10 Fun Facts About Australia (For Americans)

In a world of 7.8 billion, 26 million might seem trivial. That’s less than Canada. And California. Even Texas. Yet the Land Down Under is never far from the conversation. Here are 10 fun facts about Australia—numbers style—to give you next-level knowledge.

 

1788

The year Arthur Phillip, working off knowledge acquired by the British explorer James Cook several years earlier, established the first permanent European settlement in Australia, an event that is commemorated every January 26 as Australia Day. The first settlers were actually part of a penal colony, redirected south of the equator after the newly independent United States could no longer serve as a viable destination for such convicts.

 

160,000

A guess as to the number of convicts who were transported from the United Kingdom to Australia over the next 80 years.

 

50,000

An estimate regarding the number of years ago that Aboriginal peoples began populating Australia. Originally from Southeast Asia, such groups were marginalized upon British colonization, ultimately receiving a formal apology from the Australian government in 2008 for previous forced removals of Indigenous children from their families. The contentious issue of Aboriginal land rights was captured by the 1987 hit “Beds Are Burning,” courtesy Midnight Oil.

 

1901

The year Australia became a self-governing dominion within the British Empire. Several more steps would take place on the road to complete legislative independence, culminating in 1986 with the Australia Act. Of course, the British monarch is still technically the King of Australia, represented locally by another figurehead, the Governor-General.

 

26 million

As alluded to above, that’s the population of the country, divided into six states (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia) and ten federal territories. As Australia is the sixth largest country by land area, it follows that the country is one of the least densely populated in the world, a fact that is particularly glaring in its western regions. Sydney is the largest city by population, though the relatively anonymous Canberra serves as the capital.

 

48.2

The percent of Australians with at least one parent who was born overseas. In fact, 27.6 percent of Australians were born outside the country. Much like Canada, Australia has turned to immigration to help populate its massive land mass, a striking change of heart for a nation that once upheld the White Australia policy.

 

14

Australia’s position on a list of countries by nominal GDP (also hanging out in that range when expressed on a per-capita basis). The number drops to 20 when adjusted for purchasing power parity.

 

9 million

The approximate number of international tourists Australia receives in a non-pandemic year. Visitors are drawn to world-class coastal cities like Sydney and Melbourne, the Great Barrier Reef, the Australian Outback, Uluru, and, of course, all sorts of unique wildlife.

 

6

The number of points for a goal in Australian football, the country’s most popular spectator sport. Many other sports are on the radar, including rugby, cricket, soccer, golf, tennis, basketball, and motorsport.

 

1

As in the one song that stands out above all the rest in terms of Australia’s contribution to the global music scene, that being “Need You Tonight” by INXS. Tunes by the likes of AC/DC, Midnight Oil (see above), Tame Impala, Men at Work, Kylie Minogue, Keith Urban, Flea (bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers), Natalie Imbruglia, Sia, Iggy Azalea, Silverchair, Tones and I, and Olivia Newton-John are also in the mix, though it’s hard to argue with this choice.

 

But no list of fun facts about Australia would be complete without referencing the Wiggles, whose music has been a source of great joy to generations of children (and great angst to their parents). It appears that more recent incarnations of the children’s music group might have upped their games, evidenced by this cover of “Elephant,” originally by the aforementioned Tame Impala.

 

To have left that out would have been criminal (couldn’t resist, Australia).