About Australia
Australia is one of the leading destinations for students who are looking to study abroad, and every year the number of international students increases. Over 500,000 international students, including 85,000 Indian students, chose to study in Australia last year. There are many factors that contribute to the popularity of Australia as a study abroad destination, with the low cost of living and tuition fees and excellent lifestyle and weather being important contributors.
Major cities include Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Darwin, Hobart and the country's capital, Canberra. The population of the country is small, at approximately 21 million, and is mostly found along the eastern and south-eastern coasts of the country, while the interior is flat, barren and sparsely populated.
An outdoor lifestyle and love of sports punctuates Australian life. With more than 80 per cent of Australians living within 50 kilometers of the coast, urban and secluded beaches are popular for leisure and holiday activities. The most popular watched sport in Australia is Australian Rules Football, with rugby, cricket, tennis, swimming, and of course surfing and yachting all popular participant and spectator sports
Australian culture
Australia has a large multicultural population: approximately 23 per cent of the populations are foreign born and almost 40 per cent are of mixed cultural origins. With such a mixture of people, you'll find a rich cultural scene on offer with a number of literature, arts and crafts, music, theatre and dance festivals celebrating indigenous, colonial and other cultures.
Quality of life in Australia is extremely high, with excellent public services, low crime rates and very affordable living. Food plays an important part in the social scene, and Australians enjoy relaxed and informal barbeques, or 'barbies' with friends and family. Local gastronomy includes seafood, local produce and internationally famous wine production. Various ethnic groups have also contributed to the richness of Australia's cuisine, from Greek to Vietnamese and Cantonese to Indian.
Flying time to Australia from India can vary between 15 to 20 hours. Many international airliners offer frequent flights to Sydney, Perth and other major airports in Australia, with most of them having stops in Malaysia, Singapore and Dubai. Flights to Australia often vary greatly in price, so it pays to shop around for the best fare.
Australian cities and towns have excellent public and private transportation systems, which include ferries (in coastal towns) along with trains, trams and buses. Using public transportation is often the cheapest way to get around. Some cities, like Melbourne, also have a very developed network of bicycle paths.