Overview

Since immigration statistics usually combine information about New Zealand with that of Australia, and because similarities between the countries are great, they are linked in this essay also. The Commonwealth of Australia, the world's sixth largest nation, lies between the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean. Australia is the only country in the world that is also a continent, and the only continent that lies entirely within the Southern Hemisphere. The name Australia comes from the Latin word australis, which means southern. Australia is popularly referred to as "Down Under"—an expression that derives from the country's location below the equator. Off the southeast coast lies the island state of Tasmania; together they form the Commonwealth of Australia. The capital city is Canberra.

Australia covers an area of 2,966,150 square miles—almost as large as the continental United States, excluding...