Administrative divisions of Australia
Australia is divided into 12 first-level administrative divisions:
Largest cities in Australia
| # | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney | 4,630,000 |
| 2 | Melbourne | 4,170,000 |
| 3 | Brisbane | 1,860,000 |
| 4 | Perth | 1,532,000 |
| 5 | Adelaide | 1,145,000 |
| 6 | Newcastle | 540,796 |
| 7 | Gold Coast | 527,660 |
| 8 | Cranbourne | 460,491 |
| 9 | CanberraCapital | 327,700 |
| 10 | Wollongong | 260,914 |
Sydney is the largest urban area in Australia with about 4,630,000 people; the capital, Canberra, has about 327,700.
Terrain, rivers & lakes
Highest terrain in Australia: ≈ 2,204 m — read from the global elevation model, so summit heights are approximate. The physical map paints elevation bands from green lowlands to brown highlands.
🌊 Rivers
- Macintyre
- Burnett
- Swan
- Ord
- Katherine
- Mitchell
- Fitzroy
- Daly
- Lachlan
- Murray
- Macquarie
- Roper
- Burdekin
- Weir
- Victoria
- Mackenzie
- Tamar
- Blackwood
- Barwon
- Darling
- Derwent
🏞️ Lakes
- Lake Argyle
- Wyangala Reservoir
- Lake Mulwala
- Lake Hume
- Burrendong Reservoir
- Lake Eyre North
- Lake Disappointment
- Lake Mackay
- Lake Gairdner
- Lake Torrens
- Lake Frome
- Lake Barlee
- Lake Eyre South
- Lake
- Lake Amadeus
- Lake Carnegie
- Lake Moore
- Lake Carey
- Lake Everard
- Lake Neale
- Lake Wells
- Lake Ballard
- Lake Goongarrie
- Lake Cowan
- Lake Pedder
- Lake Gordon
Ethnic groups in Australia
English 33%, Australian 29.9%, Irish 9.5%, Scottish 8.6%, Chinese 5.5%, Italian 4.4%, German 4%, Indian 3.1%, Australian Aboriginal 2.9%, Greek 1.7%, unspecified 4.7% (2021 est.)
Regionally, English is the most common ethnic group across most of the 12 divisions, while Australian Aboriginal predominates in 1 division (Northern Territory).
Source: CIA World Factbook (2021 est.) · regional dominance compiled by Glostats from censuses and surveys
Religions in Australia
Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant 18.1% (Anglican 9.8%, Uniting Church 2.6%, Presbyterian and Reformed 1.6%, Baptist 1.4%, Pentecostal 1%, other Protestant 1.7%), other Christian 3.5%, Muslim 3.2%, Hindu 2.7%, Buddhist 2.4%, Orthodox 2.3% (Eastern Orthodox 2.1%, Oriental Orthodox 0.2%), other 2.1%, none 38.4%, unspecified 7.3% (2021 est.)
Regionally, none is the most common religious group across most of the 12 divisions.
Source: CIA World Factbook (2021 est.) · regional dominance compiled by Glostats from censuses and surveys
Languages in Australia
English 72%, Mandarin 2.7%, Arabic 1.4%, Vietnamese 1.3%, Cantonese 1.2%, other 15.7%, unspecified 5.7% (2021 est.)
Regionally, English is the most common language group across most of the 12 divisions.
Source: CIA World Factbook (2021 est.) · regional dominance compiled by Glostats from censuses and surveys
Explore more
Papua New Guinea
New Zealand
Fiji
Solomon Islands
Vanuatu
New Caledonia
French Polynesia
SamoaSources: boundaries, cities, rivers and lakes from Natural Earth (public domain, 1:10m); elevation from the AWS Open Data terrain tiles (SRTM/GMTED); ethnic, religious and language shares from the CIA World Factbook; regional dominance compiled by Glostats from national censuses and surveys. Page generated 2026-10-19. More about our data.