Australia

Australia officially became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations in 1931 under the Statute of Westminster having become independent of the UK in 1901.

Australia is one of only six countries to have competed in all of the Commonwealth Games held since 1930, although they did attend the 1911 Empire Games as part of an Australasian team. This impressive international record extends to its participation in every Olympic Games in the modern era.

At the first Games in 1930 Australia won only 8 medals against England's 61. However by the first Games of the 21st century held in the city of Manchester Australia's medal tally had moved to 207, ahead of any other country and England's 165.

By the end of March 2006 Australia will have hosted the Commonwealth Games four times with the city of Melbourne completing the quartet (see link below).

The Australian Commonwealth Games Association (ACGA) organises their participation in the Commonwealth Games and is a separate entity to the Australian Olympic Committee.

Capital - Canberra

Area - 7,682,300 sq km

Population - 19,338,000

Time Zone - GMT +10:00

Language - English

Currency - Australian Dollar