Oceania

Flag of Australia

Australia is the world's sixth-largest country by area and the only nation that governs an entire continent, a vast land with ecological diversity from tropical rainforests to scorching deserts to temperate forests. It is home to unique wildlife found nowhere else, including kangaroos, koalas, platypuses, wombats, and the world's two egg-laying mammals. The Great Barrier Reef, stretching 2,300 kilometres along the Queensland coast, is the world's largest coral reef system.

CapitalCanberra
RegionOceania
Current flag since1908
Main coloursBlue, Red, White
Populationabout 26 million
Areaabout 7,692,000 km²
Flags in history4

Population and area are rounded.

What the flag of Australia means

The Union Jack recalls the history of British settlement. The seven-pointed Commonwealth Star stands for the six federating states and the territories, and the Southern Cross is a constellation seen from every part of the country. The design won a 1901 competition with more than 32,000 entries. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags have also been official flags since 1995.

How to recognise it

Union Jack + large 7-pointed Commonwealth Star + 5-star Southern Cross. New Zealand has only 4 stars.

Did you know?

Australia is the only continent that is also a single country, and has more sheep than people.

Easily confused with

Australia's flag is often mixed up with these. Learn to tell them apart:

New Zealand

Fiji

Tuvalu

Flag history of Australia

Every flag that has flown over Australia, from today back through time.

1908–present

Australian National Flag

In 1908 a seventh point was added to the large Commonwealth Star to represent the territories. The blue ensign was confirmed as the sole national flag by the Flags Act 1953, effective 1954.

Red Ensign — flown on land before 1954:

1908–present

Australian Red Ensign

For decades most Australians actually flew the red version on land; only in 1954 did the blue ensign officially take precedence. It remains the flag of Australian-registered merchant ships.

1903–1908

Blue Ensign (six-pointed star)

In 1903 the Southern Cross stars were standardized, but the large Commonwealth Star still had only six points — one for each federating colony.

1901–1903

1901 Federation Design

The winning entry from the 1901 Federal Flag Design Competition, chosen from 32,823 submissions. The original Southern Cross stars had varying point counts (from five to nine points).