Canberra

About

• Canberra is the capital of Australia located in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) which is Australia's smallest territory and the largest inland territory located at the North end of the ACT.
• Canberra's location puts it at the heart of south-east Australia, close to major agricultural and commercial centres and centred between a majority of the country's population.
• Canberra’s population is estimated to be 410,301, where 50.5% of the population are females and 49.5% are males.
• The top ancestries in Canberra are Australian, English, Scottish, Irish and German.
• The top five languages spoken in Canberra other than English are Mandarin, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Italian and Spanish.
• The top countries of birth in Canberra are Australia, England, China, India, New Zealand and Vietnam.
• The Canberra population is made up of 26% Catholics, 15 % Anglicans, 28% having no religious affiliation, 7.5% have not stated a religion, and the rest are made up of minorities in Buddhism, Islam, Uniting Church, Presbyterian and Reformed.
• In 2018, The Lonely Planet ranked Caberra the third top destination in the world as the “ Best in Travel” cities, with its world-class education institutions, dining and entertainment and some of Australia’s best natural settings.
• Canberra is known as Australia’s Bush capital, as a majority of its skyline is dotted with mountain ranges, from Black Mountain, Mount Ainslie, Red Hill, National Arboretum to Mount Stromlo.
• The Parliament, High Court, the official residence of the Monarch’s representative, and several other government departments and agencies are located within Canberra.
• Canberra also houses the National Library, The Australian War Memorial, Royal Australian Mint, National Museum, the National Gallery, Australian Institute of Sport, Australian War memorial and Australian National University.
• Canberra’s key industries include the service sector, public administration, professional services, and education and training.

Culture

• Canberra is referred to as “Australia’s Meeting Place” for diverse cultures, ideas and opportunities. The city has a very strong sense of community, with over a quarter of its residents being born overseas.
• Canberra is home to excellent entertainment and sporting venues, fresh food markets, wineries and other national cultural institutions.
• Canberra is considered home to some of the country’s most iconic cultural attractions from art, history, science, literature, film, science to nature, offering something for everyone.
• Each year Canberra hosts several events from the National Multicultural Festival, Enlighten Art and Cultural Festival, Canberra Balloon Spectacular, Skyfire March Fireworks festival, Floriade Flower Festival to several other concerts, gallery exhibitions and food festivals.
• Canberra houses several award-winning restaurants, historic museums, natural landmarks, including both national and international art collections, the Parliament House, National Gallery of Australia, National Museum of Australia, Australian War Memorial and the National Dinosaur museum.
• The National Gallery of Australia is world-renowned for its 7500+ works of aboriginal art, displayed in its 13 galleries; including watercolours, textile paitings, prints, dot and bark paintings, ceramic to sculptures.
• Canberra is popular for its wineries, with over 30 wineries located within the city and outer city limits of Canberra.
• The Namadgi Nagtional Park in the Southwest of Canberra, has several hiking, walking and cycling trails for those who prefer to enjoy a more natural approach to taking in the city’s history.
• The Canberra Glassworks is the only Contemporary glass art cultural centre in Australia.

Climate

Canberra has a warm and temperate climate with significant rainfall; aproximately 638mm each year. It has warm and hot summers and clear, crisp winters. Autumn is colourful with hues of red, orange and yellow, and spring days can be described as “balmy”. Canberra experiences a greater amount of sunshine than Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide.

January is usually the warmest month of the year, with an average temperature of 20 degrees Celsius and July is the coldest with average temperatures of 5.5 degrees Celsius.

The average annual temperature in Canberra is 13 degrees Celsius.

University Education

In Canberra, creativity and innovation lead to outstanding achievements in science, education, business and research.

In 2014, the OECD Index listed Canberra as the Best City in the world for quality of life, health, income, environment, education, safety, housing, access to services, and civic engagement.The QS Best student Ranking also rates Canberra within the top 25 Best student Cities in its 2018 publication.

Canberra is home to five world-class Universities, and several vocational and training institutions, including the Australian Catholic University, Australian National University, University of Canberra and Charles Sturt University. It is also home to the TAFE; Canberra Institute of Technology.

Canberra has the highest number of on-campus student accomodation options, compared with other cities across Australia.

The city of Canberra offers several employment opportunities for students both during their studies and post graduation.

Higher Education Institutions

Universities

• The Australian National University (ANU)
• University of Canberra
• Charles Sturt University (CSU)
• Australian Catholic University (ACU)

TAFEs

• Canberra Institute of Technology