How Many Countries In Australia?

It is amazing to find how often we get asked this question when the answer is so very simple. No matter how many different answers you will find on the internet there has only ever been and ever will be one country in Australia.

I get the confusion which is what we will discuss in this article in greater depth. The confusion is probably, or the question is – how many countries are there in Australasia or Oceania which of course there is more than one.

How Many Countries In Australia?

So as we said above, there is only 1 country in Australia – Australia.

So what about States and Territories?

While Australia is one country there are also 8 states and territories within Australia which are:

New South Wales (NSW)
Victoria (VIC)
Queensland (QLD)
Australian Capital Territory (ACT)
Northern Territory (NT)
South Australia (SA)
Western Australia (WA)
Tasmania (TAS)

These states used to be independent but on 1 January 1901, Australia became 1 country when the 6 British colonies designed to join together to make one nation, the Commonwealth of Australia.

Australia has a constitutional monarchy with the Queen as the figurehead. It is a sovereign state with its own government and economy however, the UK Queen is still figuratively head of State in Australia.

This effectively means that Australian government operates differently to government in the US and other countries where they have a President. In Australia, the acting head of State is known as a Prime Minister.

In order to remove the Queen as figurehead and gain total independence from the UK, Australia would need a referendum to take place. This has happened in 1999 and Australia voted against its independence from the UK (in a close vote) due to the traditions and ties to the UK.

Regardless, this does not mean that Australia is not a country.

Is Tasmania a Country?

Again, no, it is a state of Australia just like Hawaii is not a seperate country, though it is separated from mainland US.

Tasmania is a really cool place to visit as it is totally different to the rest of Australia but still, is part of the the country of Australia

Is Australia also a Continent?

Yes, while Australia is a country, it too is also a continent.

There is debate on what countries are included in the continent of Australia – either 1, just Australia or 3, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia.

By both definitions, Australia is the only continent in the Southern Hemisphere not frozen.

Australia as only country in the continent

One train of thought it is just includes Australia and the surrounding islands. By this view, it would be the only continent with only 1 country and one government looking after it.

Under this view, it is the smallest continent on Earth, approximately 7,690,000 square kilometres in size.

Interestingly, with the highest point Mount Kosciuszko with an elevation of 2,228 metres, it is the world’s lowest lying continent with the continents average just 330 metres (1,080 ft).

Australia as one of three countries in the continent

Another train of thought is that the continent of Australia includes not only the mainland and Tasmania but also the island of New Guinea which would include 3 countries and governments – Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia.

This thought process is based on the land defined by the prehistoric continent referred to as Sahul.

What about Australasia or Oceania?

Australasia

Let’s first deal with Australasia. This is not referring to a continent but rather a geographical region of the world. There is debate as to what exactly “Australasia” includes but it is most commonly referred to a group of countries in a region consisting of:

Australia
New Zealand
the Philippines
New Guinea
New Caledonia
Fiji
Micronesia
Polynesia

Oceania

Oceania includes a wider region than Australasia and includes a large amount of countries across the Pacific Ocean between Asia and the Americas.

Again, there is some debate on which countries do and do not fall within the term ‘Oceania’. Sometimes, countries like Indonesia, Taiwan, and the Philippines are reformed from the definition, despite their geography as their traditions are more closely aligned with Asia.

According to the United Nations, which is the view we will adopt, there are 14 countries within the region of Oceania. Those countries are: