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Australia is a relatively new country, one of the youngest on earth. Therefore it has had to do a lot of catching up to be up to the standards of other developed countries, often surpasing them.

Australia is an island, and also the sixth largest country in the world, and the smallest continent in the world. As an island, Australia also has many beautiful coastal beaches. Over 70% of Australians now live in cities or towns. Most of this population lives in the eastern and southern coasts, and around Perth in the west. Australia has a very dramatic landscape and is famous for its "Outback," the remote lands of the interior. The Outback covers most of the interior and is too hot, dry and barren to support many people. Eastern Australia consists of large areas of grasslands, used primarily for sheep and cattle ranches.

Australia also has mountainous areas and plateaus scattered throughout the country. The Blue Mountains, on the south-eastern end of Australia, get their name from the blue haze caused by oil droplets given off from the eucalyptus trees. Off the northeast coast of Australia is the Great Barrier Reef which is over 1,900 kilometers of coral. It has developed over the last million years, and is now the largest living structure in the world.