Australia is a country, continent, and island - an all in one wonder with a rich history of multiple migrations and home to the oldest surviving civilization. Experience the land down under with its 19 UNESCO World Heritage Listed sites, largest coral reef system on Earth, and one of the highest rankings on the Human Development Index. The surfing capital of the world has pristine beaches, wildlife, and adventures to satisfy your wanderlust- an unbeatable recipe for euphoria. Explore Australia, the 'land down under' with us.
USEFUL INFO ABOUT AUSTRALIA
OFFICIAL NAME: Commonwealth of Australia
FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
POPULATION: 25,656,100 (2020 est.)
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE(S): English
LANGUAGES SPOKEN: Apart from English, the immigrant languages most popular in Australia are Mandarin (2.5%), Arabic (1.4%), Cantonese (1.2%), Vietnamese (1.2%), Italian (1.2%), Greek (1.0%), Hindi (0.7%), Spanish (0.6%), Punjabi (0.6%).
ETHNICITY: 76.8% White, 10% East and Southeast Asian, 4.6% South Asian, 3.1% West Asian and Arab, 1.5% Maori and Pacific Islander, 0.7% African, 0.6% Latin American, 2.8% Aboriginal
MAP REFERRED: Oceania
AREA: 7,692,024 km square
ELEVATION: 330 m
NEIGHBOURING PLACES: Australia doesn't share borders with any country, but neighboring places include Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and New Zealand.
FAMOUS FOR: Ayers Rock | Uluru | Great Barrier Reef National Gallery of Victoria | Sydney Opera House | Melbourne | Adelaide | Australian Alps | Canberra | Bondi Beach | Great Ocean Road | Tasmania | Freycinet National Park | Coles Bay | Sydney Tower | Taronga Zoo |Monkey Mia Reserve | Blue Mountains | Phillip Island | Sea Life Sydney Aquarium |Whitehaven Beach | Fraser Island | Brisbane | Queensland
THE NATIONAL SYMBOL: The Australian coat of arms consists of a shield with the badges of the six Australian states that represent federation and the national symbols of the Golden Wattle, the kangaroo and the emu.
TIME ZONE: UTC +8, + 9.5, +10
DRIVING SIDE: Left
AIRPORTS IN AUSTRALIA:
There are a total of 613 airports including international, private, domestic and military airports. The busiest ones are Sydney Airport, Melbourne Airport, Brisbane Airport, Perth Airport, Adelaide Airport, Gold Coast Airport, Cairns Airport, Canberra Airport, Hobart Airport, and Darwin International Airport
NETWORK / CONNECTIVITY:
Staying connected when traveling in Australia is not a challenge; there are many public or free Wi-Fi services that you can connect through. From restaurants, malls, hotels to local facilities such as libraries, there are many alternatives to finding free connections on-the-go. You can also purchase a local SIM card (the 3 main cellular service providers are Optus, Vodafone, and Telstra) to enjoy faster speeds and wider coverage. Plans for travelers with 2 GB of data with no contract start at about $20 on average.
Though you can use your cellphone as a hotspot device, there are also other options such as Mobile Broadband Dongles to connect multiple devices to the internet with more reliable bandwidth. The prices and speeds vary, and different plans are available to match budgets and user volumes.