Welcome to Northern Territory!
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the Central Northern regions. It is bordered to the west by Western Australia, to the east by Queensland and to the south by South Australia.
With a land area near Mongolia in size but with only a quarter million inhabitants, the Northern Territory is known as the "real outback", representing nature on a grand scale and containing some of the most recognisable natural icons in Australia. The Northern Territory contains hundreds of rare species of flora, native wildlife and, of course, crocodiles in the territory’s 52 national parks and nature conservation reserves, while the outback offers vast wide-open spaces and pioneering journeys.
The NT is also renowned for the Aboriginal cultural experiences it offers. With 30% of the Territory's population being Aboriginal compared to 3% for the nation as a whole, the NT offers a rich array of Aboriginal culture with its 60,000-year-old traditions – including basket weaving, spear fishing, story telling, rock art and bush tucker tastings on Aboriginal guided tours. The territory also contains the world’s biggest collection of Aboriginal art.
The Northern Territory (NT, formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Australia to the west (129th meridian east), South Australia to the south (26th parallel south), and Queensland to the east (138th meridian east). To the north, the territory looks out to the Timor Sea, the Arafura Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria, including Western New Guinea and other islands of the Indonesian archipelago.
The NT covers 1,349,129 square kilometres (520,902 sq mi), making it the third-largest Australian federal division, and the 11th-largest country subdivision in the world. It is sparsely populated, with a population of only 247,000 as of September 2021 – fewer than half as many people as in Tasmania. The largest population center is the capital city of Darwin.
The archaeological history of the Northern Territory may have begun more than 60,000 years ago when humans first settled this region of the Sahul Continent. Reportedly the Makassan traders began a relationship with the indigenous people of the Northern Territory around the trading of trepang from at least the 18th century. The coast of the territory was first seen by Europeans in the 17th century. The British were the first Europeans to attempt to settle the coastal regions. After three failed attempts to establish a settlement (1824–28, 1838–49, and 1864–66), success was achieved in 1869 with the establishment of a settlement at Port Darwin.
The economy is based largely on mining and petroleum, which during 2018–2019 contributed 23% of the gross state product, or $5.68 billion, accounting for 92.4% of exports.The territory’s population is concentrated in coastal regions and along the Stuart Highway. Besides the capital of Darwin, the major settlements are (in order of size) Palmerston, Alice Springs, Katherine, Nhulunbuy and Tennant Creek. Residents of the Northern Territory are often known simply as "Territorians" and fully as "Northern Territorians", or more informally as "Top Enders" and "Centralians".