What is the largest state of Australia by area?

Western Australia is Australia’s largest state by area.

It occupies the western third of the continent and covers about 2.53 million square kilometres, making it larger than every other Australian state. Its capital, Perth, sits in the state’s southwest, far from many of the sparsely populated inland and northern regions. Western Australia’s coastline stretches along the Indian Ocean and includes the Kimberley, Pilbara, Coral Coast and Great Southern regions.

The state’s size is closely tied to its geography and economy. It contains vast deserts, including parts of the Great Sandy and Great Victoria deserts, as well as major iron-ore deposits in the Pilbara and extensive agricultural areas in the southwest. Mining and resource exports are especially important to its economy.

Queensland is sometimes chosen because it is also very large, but Western Australia is substantially bigger. The Northern Territory covers more land than several states, yet it is a territory rather than a state, so it does not change the answer.