Canberra is the nation's capital, while the five largest cities are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. Australia's population of nearly 26 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Politically, Australia is a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy, comprising six states and ten territories. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and wealthy market economy. On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. The European population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the time of an 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and an additional five self-governing crown colonies established.

In 1770, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788, a date which became Australia's national day. The European maritime exploration of Australia commenced in the early 17th century with the arrival of Dutch explorers. Indigenous Australians have inhabited the continent for approximately 65,000 years.

It is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east, and mountain ranges in the south-east.

Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. With an area of 7,617,930 square kilometres (2,941,300 sq mi), Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country. 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.

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