The kangaroo is a symbol of Australia. (source: SITA/AP)
- Australia is the sixth largest country in the world. It is 50 percent larger than Europe, but has the lowest population density in the world – only two people per square kilometre.
- Australia has no land borders and is surrounded bythree oceans: the Pacific, Indian and Southern.
- Australia was once called New Holland.
- “Canberra” is an aboriginal word meaning “meeting place”.
- The kangaroo is one of Australia’s most iconic animals. There are over 60 different species of kangaroo and their close relatives.
- Australia is the driest inhabited continent, with hugely variable rainfall.
- The Murray River is Australia’s major river, yet more water flows down the Amazon River in a day than down the Murray in a year.
- The Great Barrier Reef is the only living organic collective visible from space.
-The Tasmanian Tiger is Australia’s most famous extinction.
Source: The Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, www.upfromaustralia.com, the National Museum of Australia, and www.studyinaustralia.gov.au
