The average poker player in Australia loses $380 every year and yet they still play the game very fondly.
52. They have 20% of the world’s poker machines and less than 1% of its total population.
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