Australia and New Zealand · AUS

Australia

The story · 8 chapters

How it was drawn

A continent of hundreds of Aboriginal nations was taken by Britain through settlement and frontier war, split into six colonies, then federated into one Commonwealth in 1901.

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Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Australia fought or stood against, from the first to today.

British colonists1788 to 1928
From 1788 British settlers take Aboriginal land by force. The Frontier Wars run from the Hawkesbury River in the 1790s to Tasmania's Black War and the Coniston massacre of 1928, and cost many thousands of Aboriginal lives.
France1802 to 1829
French expeditions, above all Nicolas Baudin's of 1801 to 1803, worry Britain. It plants settlements in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 and at King George Sound in 1826, then claims all of Western Australia in 1829, partly to keep France out.
German Empire1914 to 1918
In September 1914 Australian troops seize German New Guinea after a fight at Bita Paka. Australians then fight Germany on the Western Front until 1918, and Australia keeps the former colony as a League of Nations mandate.
Ottoman Empire1914 to 1918
Australian and New Zealand troops land at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 and fight the Ottoman army for eight months before withdrawing. The Australian Light Horse later fights in Sinai and Palestine, including the charge at Beersheba in 1917.
Empire of Japan1941 to 1945
Japan bombs Darwin on 19 February 1942, and its midget submarines attack Sydney Harbour that May. Australian troops fight Japanese forces on the Kokoda Track, at Milne Bay and across New Guinea until Japan surrenders in 1945.
North Korea and China1950 to 1953
Australian forces join the United Nations command in the Korean War. At Kapyong in April 1951 an Australian battalion helps halt a Chinese offensive. The fighting ends with the armistice of 1953.
North Vietnam1962 to 1972
Australia sends military advisers to South Vietnam in 1962 and combat troops from 1965. They fight the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces, notably at Long Tan in 1966. The last combat troops leave in 1972.
Indonesia1963 to 1999
During Indonesia's Confrontation with Malaysia, from 1963 to 1966, Australian troops fight Indonesian forces in Borneo. In 1999 Australia leads INTERFET, the force that restores order in East Timor after its vote to leave Indonesia.
Timor-Leste2002 to 2018
Australia and newly independent Timor-Leste quarrel over the oil and gas fields of the Timor Sea. After a conciliation at the United Nations, they sign a treaty in New York in March 2018 that fixes a permanent sea border.

Today

Australia now

Aboriginal Australians arrived on the continent at least 60,000 years ago and developed complex hunter-gatherer societies and oral histories. Dutch navigators led by Abel TASMAN were the first Europeans to land in Australia in 1606, and they mapped the western and northern coasts. They named the continent New Holland but made no attempts to permanently settle it. In 1770, Englishman James COOK sailed to the east coast of Australia, named it New South Wales, and claimed it for Great Britain.

Capital: Canberra
Government: federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
Head of government: Anthony Albanese
Head of state: Charles III
Languages: English
Area: 7,741,220 km²

Through time

Then and now

Population26.5 million2023 · 8.2 million in 1950
Life expectancy83.9 years2023 · 69.0 years in 1950
GDP per person$52,0492022 · $11,815 in 1950
Living in cities88%2025 · 76% in 1950
Literacy99%1950
Political regimeLiberal democracy2025 · Liberal democracy in 1950
Military alliancesANZUS2024 · None of these in 1950
Military spending1.9% of GDP2025 · 2.9% of GDP in 1950
War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

United States
United Kingdom
France
New Zealand
Japan

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Australia fought or stood against, from the first to today.

British colonists1788 to 1928

From 1788 British settlers take Aboriginal land by force. The Frontier Wars run from the Hawkesbury River in the 1790s to Tasmania's Black War and the Coniston massacre of 1928, and cost many thousands of Aboriginal lives.

France1802 to 1829

French expeditions, above all Nicolas Baudin's of 1801 to 1803, worry Britain. It plants settlements in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 and at King George Sound in 1826, then claims all of Western Australia in 1829, partly to keep France out.

German Empire1914 to 1918

In September 1914 Australian troops seize German New Guinea after a fight at Bita Paka. Australians then fight Germany on the Western Front until 1918, and Australia keeps the former colony as a League of Nations mandate.

Ottoman Empire1914 to 1918

Australian and New Zealand troops land at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 and fight the Ottoman army for eight months before withdrawing. The Australian Light Horse later fights in Sinai and Palestine, including the charge at Beersheba in 1917.

Empire of Japan1941 to 1945

Japan bombs Darwin on 19 February 1942, and its midget submarines attack Sydney Harbour that May. Australian troops fight Japanese forces on the Kokoda Track, at Milne Bay and across New Guinea until Japan surrenders in 1945.

North Korea and China1950 to 1953

Australian forces join the United Nations command in the Korean War. At Kapyong in April 1951 an Australian battalion helps halt a Chinese offensive. The fighting ends with the armistice of 1953.

North Vietnam1962 to 1972

Australia sends military advisers to South Vietnam in 1962 and combat troops from 1965. They fight the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces, notably at Long Tan in 1966. The last combat troops leave in 1972.

Indonesia1963 to 1999

During Indonesia's Confrontation with Malaysia, from 1963 to 1966, Australian troops fight Indonesian forces in Borneo. In 1999 Australia leads INTERFET, the force that restores order in East Timor after its vote to leave Indonesia.

Timor-Leste2002 to 2018

Australia and newly independent Timor-Leste quarrel over the oil and gas fields of the Timor Sea. After a conciliation at the United Nations, they sign a treaty in New York in March 2018 that fixes a permanent sea border.

Australia now

Capital

Canberra

Government

federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

Head of government

Anthony Albanese

Head of state

Charles III

Languages

English

Area

7,741,220 km²

Then and now

Population26.5 million2023 · 8.2 million in 1950

Life expectancy83.9 years2023 · 69.0 years in 1950

GDP per person$52,0492022 · $11,815 in 1950

Living in cities88%2025 · 76% in 1950

Literacy99%1950

Political regimeLiberal democracy2025 · Liberal democracy in 1950

Military alliancesANZUS2024 · None of these in 1950

Military spending1.9% of GDP2025 · 2.9% of GDP in 1950

War deathsNone2025