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IRIS Tasmania  >  Tasmania at a Glance

Tasmania at a Glance

Tasmania is the southern-most state of Australia and is roughly the size of West Virginia or Ireland. The capital city, with about half the State's population, is Hobart. Other major regional cities are Launceston, Burnie and Devonport.

There are many advantages to living and working in Tasmania, including: very affordable housing, low work travel times, ready access to beaches, accessible mountains close to city centres, excellent public and private schooling and a top ranking University.Tasmania at a glance

Some facts and figures about Tasmania:

  • Language: English
  • Population: 494,520 as at September 2007. This is 3,419 more than in September 2006.
  • Australian Eastern Standard Time: UTC (Universal Time Coordinated) or GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) plus 10 hours. See the time now
  • Money: Australian Dollar, see exchange rate
  • Average weekly ordinary time earnings (full-time): See Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) information
  • Overseas merchandise exports reached $3.75 billion for the year to December 2007, an increase of 13.1% on the previous year (see ABS information)
  • Transport: Well-developed transport systems
    Road Rules: Drive on left, 50 km/h speed limit in most built-up areas, 100 km/h outside cities and towns unless otherwise indicated
  • Energy supply: Reliable, statewide hydro electricity grid, supplemented by natural gas generation
  • Telecommunications: Efficient, advanced telecommunications network
  • Water: Reliable water supply, advanced reticulation and wastewater treatment and disposal
  • Climate: Temperate maritime: Summer is from December to February when the average maximum temperature is 21 °C (70 °F). Winter is from June to August with an average maximum temperature of 12 °C (54 °F)
  • Education: 288 schools (215 government and 73 non-government) cater for around 90,000 kindergarten, primary, secondary and senior secondary students. The University of Tasmania (around 16,000 students) has three campuses (Hobart, Launceston and Burnie
  • Visiting Tasmania: All overseas visitors to Australia (Tasmania) (except New Zealand citizens) must obtain a visa prior to travel
  • Emergency services: Contact by dialling 000
  • Latest News: Read Tasmanian Government media releases