Sooner or later every child asks: how many states are there, and is Canberra one of them? Learning the states and territories of Australia is one of the first big map skills at school, and it’s easy to make into a game at home. Here are the six states and two territories with their capitals, the biggest and smallest, the emblems kids love, and some quick map games to play together.
How many states and territories does Australia have?
Tourism Australia puts it simply: “The country is divided into six states and two territories.” The six states are New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania. The two territories on the mainland are the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the Northern Territory (NT).
| State or territory | Capital city |
|---|---|
| New South Wales (NSW) | Sydney |
| Victoria (Vic) | Melbourne |
| Queensland (Qld) | Brisbane |
| South Australia (SA) | Adelaide |
| Western Australia (WA) | Perth |
| Tasmania (Tas) | Hobart |
| Australian Capital Territory (ACT) | Canberra, the nation’s capital |
| Northern Territory (NT) | Darwin |
So the answer to “are there 6 or 7 states?” is six. Children often count the ACT or the NT as states, which is an easy mix-up: there are eight areas on the map, but two of them are territories.
Australia also looks after some smaller territories, such as the Jervis Bay Territory on the NSW coast and island territories like Norfolk Island and Christmas Island. Geoscience Australia lists seven territories remote from the mainland, including the Australian Antarctic Territory. They’re a fun extra for curious kids, but the six states and two mainland territories are what children learn first.
Is Canberra a state?
No. Canberra is a city, not a state. It’s the capital city of Australia, and it sits inside the Australian Capital Territory, the ACT. Tourism Australia describes the ACT as “home to the nation’s capital, Canberra”.
That gives kids a neat puzzle: Canberra is the capital of the ACT and the capital of the whole country. Sydney is the capital of New South Wales, but not of Australia, even though it has the most people.
What is the difference between a state and a territory?
For a young child, “states and territories are both parts of Australia, and each has its own capital city” is plenty. For older children, a simple version is that the states run many of their own affairs under Australia’s Constitution, while the territories’ powers come from the federal Parliament in Canberra. Day to day, both have their own schools, hospitals and parliaments, which is why school holidays and the name of the first year of school can differ from place to place.
Which is the biggest state, and which is the smallest?
Geoscience Australia’s figures make this a great question for a map. Western Australia is the largest state by far, with 32.9% of Australia’s area, about a third of the whole country. Tasmania is the smallest state. The ACT is the smallest of all eight.
| State or territory | Share of Australia’s area |
|---|---|
| Western Australia | 32.9% |
| Queensland | 22.5% |
| Northern Territory | 17.5% |
| South Australia | 12.8% |
| New South Wales | 10.4% |
| Victoria | 3.0% |
| Tasmania | 0.9% |
| Australian Capital Territory | less than 1% |
A surprise for many kids: the Northern Territory is bigger than South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, even though it isn’t a state.
Which state has the most people?
The Australian Bureau of Statistics counted 27,921,150 people in Australia at 31 March 2026. From the most people to the fewest, the order is New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory.
Put the two lists side by side and ask your child what they notice. New South Wales has the most people, but Western Australia has the most land. The Northern Territory is huge, but it has the fewest people of all.
State and territory emblems
Every state and territory has its own floral emblem and animal emblems. The national floral emblem is the golden wattle. Here are the state and territory flowers and one animal for each, from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet:
| Place | Flower | Animal |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | Waratah | Platypus |
| Victoria | Common pink heath | Leadbeater’s possum |
| Queensland | Cooktown orchid | Koala |
| SA | Sturt’s desert pea | Hairy-nosed wombat |
| WA | Red and green kangaroo paw | Numbat |
| Tasmania | Tasmanian blue gum | Tasmanian devil |
| ACT | Royal bluebell | Southern brush-tailed rock-wallaby |
| NT | Sturt’s desert rose | Red kangaroo |
Two to watch: South Australia’s flower is Sturt’s desert pea, and the Northern Territory’s is Sturt’s desert rose. Most places have a bird emblem too, such as the laughing kookaburra for NSW and the black swan for WA. The Tasmanian devil, PM&C notes, “is known as purinina by First Nations Australians.”
The same land, many Countries
The map of states and territories is only one way to see Australia. Long before there were states, this land was, and still is, made up of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Countries, each with its own peoples and languages. Both the national and Victorian curricula teach the two side by side. The Australian Curriculum even suggests comparing the AIATSIS Map of Indigenous Australia with the states and territories map, “to gain an appreciation of the different ways Australia can be represented”.
KidStudy’s History lesson First Peoples and Country, for Year 3, is a gentle place to start that conversation. Our post on explaining Anzac Day and Remembrance Day has more ideas for talking about Australia’s history with young children.
When do kids learn the states and territories at school?
It depends on where you live:
- In Victoria, it starts early. The Victorian Curriculum 2.0 Geography for Foundation to Level 2 includes “the representation of Australia as states and territories and Countries and Places, and Australia’s major features and places” (VC2HG2K04). So children may meet it any time from Prep (Foundation) to Year 2.
- In the Australian Curriculum, used in most other states and territories, it’s in Year 3 (AC9HS3K03). One suggested activity is “using geographical tools to locate and name the states and territories in Australia, along with their capital cities”.
Emblems come up in Year 3 too: the national curriculum covers “symbols and emblems that are important to Australia’s identity”, including floral emblems (AC9HS3K02).
Map games to play at home
A printed map of Australia, or one you draw together, is all you need. Keep each game to five or ten minutes.
- Map jigsaw. Print or draw a map with the state borders, cut out each state and territory, and put Australia back together. Name each piece as it goes in.
- Capital snap. Make 16 cards: eight with a state or territory, eight with a capital city. Turn them face down and play a memory game to find the pairs.
- Weather map watch. When the weather comes on the news, ask “Which capital is the hottest today? Which state is Darwin in?”
- Where does everyone live? Put a sticker on the map for each place a friend or relative lives, or where you’ve been on holidays.
- Biggest to smallest. Line up the cut-out pieces from biggest to smallest, then check with the table above. Most kids are amazed by Western Australia.
- Emblem hunt. Look for wattle, kangaroo paw or a waratah in gardens, parks and picture books, then find which state each one belongs to.
For more learning that fits around family life, our summer holiday plan has ten-minute ideas, and a road trip is the perfect time to spot state borders.
Questions parents ask
How many states and territories does Australia have?
Six states and two mainland territories. The states are New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania, and the territories are the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory.
What are the 6 states of Australia and their capitals?
New South Wales (Sydney), Victoria (Melbourne), Queensland (Brisbane), South Australia (Adelaide), Western Australia (Perth) and Tasmania (Hobart). The territories’ capitals are Canberra (ACT) and Darwin (NT).
Is Canberra a state?
No. Canberra is a city. It is the capital of Australia and sits in the Australian Capital Territory, which is a territory, not a state.
What is the difference between a state and a territory in Australia?
Both are parts of Australia with their own capital city. The states run many of their own affairs under the Constitution, while a territory’s powers come from the federal Parliament.
Which is the biggest state in Australia, and which is the smallest?
Western Australia is the biggest, with about a third of Australia’s area. Tasmania is the smallest state, and the Australian Capital Territory is the smallest of all eight.
Is Tasmania a state?
Yes. Tasmania is one of Australia’s six states. Its capital is Hobart, and it is the smallest state by area.
Sources
- Cities, states and territories, Tourism Australia
- Area of Australia: states and territories, Geoscience Australia
- Remote offshore territories, Geoscience Australia
- National, state and territory population, March 2026, Australian Bureau of Statistics
- State and territory symbols, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
- HASS F–6: Year 3, Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority
- Victorian Curriculum F–10 Version 2.0: Geography, VCAA
