The
Commonwealth of Australia is a country in the southern hemisphere
comprising the mainland of the world's smallest continent, the major
island of Tasmania, and numerous other islands in the Indian and Pacific
Oceans. The neighbouring countries are Indonesia, East Timor, and
Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New
Caledonia to the northeast, and New Zealand to the southeast. Australia
is the only country that is also a continent.