a journey in 16 stops
G'day,mate.
Welcome to Australia. Before we get to the famous faces, the food and the memes, let us tell you where it all comes from.
Let’s goA country the size of a continent
This is Australia.
7.69 million km², the 6th biggest country in the world. It’s also the largest island and the smallest continent on the planet.
And this is Brazil, at the same scale.
8.5 million km². Almost the same size. The difference is who lives there.
213 million versus 28 million.
For every Australian there are almost eight Brazilians. A huge land with very few people, and an interior that’s nearly empty: the outback.
Nearly everyone lives by the sea.
Around 85% of people live within 50 km of the coast. Each dot is one of the 25 biggest cities. Notice the empty middle.
Sources: ABS, population (Mar 2026), ABS, regional population (2023), IBGE, population of Brazil and Natural Earth (map).
65,000 years in a minute
65,000 BC
The First Peoples arrive on the continent.
to put it in perspective
If all of human history in Australia fitted into a 24-hour day, Europeans would have arrived at 11.54 pm.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the oldest continuous living culture on Earth. Everything else, from 1788 until today, fits into the last six minutes. Read the full history →
Sources: AIATSIS, Australia’s First Peoples and National Museum of Australia, Defining Moments.
Who are the Australians?
Out of every 100 people, 32 were born overseas.
Post-war migration turned a mostly British country into one of the most multicultural in the world. Today people from almost 200 nationalities live here, and more than 300 languages are spoken at home.
Sources: ABS, population by country of birth (June 2025), ABS, 2021 Census and AIHW.
The Aussie way
Seven ideas that explain how Australians think, talk and get along.
Choose your next stop
Sixteen stops to get to know Australia up close. Start anywhere you like; at the end of every page there’s always a next stop.