Lyla Lindsey
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is bordered by Southeast Asian countries such as Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and Timor-Leste. Australia is the smallest continent and one of the largest countries on Earth, lying between the Pacific and Indian oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. Its capital is Canberra, and its most important economic and cultural centers are Sydney and Melbourne.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Country | Papua New Guinea |
| Region | Australasia |
| Continent | Australia |
| Population | 9 million |
| Capital | Port Moresby |
| Largest City | Lae |
| Official Language | English, Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu |
| Currency | Papua New Guinean kina |
| Demonym | Papua New Guinean |
| Time Zone | AEST (UTC+10) |
| Calling Code | +675 |
Explore related products
What You'll Learn
New Zealand is southeast of Australia
New Zealand is located to the southeast of Australia. It is one of the many islands in the geographical region of Oceania, which lies between Asia and the Americas. Oceania is divided into three groups: Australasia, Malesia, and Polynesia. New Zealand is part of Australasia, along with Australia and the Melanesian islands.
The term Oceania was popularised by British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace in his 1879 book, 'Australasia'. He described it as "the great world of islands" and considered Australia to be its "central and most important feature". American geographer Sophia S. Cornell also defined Australasia as including Australia, New Zealand, and Melanesia in 1857.
New Zealand is separated from Australia by the Tasman Sea. It is one of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world, with a wide variety of landscapes and climates. The country has a diverse population, with a significant number of overseas Chinese, and is known for its unique flora and fauna.
The islands of New Zealand are considered part of the Australasian biogeographical realm, along with Australia and the islands of Melanesia. This grouping is based on their geographical proximity and cultural connections. New Zealand has a strong presence in the Pacific Islands Forum, which politically represents the Oceania region.
Extradition Treaty Between Australia and India: What's the Deal?
You may want to see also
Explore related products
Papua New Guinea is geographically closest to Australia
Papua New Guinea is Australia's closest neighbour, with only about 3.75 km separating the two countries at Saibai Island in the Torres Strait. The island of New Guinea, of which Papua New Guinea comprises the eastern half, is separated from Australia's Cape York Peninsula by the shallow 152-kilometre (94-mile) Torres Strait. The Arafura Sea lies to the west of this strait, while the much deeper Coral Sea lies to its east. The Arafura Sea and the Torres Strait, which together separate mainland Australia and New Guinea, are part of a continental shelf that connects the two landmasses.
The island of New Guinea is located north of Australia's Top End, the Gulf of Carpentaria, and Cape York Peninsula, and west of the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands archipelago. The eastern half of the island forms the mainland of Papua New Guinea, while the western half comprises six provinces of Indonesia: Papua, Central Papua, Highland Papua, South Papua, West Papua, and Southwest Papua. The shape of New Guinea is often compared to that of a bird-of-paradise, resulting in the usual names for the two extremes of the island: the Bird's Head Peninsula in the northwest and the Bird's Tail Peninsula in the southeast.
The nation of Papua New Guinea also includes hundreds of islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia. It has a land border with Indonesia to the west and maritime borders with Australia to the south and the Solomon Islands to the east. The country covers two time zones, with the Autonomous Region of Bougainville an hour ahead of the rest of the country. The capital of Papua New Guinea is Port Moresby.
Papua New Guinea was a former colony of Australia and the two countries have maintained close relations. They are both Commonwealth realms and Papua New Guinea's political institutions are modelled on the Westminster system, which is also used by Australia. In 1975, Papua New Guinea became an independent Commonwealth nation, and in 1977, the two countries signed the "Agreement on Trade and Commercial Relations between the Government of Australia and the Government of Papua New Guinea (PATCRA)", establishing a free trade area. Australia has also provided development aid to Papua New Guinea, making it one of the largest recipients of Australian aid.
Australian Dream: Universal Pain Relief?
You may want to see also
Explore related products
The Coral Sea separates Australia from New Guinea
Australia is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the smallest continent and one of the largest countries on Earth, lying between the Pacific and Indian oceans in the Southern Hemisphere. The Coral Sea is a sea in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, extending east of Australia and New Guinea, west of New Caledonia and the New Hebrides, and south of the Solomon Islands.
The Coral Sea is named for its numerous coral formations, highlighted by the Great Barrier Reef, which extends 1,200 miles (1,900 km) down the Australian northeast coast. The sea covers an area of 1,849,800 square miles (4,791,000 square km) and is about 1,400 miles (2,250 km) north-south and 1,500 miles east-west. To the south, it merges with the Tasman Sea, to the north with the Solomon Sea, and to the east with the Pacific Ocean. The Coral Sea is connected to the Arafura Sea in the western Pacific Ocean via the Torres Strait, a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea.
The Torres Strait is about 80-93 miles (130-150 km) wide and has many reefs and shoals that make navigation hazardous. The strait is named after the Spanish navigator Luís Vaz de Torres, who sailed through it in 1606. The islands of the Torres Strait have been inhabited by humans for at least 2,500 years and have a unique culture and long-standing history with the nearby coastlines. The various Torres Strait Islander communities have maintained steady cultural diffusion with the Papuans to the north and the Australian Aboriginal communities for thousands of years.
Exploring the Distance: Australia and San Jose
You may want to see also
Explore related products
The Arafura Sea and Timor Sea separate Australia from Indonesia
Australia is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the smallest continent and one of the largest countries on Earth, lying between the Pacific and Indian oceans in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Arafura Sea and the Timor Sea separate Australia from Indonesia. The Arafura Sea is bordered by the Gulf of Carpentaria and the continent of Australia to the south, the Banda and Seram Seas to the northwest, and the Torres Strait to the east. The sea is approximately 800 miles long and 350 miles wide and has a depth of 160 to 260 feet in most places, deepening to the west. The Arafura Shelf, which underlies the sea, appears to have been a low-relief land surface with an arid climate before it was submerged due to the post-glacial rise in sea levels.
The Timor Sea, an extension of the Indian Ocean, is bordered by the island of Timor to the north, Australia to the south, and the Arafura Sea to the east. The sea covers an area of approximately 610,000 square kilometres and has a maximum width of 480 kilometres. The Timor Sea is relatively shallow, with a maximum depth of 3,300 metres and an average depth of 406 metres.
The discovery of hydrocarbon reserves in the Timor Sea in the 1970s led to territorial disputes between Australia and Indonesia, which were resolved with the signing of the Timor Gap Treaty in 1989. After East Timor gained independence, new negotiations between Australia and East Timor resulted in the signing of the Timor Sea Treaty in 2002, which established the maritime boundaries in the Timor Sea.
Australia's Driest States: Where's the Rain?
You may want to see also
Explore related products
The Tasman Sea separates Australia from New Zealand
Australia is the smallest continent and one of the largest countries on Earth. It is located within the Southern and Eastern Hemispheres, near Maritime Southeast Asia. The Australian mainland extends from west to east for nearly 2,500 miles (4,000 km) and from the Cape York Peninsula in the northeast to Wilsons Promontory in the southeast for nearly 2,000 miles (3,200 km).
To the south, Australian jurisdiction extends a further 310 miles (500 km) to the southern extremity of the island of Tasmania. The continent of Australia includes mainland Australia, Tasmania, the island of New Guinea (Papua New Guinea and Western New Guinea), the Aru Islands, the Ashmore and Cartier Islands, most of the Coral Sea Islands, and some other nearby islands.
Australia is separated from New Zealand, which lies to the southeast, by the Tasman Sea. New Zealand is often grouped together with Australia and the Melanesian islands as part of the Australasian biogeographical realm.
The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, located between Australia and New Zealand. It measures approximately 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) across and covers an area of about 2,000,000 square kilometres (770,000 sq mi). The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, who was the first European to discover it in 1642.
Cocaine in 1920s Australia: A Historical Perspective
You may want to see also
Frequently asked questions
The country located southeast of Australia is New Zealand.
Australia is bordered by Papua New Guinea to the north and New Zealand to the southeast. The Indonesian region of Western New Guinea (Papua and West Papua) is located near Australia.
Australia is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands.
The capital of Australia is Canberra.
Australia's population is almost 28 million.
