Australia

Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere with a footprint covering most of Oceania. In addition to the island continent of the same name, country includes Tasmania and other islands in the Southern Ocean, Pacific and Indian oceans.

Inhabited for over 50,000 years by Aborigines' island continent of Australia (the "main land") has been seen sporadically, especially by fishermen from the north and by Dutch sailors. From the seventeenth century, European explorers and merchants recognize the coasts, but not until 1770 that the eastern half of the island was officially claimed by Great Britain and January 26, 1788 - National Day Australian - that will build the prison colony of New South Wales. Five other colonies were founded largely autonomous in the course of the nineteenth century, as the population grew and new areas were explored.

On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated and formed the Commonwealth of Australia. Since independence, Australia has maintained a stable political system like democracy and liberal monarchy remains a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Its capital is Canberra, located in the Australian Capital Territory. Its population is estimated at about 22 million inhabitants (2009 estimate) and is mainly concentrated in large coastal cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. Moreover, with a GDP equal to 1069 billion U.S. dollars, the state ranks as the fourteenth largest economy in 2008.