The Australian continent is the earth's largest island but the smallest continent of world. Lying between the Indian and Pacific oceans, the country is approximately 4,000 km from east to west and 3,200 km from north to south, with a coastline 36,735 km long. Neighboring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the North-east and New Zealand to the South-east.

Australia's formal name is the Commonwealth of Australia. Canberra, located in the Australian Capital Territory, is Australia's national capital City. Australia's population is roughly 23 million people as of 2013. The most popular states are New South Wales and Victoria with their respective capitals, Sydney and Melbourne. Australia's National language is English and currency is Australian Dollar (AUD) and present conversion rate with Indian Rupee is about 55. Sydney is the largest city in Australia and the smallest mainland state is Victoria. Melbourne is the second largest city and known as the cultural & business capital of Australia. The largest state in Australia is Western Australia and the smallest one is Tasmania. Queensland is Australia's second largest state in size.

Australia experiences temperate weather for most of the year .Australia's seasons are opposite to those in the northern hemisphere. December to February is summer, March to May is autumn, June to August is winter and September to November is spring. Temperatures average 21°C in summer and 14°C in winter. Rainfall is highest from May to October.

The economy of Australia is one of the capitalist economies in the world. Australia's economy is dominated by its' Service and Industry sectors. It is a country which is largely dependent on its agricultural industries and agriculture has always been one of the primary sources of income for Australian people. Mining Industry is the second largest source of income in Australia.

Barbequed meats (beef, lamb, chicken), Vegemite, Pavlova, Meat Pies, Lamingtons, Damper, Chiko Roll etc are famous food items in Australia. Australia is almost 4hours ahead of India in time.