Aus ‧ tra ‧ li ‧ a /ɒˈstreɪliə $ ɔː-, ɑː-/ BrE AmE
a large island between the Indian Ocean and the southern Pacific Ocean, which is both a country and a ↑ continent (=one of the seven main areas of land on the earth) and part of the Pacific Rim. Population: 20,434,176 (2007). Capital: Canberra. Australia is a member of the British Commonwealth, and used to have close connections with the UK because the families of many Australians originally came from Britain and Ireland. More recently, many Australian citizens came from southern Europe and east Asia. The people who have lived in Australia since before Europeans arrived there are called the Aboriginal people.