Victoria (state)

Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a <a href="/facts/States_and_territories_of_Australia/kUd6AV5c">state</a> in southeastern <a href="/facts/Australia/qLHpbppq">Australia</a>. It is the second-smallest state (after <a href="/facts/Tasmania/q3dubPTt">Tasmania</a>), with a land area of 227,444 km2 (87,817 sq mi); the second-most-populated state (after <a href="/facts/New_South_Wales/aW7eJXSS">New South Wales</a>), with a population of over 7 million; and the most densely populated state in Australia (30.6 per km2). Victoria's economy is the <a href="/facts/List_of_Australian_states_and_territories_by_gross_state_product/nleS9fl0">second-largest among Australian states</a> and is highly diversified, with service sectors predominating.
Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north and <a href="/facts/South_Australia/R7UdxV97">South Australia</a> to the west and is bounded by the <a href="/facts/Bass_Strait/9nC9r2Wl">Bass Strait</a> to the south (with the exception of a small land border with <a href="/facts/Tasmania/q3dubPTt">Tasmania</a> located along <a href="/facts/Boundary_Islet/FSVfhY6X">Boundary Islet</a>), the <a href="/facts/Southern_Ocean/F15W9ADT">Southern Ocean</a> to the southwest, and the <a href="/facts/Tasman_Sea/oTAF2bs3">Tasman Sea</a> (a <a href="/facts/Marginal_sea/FN5pXXrv">marginal sea</a> of the <a href="/facts/South_Pacific_Ocean/bdxgXRVM">South Pacific Ocean</a>) to the southeast. The state encompasses a range of climates and geographical features from its <a href="/facts/Temperate_climate/6WPypCzC">temperate</a> coastal and central regions to the <a href="/facts/Victorian_Alps/fq9CAYqR">Victorian Alps</a> in the northeast and the <a href="/facts/Semi-arid_climate/XnSYao1E">semi-arid</a> northwest.
The majority of the Victorian population is concentrated in the central-south area surrounding <a href="/facts/Port_Phillip/UfY7zotn">Port Phillip</a>, and in particular within the <a href="/facts/Metropolitan_area/IKeV26lu">metropolitan area</a> of <a href="/facts/Greater_Melbourne/EHY9YxI0">Greater Melbourne</a>, Victoria's state capital and <a href="/facts/List_of_places_in_Victoria_by_population/GFCCsgNU">largest city</a> and also <a href="/facts/List_of_cities_in_Australia_by_population/VIA3PwXr">Australia's second-largest city</a>, where over three-quarters of the culturally diverse population live (35.1% of inhabitants being <a href="/facts/Immigration_to_Australia/8msJ84VH">immigrants</a>). The state is also home to <a href="/facts/List_of_cities_in_Australia_by_population/VIA3PwXr">four of Australia's 20 largest cities</a>: <a href="/facts/Melbourne/EHY9YxI0">Melbourne</a>, <a href="/facts/Geelong/P1RLNadR">Geelong</a>, <a href="/facts/Ballarat/8FFdS0Cz">Ballarat</a> and <a href="/facts/Bendigo/webb6f9e">Bendigo</a>.
Victoria is home to numerous <a href="/facts/Aboriginal_Australians/DNAQ5z5m">Aboriginal</a> groups, including the <a href="/facts/Boonwurrung/SyX1Mpkd">Boonwurrung</a>, the <a href="/facts/Bratauolung_people/IKeJ11bW">Bratauolung</a>, the <a href="/facts/Djadjawurrung/6eDXzufN">Djadjawurrung</a>, the <a href="/facts/Gunai_people/qd3NwxII">Gunai</a>, the <a href="/facts/Gunditjmara/Cv4bxIeP">Gunditjmara</a>, the <a href="/facts/Taungurung/9S96kpN3">Taungurung</a>, the <a href="/facts/Wathaurong/8R9kpwaz">Wathaurong</a>, the <a href="/facts/Wurundjeri/soVVHxMm">Wurundjeri</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Yorta_Yorta/qR2keTd8">Yorta Yorta</a>. There were more than 30 <a href="/facts/Australian_Aboriginal_languages/qgJ0HxDm">Aboriginal languages</a> spoken in the area prior to European colonisation. In 1770 <a href="/facts/James_Cook/wy3cXCXp">James Cook</a> claimed the east coast of the <a href="/facts/Australia_(continent)/moNlN1Qk">Australian continent</a> for the <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Great_Britain/5yBEtQIt">Kingdom of Great Britain</a>. The first European settlement in the area occurred in 1803 at <a href="/facts/Sullivan_Bay%2c_Victoria/HjAX51E7">Sullivan Bay</a>. Much of Victoria was included in 1836 in the <a href="/facts/Port_Phillip_District/gorNLnlD">Port Phillip District</a> of New South Wales.
Named in honour of <a href="/facts/Queen_Victoria/CgxSlQ4g">Queen Victoria</a>, Victoria was separated from New South Wales and established as a separate <a href="/facts/Crown_colony/RnCkfdDR">Crown colony</a> in 1851, achieving <a href="/facts/Responsible_government/gSgDvLlf">responsible government</a> in 1855. The <a href="/facts/Victorian_gold_rush/fAs5XhQ5">Victorian gold rush</a> in the 1850s and 1860s significantly increased Victoria's population and wealth. By the time of <a href="/facts/Federation_of_Australia/fRsBVbCb">Australian Federation</a> in 1901, Melbourne had become the largest city in <a href="/facts/Australasia/KCCr5pqh">Australasia</a>, and was the seat of Federal government until <a href="/facts/Canberra/V2PldFRs">Canberra</a> became the national capital in 1927. The state continued to grow strongly through various periods of the 20th and 21st centuries due to high levels of international and interstate migration. Melbourne hosts a number of museums, art galleries, and theatres; in 2016 a sports marketing company named it the world's sporting capital.
Victoria has 38 seats in the <a href="/facts/Australian_House_of_Representatives/3AvaDHs4">Australian House of Representatives</a> and 12 seats in the <a href="/facts/Senate_(Australia)/GKchMHVa">Australian Senate</a>. At state level, the <a href="/facts/Parliament_of_Victoria/flFnwaz5">Parliament of Victoria</a> consists of the <a href="/facts/Victorian_Legislative_Assembly/fq8ml0N6">Legislative Assembly</a> and the <a href="/facts/Victorian_Legislative_Council/WE6Up07x">Legislative Council</a>. The <a href="/facts/Australian_Labor_Party_(Victorian_Branch)/Q347sts7">Labor Party</a>, led by <a href="/facts/Jacinta_Allan/qoo78RrI">Jacinta Allan</a> as <a href="/facts/Premier_of_Victoria/p4F9MKTI">premier</a>, has governed Victoria since 2014. The <a href="/facts/Governor_of_Victoria/3axrXrsP">Governor of Victoria</a>, the representative of the <a href="/facts/Monarchy_of_Australia/VtYG3Emt">monarch</a> in the state, is currently <a href="/facts/Margaret_Gardner/ICDah42V">Margaret Gardner</a>. Victoria is divided into <a href="/facts/Local_government_areas_of_Victoria/SdzKAAkx">79 local government areas</a>, as well as several <a href="/facts/Unincorporated_areas/q4EGarYy">unincorporated areas</a> which the state administers directly.

Victoria (state) open-in-new

Victoria (state)