Australia Facts for Kids

  • Australia is known as the commonwealth of Australia and it is an Oceanian country.
  • The first person to land in the east coast of Australia was captain james cook in 1770, the british came back with 11 ships in 1788 with the intention to begin a penal colony.
  • The French came later also trying to claim Australia only to fall short as the british have already claimed the land
  • The word Australia comes from latin “Terra Austalia Incognito” which means the unknown southern land.

  • Australia is the only continent-nation in the world; this means it is both a continent and a country as well.
  • Australia has a land area of 7.7millions km which is 32 times greater than the U.K, almost doubles that of Europe and almost has much as the U.S.A.
  • Australia’s national day is celebrated on 26th Jan every year.
  • This celebration is for Australia’s diversity and tolerance of different sects of people.


  • The kangaroo is the national animal of Australia, with a total number of 34,303,677 kangaroo and it is only found there.
  • The capital of Australia is Canberra
  • The larger city is Sydney.
  • The population is 23,232,413 as of july 2017.
  • The people of Australia are called Australians and/or Aussies
  • The currency used is called Australian Dollar (AUD).
  • The country has no bordering countries has it is surrounded by water but does have neighbors in New Zealand, Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea.
  • The official language is English but about 16% of its population speaks a language other than English.
  • The major religion is Christianity
  • Australia is known for their exportation of iron ore, coal, meat, wool, alumina, wheat, goal and machinery and transport equipment while importation is majorly on machinery and transport equipment, crude oil and petroleum products, telecommunication equipment and parts and computers and office machines.
  • The major industries in Australia are based mining, industrial and transportation equipment, chemicals, steel and food processing.
  • There are 10,000 beaches in Australia
  • During 1838 to 1902, it was illegal to swim at public beaches during the day
  • Australia once lost its Prime Minister Herold Hold in 1967 when he went for a swim and never came back. This was later called “the swim that needed no towel”
  • The total population of kangaroos is more than the population of people in Australia.
  • The first set of cops in the country were criminals, who were the most well behaved convicts formed in 1789 by Governor Arthur Philip.

  • The dingo fence is the longest fence in the world, with a distance of 5,530 km.
  • Australia is home to more venomous snakes than non venomous snakes; it also has the world’s deadliest spiders.
  • The platypus and echidna are the only mammals that lay eggs can only be found in Australia.
  • Australia has over 60 species of kangaroos, the baby kangaroo’s length is about 1-2 cm at the time of birth.
  • The only living white whale called Migaloo is also in Australia
  • Even though the official language is English, the population of Australia is home to over 200 languages and dialect. That is about 16% of its population speak another language other than English. Showing how divert the country really is
  • Australia is the second country to have allowed women vote in 1902

  • The pink lake is in Australia, the name “Pink lake” is gotten from its color but actually the color isn’t always pink but changes with the concentration of brine prawn and change in salinity.
  • Australia has the only living fossil from 350 million years ago (The Triassic period), Queensland is home to “lung fish”
  • Australians claim its National Science Agency invented Wi-Fi
  • The harbor bridge which is the world’s highest steel arch bridge is in Sydney, Australia. It is recorded in the Guinness book for its span which is 97.3m and 134m high above the mean sea level.
  • The word “selfie” is said to have originated in Australia, it was first used in an online forum by a drunk Australian in 2002.
  • Australia is the third country behind U.S and Russia to successfully launch a satellite into orbit
  • The world’s first society of cartoonists was formed in Sydney, Australia in 17th July 1924. It was called the black and white artists’ society.
  • The only active volcano is in Australia
  • Australia is also famous for an enormous depiction of an indigenous man carved in the desert. The drawing which is over 4 km(2.5mi) long

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