Victoria (state)

Victoria
State
Flag Coat of arms
Nickname(s):  The Garden State[1]
Motto:  Peace and Prosperity
QLD NSW ACT WA NT SA VIC TAS Location of Victoria in Australia Coordinates: 36°51′15″S 144°16′52″E / 36.85417°S 144.28111°E / -36.85417; 144.28111
Country	Australia
Before federation	Colony of Victoria
Establishment separation from New South Wales	1 July 1851[2]
Responsible government	23 November 1855
Federation	1 January 1901
Named for	Queen Victoria
Capital and largest city	Melbourne 37°48′51″S 144°57′47″E / 37.81417°S 144.96306°E / -37.81417; 144.96306
Administration	79 local government areas
Demonym(s)	Victorian
Government
• Monarch	Charles III
• Governor	Margaret Gardner
• Premier	Jacinta Allan (ALP)
Legislature	Parliament of Victoria
• Upper house	Legislative Council
• Lower house	Legislative Assembly
Judiciary	Supreme Court of Victoria
Parliament of Australia
• Senate	12 senators (of 76)
• House of Representatives	39 seats (of 151)
Area
• Land	227,444[3] km2 (87,817 sq mi)
Highest elevation (Mount Bogong)	1,986 m (6,516 ft)
Population
• December 2022 estimate	6,704,300[4] (2nd)
• Density	29.5/km2 (76.4/sq mi) (2nd)
GSP	2020 estimate
• Total	AU$458.895 billion[5] (2nd)
• Per capita	AU$68,996 (6th)
HDI (2021)	0.948[6] very high · 4th
Time zone	UTC+10:00 (AEST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+11:00 (AEDT)
Postal abbreviation	VIC
ISO 3166 code	AU–VIC
Symbols
Bird	Helmeted honeyeater (Lichenostomus melanops cassidix)
Fish	Weedy seadragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus)
Flower	Common heath[7] (Epacris impressa)
Mammal	Leadbeater's possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri)
Colour(s)	Navy blue and silver[8]
Fossil	Koolasuchus cleelandi
Mineral	Gold[9]
Website	vic.gov.au

Victoria (commonly abbreviated as Vic) is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state, with a land area of 227,444 km² (87,817 sq mi); the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 6.7 million;^[4] and the most densely populated state^[10] in Australia (29.5 per km²). Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north and South Australia to the west and is bounded by the Bass Strait to the south (with the exception of a small land border with Tasmania located along Boundary Islet), the Great Australian Bight portion of the Southern Ocean to the southwest, and the Tasman Sea (a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean) to the southeast. The state encompasses a range of climates and geographical features from its temperate coastal and central regions to the Victorian Alps in the northeast and the semi-arid northwest.

The majority of the Victorian population is concentrated in the central-south area surrounding Port Phillip, and in particular within the metropolitan area of Greater Melbourne, Victoria's state capital and largest city and also Australia's second-largest city,^[11] where over three-quarters of the Victorian population live. The state is home to four of Australia's 20 largest cities: Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo. The population is culturally diverse, with 35.1% of inhabitants being immigrants.^[12]

Victoria is home to numerous Aboriginal groups, including the Boonwurrung, the Bratauolung, the Djadjawurrung, the Gunai, the Gunditjmara, the Taungurung, the Wathaurong, the Wurundjeri, and the Yorta Yorta.^[13] There were more than 30 Aboriginal languages spoken in the area prior to European colonisation. In 1770 James Cook claimed the east coast of the Australian continent for the Kingdom of Great Britain. The first European settlement in the area occurred in 1803 at Sullivan Bay. Much of what is now Victoria was included in 1836 in the Port Phillip District of New South Wales. Named in honour of Queen Victoria, Victoria was separated from New South Wales and established as a separate Crown colony in 1851, achieving responsible government in 1855.^[14] The Victorian gold rush in the 1850s and 1860s significantly increased Victoria's population and wealth. By the time of Australian Federation in 1901, Melbourne had become the largest city in Australasia, and was the seat of Federal government until Canberra became the national capital in 1927. The state continued to grow strongly through various periods of the 20th and early 21st centuries as a result of high levels of international and interstate migration.

Victoria has 38 seats in the Australian House of Representatives and 12 seats in the Australian Senate. At state level, the Parliament of Victoria consists of the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. The Labor Party, led by Jacinta Allan as premier, has governed Victoria since 2014. The Governor of Victoria, the representative of the monarch in the state, is currently Margaret Gardner. Victoria is divided into 79 local government areas, as well as several unincorporated areas which the state administers directly.

Victoria's economy is the second-largest among Australian states and is highly diversified, with service sectors predominating. Melbourne hosts a number of museums, art galleries, and theatres, and in 2016 a sport's marketing company named it the world's sporting capital.^[15][16]