How big is Australia?
Australia covers about 7.69 million square kilometres, making it the sixth-largest country in the world by area. It is roughly the same size as the contiguous United States, without Alaska and Hawaii.
Only Russia, Canada, China, the United States and Brazil are larger. Australia is about 32 times the size of the United Kingdom and more than twice the size of India.
From east to west, the mainland stretches roughly 4,000 kilometres, and from north to south about 3,700 kilometres. Flying from Sydney to Perth takes around five hours, longer than many international flights in Europe.
Despite its size, most of the country is sparsely populated. The great majority of Australians live in cities along the coast, especially in the southeast. Large parts of the interior are desert or semi-arid land, home to very few people.
Largest states
Western Australia is by far the largest state, covering about a third of the continent. Queensland is the second largest. Tasmania, the island state, is the smallest, while the Australian Capital Territory is a small territory around Canberra.
Australia's sheer size means it spans several climate zones, from tropical rainforests in the north to cool temperate forests in Tasmania and snow-covered peaks in the Australian Alps.