Updated: 28 June 2005

Dimensions

External Territories

As a geographic and economic entity, Australia's Territory ranges far beyond its political and continental borders.

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Oceans and Seas

Australia has sovereign rights over an area of ocean greater in size than its continental land mass.

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Coastline Lengths

Often deeply incised and fronting numerous seas and oceans, the coastline extends almost 60 000 kilometres in length with forty percent encircling islands.

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Continental Extremities

The Australian continent is almost as long as it is wide.

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Area of Australia, States and Territories

Of the six States and and three mainland Territories, the two largest occupy over half of Australia.

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Australia's Size Compared

Australia comprises just five percent of the world's land area, yet it is the planet's sixth largest country.

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Centre of Australia, States and Territories

Officially, there is no centre of Australia, but over time and with ingenuity, several methods for calculating the centre of the mainland have been developed.

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State and Territory Borders

The positions of the borders are mostly familiar. The more unusual include one separating States that is just eighty five metres long, and another entirely surrounded by a State.

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Climatic Extremes

Flooding rains and searing temperatures produce a highly variable climatic pattern that moulds Australia's landscape, its nature and human activity.