The Commonwealth of Australia (English: Commonwealth of Australia), referred to as "Australia", its territory area of 7.692 million square kilometers, located between the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean, surrounded by the sea, is the world's only country covering a whole continent, so it is also called "Australia".
Australia, with its unique flora, fauna and natural landscape, is a multicultural country of immigrants. There are about 670,000 overseas Chinese in Australia, accounting for 3.41 percent of the settled population. Australia was formerly inhabited by Australian Aborigines. Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch colonists arrived in the 17th century.
It became a British colony in 1788 and became a self-governing territory of the British Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. It became an independent country within the Commonwealth in 1931. Australia is a capitalist country with Canberra as its capital. As the most economically developed country in the southern hemisphere, the world's 12th largest economy, the world's fourth largest exporter of agricultural products, it is also the world's largest exporter of a variety of minerals, so it is called "the country in the mine car".
At the same time, Australia is also the world's largest number of free range sheep and wool export country, also known as "the country on the sheep's back".
Australia's population is highly urbanized, with nearly half of its people living in the two major cities of Sydney and Melbourne. It is also a sports power, hosting many global sports events all year round. Australia is an active participant in international affairs. It is a founding member of APEC and a member of the United Nations, the G20, the Commonwealth, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the Pacific Islands Forum.
On March 9, 2022 local time, Australian Prime Minister Morrison declared a national emergency in Australia to enable the federal government to respond more effectively to the ongoing flooding.
