Is It a Country? Or Is It a Continent?

It’s one of the most confusing things about Australia: is it a country? Or a continent? The short answer is that Australia is both, but things get a little bit more complicated than that. The Australian continent is often classified as Australia and Oceania, meaning it’s comprised not only of Australia but also of the many surrounding islands.

So, Australia is the world’s smallest continent, but it’s not the only country of the continent known as Australia and Oceania. New Zealand, for instance, is considered to be a microcontinent; Oceania also encompasses island nations such as Papua New Guinea, Polynesia, or Micronesia.