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Canberra (pronounced CAN-bruh , CAN-berra, Can-BER-ra or Can-buh-ruh) is Australia's capital city and largest inland city (population 311,000). It is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory, (ACT; population 339,000). Canberra is the 7th most populous city in the country, though it is smaller than any of the state capitals except Hobart.

Australia is a constitutional monarchy, with Elizabeth II reigning as 'Queen of Australia'. In 1999, a referendum was held on the question of constitutional change to a republic, with an appointed President replacing the Queen as head of state, but this was rejected. Various surveys held before and since the referendum suggest that the majority of Australians favour some form of republic, and hence many people ascribe the negative result of the referendum to dissatisfaction with the particular republican model that was proposed.

Australia is divided into six states and several territories. The states are New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia. The two major territories are the Northern Territory (NT) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The ACT also incorporates a separate area within New South Wales known as Jervis Bay Territory which serves as a naval base and sea port for the national capital.

Australia has about 800 species of bird, ranging from the tiny 8 cm Weebill to the huge, flightless Emu.

While Aussies take a loss hard, chances are that just a few hours later and with some beers in them, players and fans have forgotten about the sting of defeat and are back to enjoying Australian life.

While Australia has ubiquitous media coverage, the longest established part of that media is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the Federal Government funded organisation offering national TV and radio coverage. The ABC, like the BBC in Britain, is a non-commercial public service broadcaster, showing many BBC or ITV productions from Britain.

In common with many other developed countries, Australia is currently experiencing a demographic shift towards an older population, with more people retiring and fewer people of working age. Similarly, a large number of Australian citizens (950,000 as of 2004) live outside of their home country. This number (almost 5%) represents a higher per capita percentage of overseas residents than many other countries including the United States. This phenomenon was, until recently, given little attention by the Australian government and media, but the term Australian Diaspora has now joined the Australian vocabulary.

A reputation as a tolerant nation with strong humanitarian values is marred by past government policies excluding non-whites, and more recently a succession of scandals resulting in much criticism of Australia’s refugee programs.