Australia is both a country and a continent, the only place on Earth that can claim both titles. Located in the Southern Hemisphere between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Australia is the world's sixth-largest country by area but has a relatively small population of about 26 million people, most living in coastal cities like Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.

Australia is famous for its unique wildlife. Because the continent separated from other landmasses millions of years ago, animals evolved there that exist nowhere else in the wild: kangaroos that hop instead of run, koalas that sleep in eucalyptus trees, platypuses that lay eggs despite being mammals, and wombats that dig elaborate burrows. The continent also has some of the world's most venomous snakes and spiders, though fatal encounters are extremely rare.

The landscape ranges from tropical rainforests in the north to vast deserts in the interior (which Australians call the Outback) to temperate regions in the south. The Great Barrier Reef, off Australia's northeast coast, is the world's largest coral reef system and can be seen from space.

Indigenous Australians, called Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, lived on the continent for at least 65,000 years before British colonization began in 1788. Today, Australia is a prosperous democracy and a major exporter of minerals, wool, and agricultural products.

Interestingly, because Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere, its seasons are opposite to those in North America and Europe: Christmas falls during summer vacation, and winter comes in June and July.