Surface area: 7.74 million sq km
Mainland coastline: 35,877 km
Coastline including off–shore islands: 59,736 km
Percentage of arable land: 6%

Population: 21 million (July 2008 estimated)
Proportion born overseas: approx. 22%
Workforce: 10.28 million

More than 75 per cent of Australia’s 21 million people live in urban centres, particularly in the capital cities along the fertile eastern coastal plain and the southeastern coast. The population aged 65 years and over is projected to increase from around 13.1 per cent in 2005 to 25.7 per cent in 2050.

Capital: Canberra

6 States & 2 Territories	Population (million)	Capital City	Capital City Population (million)
New South Wales (NSW)	6.55	Sydney	4.12
Victoria (VIC)	4.93	Melbourne	3.59
Queensland (QLD)	3.90	Brisbane	1.76
Western Australia (WA)	1.96	Perth	1.45
Southern Australia (SA)	1.51	Adelaide	1.11
Tasmania	0.48	Hobart	0.20
Australian Capital Territory (ACT)	0.32	Canberra	0.32
Northern Territory (NT)	0.19	Darwin	0.11

Language

Australia is a predominantly English-speaking country, with 15% of the population speaks a second language at home. In Australia over 200 different languages and dialects are spoken, including 45 indigenous languages. The most commonly spoken languages (other than English) are Italian, Greek, Cantonese, Arabic, Vietnamese and Mandarin.

Religion

Catholics make up the largest single religion in Australia, accounting for 26.4 per cent. Anglicans are at 20.5 per cent and other Christian 20.5 per cent. Buddhism accounts for 1.9 per cent, Muslim 1.5 per cent, other 1.2 per cent, 15.3 per cent are of no religion and 12.7 per cent were unspecified in the last census.

Currency

Australian dollar (AUD)