A distinct natural environment
Australia is the smallest continent and the only one that is also a single country. It lies between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Much of the centre, the outback, is dry: deserts and semi-desert with red soil and very little rain. Along the east runs the Great Dividing Range. The north has a tropical climate; the south-east and south-west have milder, wetter climates. Off the north-east coast lies the Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef system in the world.
Australia has been separated from other lands for a very long time. Because of this, many of its animals are found nowhere else: kangaroos, koalas, wombats and the egg-laying platypus. This is why protecting its habitats matters so much.
Where people live
Australia is large but has only about 26 million people. They are not spread evenly. Most live in big cities near the coast, especially in the south-east, where rain is more reliable and the land is good for farming and ports. The dry interior is almost empty, with a few small towns, farms and mines far apart. Density, the number of people per square kilometre, is therefore very low for the whole country, but very high in the coastal cities.
Oceania also includes New Zealand with mountains, grassy hills and mostly urban people, and thousands of small Pacific islands where villages sit on the coast.
Main features of the Australian economy
Australia is a high-income country with three main parts to its economy:
- Mining: iron ore, coal, gold and natural gas are dug up and sold, mainly to Asian countries.
- Farming: wheat, wool and beef from very large farms and ranches, using machines and few workers.
- Services and tourism: banks, education, health, shops and travel. This is the biggest part, with most of the jobs.
Australia sells raw materials and food and buys machines and consumer goods. Because it depends on selling to other countries, a fall in world prices affects it.
Oceania: high islands, low atolls and sea level
Oceania has two main kinds of islands. High islands are the tops of volcanoes with hills and fertile soil. Low coral atolls are rings of coral sand only a metre or two above the sea. Atolls have little fresh water and little land. As the sea level slowly rises, floods and salt water reach their farms and wells, so their people are among the first to face the effects of climate change. Island economies depend on fishing, tourism, small-scale farming and money sent home by relatives who work abroad.
Try it: compare a coast and an inland town
Draw two boxes: one for a coastal city, one for an inland outback town. Under each write: rainfall (high or low), jobs, number of people. Then in the 3D, raise the sea level slowly. Count how many atolls are flooded when you reach half of the slider.
Key formulas and definitions
- Australia: island continent; dry outback in the middle; Great Dividing Range east; Great Barrier Reef north-east
- Unique wildlife: kangaroo, koala, wombat, platypus
- People: about 26 million, most in coastal cities of the south-east
- Economy: mining, farming and (largest) services and tourism
- Oceania: Australia, New Zealand and Pacific islands (high volcanic + low coral atolls)
- Population density = people ÷ area
Worked examples
1. Why do most Australians live near the coast and not in the middle?
The interior is dry, hot and hard to farm. The coast, especially the south-east, has more rain, ports for trade, and good farmland, so cities grew there.
2. Australia has about 26 million people and an area of about 7.7 million km². Find its population density.
Density = 26 million ÷ 7.7 million km² ≈ 3.4 people per km². Very low, because most land is empty.
3. Give two reasons why the Great Barrier Reef needs protection.
It is home to a huge variety of sea life, and it is damaged by warming seas, pollution and too many visitors. Once coral dies it takes many years to recover.
4. Why is a low coral atoll more at risk from sea-level rise than a high volcanic island?
An atoll is only a metre or two above the sea, so a small rise floods land and wells with salt water. A high island has hills that stay dry.
Common mistakes
- Thinking Australia is full of desert everywhere. The coasts have forests, farmland and cities; the desert is mainly the centre.
- Thinking Oceania and Australia mean the same thing. Oceania is the larger region: Australia, New Zealand and Pacific islands.
- Saying Australia has high population density. It has one of the lowest in the world overall.
- Thinking mining is the biggest part of the economy. Services employ the most people.