Tasmania (/tæzˈmeɪniə/;, abbreviated as Tas and known colloquially as "Tassie") is an island state of Australia. It is located 240 km (150 mi) to the south of the Australian mainland, separated by Bass Strait. The state encompasses the main island of Tasmania, the 26th-largest island in the world, and the surrounding 334 islands. The state has a population of around 519,100 as of June 2016^[update], just over forty percent of which resides in the Greater Hobart precinct, which forms the metropolitan area of the state capital and largest city, Hobart.

Tasmania's area is 68,401 km² (26,410 sq mi), of which the main island covers 64,519 km² (24,911 sq mi). Promoted as a natural state; protected areas of Tasmania cover about 42% of the land area of the state, which includes national parks and World Heritage Sites. Tasmania was the founding place of the first environmental party in the world. Though an island state, due to a mapping error the state shares a land border with Victoria at its northernmost terrestrial point, Boundary Islet, a nature reserve in Bass Strait. The Bishop and Clerk Islets, about 37 km south of Macquarie Island, are the southernmost terrestrial point of the state of Tasmania, and the southernmost internationally recognised land in Australia.

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