Canberra is the capital of which country?

Canberra is the capital of Australia.

The city serves as the seat of Australia’s federal government and is located in the Australian Capital Territory, an enclave surrounded by New South Wales. Canberra was selected as a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne, which were Australia’s two largest and most influential cities when the colonies federated.

Australia became a federation on 1 January 1901. The new Constitution required a federal capital in New South Wales, provided it was at least 100 miles from Sydney. The Canberra region was chosen, and the territory was transferred to the Commonwealth in 1911. Canberra was formally named and proclaimed the capital in 1913.

Unlike many capitals that grew gradually, Canberra was deliberately planned. American architect Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin designed a city organized around geometric avenues, lakes, hills, and important national buildings. A frequent mix-up is naming Sydney or Melbourne: Sydney is Australia’s largest city, while Melbourne was the temporary seat of government before Canberra’s federal institutions moved there in 1927.