Australia encompasses a wide variety of biogeographic regions: it’s the 6th largest country in the world but it’s also the world’s smallest continent. Australia is located in Oceania between the Indian and South Pacific Oceans. Australia’s geography is extremely diverse: it ranges from snow-capped mountains of the Australian Alps and Tasmania, to tropical forests and deserts. Australia’s neighbouring countries include Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Indonesia to the north, New Zealand to the south-east, and Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia to the east.
This developed country is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Territory belonging to Australia also includes Tasmania and other smaller islands in the Pacific Ocean. Because Australia is an island country it has no land boundary. It’s also called an island continent because of its size, with many people referring to it as the smallest continent in the world. The Great Barrier Reef, which is the world’s largest coral reef, can be found on the north-east side of the country. The capital city of Australia is Canberra, while the most popular tourist destination is Sydney, which is also the largest city. As at the year 2015, the population of Australia was almost 24 million people.
Languages Spoken in Australia
English is regarded as the national language of Australia; however, in 1996 in Australia 15% of the population spoke a language other than English in their home. 85% of the population spoke only English, with less than 1% of the population not being able to speak English at all. Aside from English and Indigenous languages, there were more than 160 different languages being spoken in the home. Languages such as German, Chinese and English were spoken after European settlement but, since 1945, today’s linguistic diversity has occurred largely due to immigration. People in Australia who lack English language skills face practical problems when it comes to employment, education, and access to services.
Languages Spoken at Home, Other Than English
As previously mentioned, in 1996 just 15% of Australia’s total population (aged five years or over) spoke a language other than English in their home. Of this number, 74% were first generation Australians (people born overseas) and 22% were second generation Australians (children of people born overseas).
Italian was the most commonly spoken language: with its 367,000 speakers comprising 2.3% of the Australian population (aged five years up); with Greek, Cantonese, Arabic and Vietnamese ranking next.
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Australia’s Indigenous People
Australia’s Indigenous people are the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders; people who have descended from groups that existed in both Australia and surrounding islands, prior to European colonization.
