World Scan - Australia

Neighboring Countries :- Indonasia, East Timore, Papua New Guinea, Solaman Island, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, New Zealand

Main Cities :- Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide
Official Name :- Commonwealth of Australia

Capital :- Canberra

Currency :- Australian Dollar
Independence :- 1st January 1901 from United Kingdom

Area :- 7,682,300 sq.km

Population :- 23,386,117
GDP [Gross Domestic Product]:- $ 998.265 billion

HDI [Human Development Index] :- 2

Literacy:- 99%
Life Expectancy:- 81.2

Language :- English
National Anthem :- Advance Australia Fair
Government Type :- Federal Parliamentary Democracy 
Monarch :- Elizabeth II ##

HISTORY
The first recoded European contact with Austrailia was in March 1606, when Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon charted the West coast of Cape York Penisula, Queensland. Later that year, the Spanish explorer Luis Vaez de Torres sailed through the strait separating Australia and Papua New Guinea. Over the next two centuries, European explorers and traders continued to chart the coastline of Australia, then known as New Holland. In 1688, William Dampier became the first British explorer to land on the Australian coast. It was not until 1770 that another Englishman, captain James Cooke, aboard the Endeavour, extended a scientific voyage to the South Pacific in order to further chart the east coast of Australia and claim it for the British crown. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries; they federated and became commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The non-indigenous population at the time of federation was 3.8 million. Half of these lived in cities, three-quarter were born in Australia, and majourity were English, Scottish or Irish descent.