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General Information & Statistics About Queensland

If you’re a well-informed traveller or thinking of moving to Queensland, you’re probably after some more detailed information about the state and what everyday life is like here. Much like the holiday destinations, life in Queensland is generally more laid back than many other locations in Australia.

Take a look at the weather and climate in the regions and towns you’re going to be visiting so you know what to pack. The last thing you want is to be caught unprepared while on holiday.

You can browse through up to date news articles and Statisticsby town or region to get an unbiased account of everyday events and demographics in Queensland.

Our Moving to Queensland guide should answer any remaining questions you have about this state. Browse through to help you decide which region best suites you and your family. You can find the coastal towns best suited to fishing, boarding or swimming, check up on the schools in the area and the facilities available to residents.

Queensland is the Sunshine State of Australia, known for its tropical weather. It occupies 1.7 million square kilometres of land (3 times the size of Texas) in the northeast corner of Australia.

As of March 2012 the Queensland population was at approximately 4.5 million. In September of 2012 unemployment was sitting at 6.1%.

Last financial year the state received approximately 20 million visitors, both domestic and international, spending over $35 billion dollars.

Queensland is neighboured by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean. The state is Australia's second largest by area, following Western Australia, and the country's third most populous after New South Wales and Victoria.

The population is concentrated in the south-east corner, which includes the capital Brisbane, Logan City, Ipswich, Toowoomba, and the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. Other major regional centres include Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, Bundaberg, and Mount Isa. Queensland is often nicknamed the Sunshine State, since it enjoys warm weather and a sizable portion of the state is in the tropics.

The area was first colonised by Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, who arrived between 40,000 and 65,000 years ago, according to various dating methods.

Later, Queensland was made a British Crown Colony that was separated from New South Wales on 6 June 1859. The area that currently forms Brisbane was originally the Moreton Bay penal colony, intended as a place for repeatedly re-offending convicts who had offended while serving out their sentences in New South Wales.

The state later encouraged free settlement, and today Queensland's economy is dominated by the agricultural, tourist and natural resource sectors.