Australia is located in south-east Asia. The Indian Ocean is west and south, the Pacific(Coral and Tasman Seas) is east. Tasmania lies on south. Nearest is Indonesia, Papua New Guinea on north, Solomons, Fiji and New Zealand are on east. Its area is 7 686 000 sq km. Australia is an island continent. Along the Eastern coast there is the Australian Alps. There is the highest Australian mountain Mt. Kosciusko. In central part there are the Great Sandy and Great Victoria Deserts. The North-western part of Western Australia and Northern Territories are arid and hot. The North-East has heavy rainfalls and Cape York Penninsula has jungles. The Murray River flows from New South Wales to the Indian Ocean. The second largest river is the Darling. There are 3 big lakes here: Lake Eyre, Lake Torrens and Lake Gairdner. The Australian climate varies from warm to subtropical. The continent is in the southern hemisphere which means that Australia has summer when we have winter and vice versa. The south-east is covered with forests of eucalyptus and other evergreen trees. The animals of australia are numerous and some of them, like the kangaroo. koala bear, dingo, Tasmanian devil cannot be found elsewhere. Sheep and rabbits were brought form England. Rabbits increased and grew wild and mean a big danger fo Australian farmers.

The population of Australia is about 16 milions. The density is one of the lowest in the world- only 2 people to sq km. Around 85 per cent people live in urban areas, mainly along the south-east coast. Deserts and the tropical northern part are practically uninhabited. 95 per cent of inhabitants are of British origin, and 1,5 per cent are aborigines (about 50 000). Austalian English and aboriginal languages are spoken here.

Captain James Cook explored the eastern coast in 19th century, later the continent became a convict colony. The Commonwealth was proclaimed in 1901. About 3 million Europeans had come to Australia since 1945.

Main industries are iron, steel , textiles, car and ship. Australia belongs to the top exporters of beef, lamb, wool and wheat, although only 9 per cent is arable. Only 7 per cent of the population work in agriculture , 30 per cent in industry and trade and 32,5 per cent in services. The main trading partners are Japan , the USA, the UK , New Zealand. Currency used in Australia is Australian Dollar.

The official title is The Commonwealth of Australia and it is a British dominion. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II. She is represented by the Governor-General. The Commonwealth of Australia consists of 6 states :New South Wales (capital Sydney), Victoria (Melbourne), Queensland (Brisbane), South Australia (Adelaide), Western Australia (Perth), Tasmania (Hobart) and 2 territories:Northern territory and The Australia capital territory.The capital is Canberra.

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