The name Australia was popularised by the explorer Matthew Flinders, who said it was "more agreeable to the ear, and an assimilation to the names of the other great portions of the Earth". Terra Australis still saw occasional usage, such as in scientific texts. Until the early 19th century, Australia was best known as New Holland, a name first applied by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1644 (as Nieuw-Holland) and subsequently anglicised. When Europeans first began visiting and mapping Australia in the 17th century, the name Terra Australis was naturally applied to the new territories. The name Australia (pronounced / ə ˈ s t r eɪ l i ə/ in Australian English ) is derived from the Latin Terra Australis ("southern land"), a name used for a hypothetical continent in the Southern Hemisphere since ancient times. It is a member of international groupings including the United Nations, the G20, the OECD, the WTO, ANZUS, AUKUS, Five Eyes, the Quad, APEC, the Pacific Islands Forum, the Pacific Community and the Commonwealth of Nations. Australia ranks highly in quality of life, democracy, health, education, economic freedom, civil liberties, safety, and political rights, with all its major cities faring exceptionally in global comparative livability surveys. Australia is a regional power, and has the world's thirteenth-highest military expenditure. Īustralia is a highly developed country with a high-income economy it has the world's twelfth-largest economy, tenth-highest per capita income and eighth-highest Human Development Index. Australia's abundant natural resources and well-developed international trade relations are crucial to the country's economy, which generates its income from various sources including services, mining exports, banking, manufacturing, agriculture and international education. Australia's demography has been shaped by centuries of immigration, with immigrants accounting for 30% of the country's population, the highest proportion among major Western nations. Canberra is the nation's capital, while the largest cities are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. Australia's population of nearly 26 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard. Politically, Australia is a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy, comprising six states and ten territories. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and wealthy market economy. On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. The European population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the time of an 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and an additional five self-governing crown colonies established. In 1770, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788, a date which became Australia's national day. The European maritime exploration of Australia commenced in the early 17th century with the arrival of Dutch explorers. Indigenous Australians have inhabited the continent for approximately 65,000 years. It is a megadiverse country, and its size gives it a wide variety of landscapes and climates, with deserts in the centre, tropical rainforests in the north-east, and mountain ranges in the south-east. Australia is the oldest, flattest, and driest inhabited continent, with the least fertile soils. With an area of 7,617,930 square kilometres (2,941,300 sq mi), Australia is the largest country by area in Oceania and the world's sixth-largest country. Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands.
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