Canberra, city, southeastern Australia, the capital of the country, in the Australian Capital Territory. Canberra is a modern, rapidly expanding city located on the Molonglo River (a tributary of the Murrumbidgee River) in a predominantly agricultural region. It is built around the artificially-created Lake Burley Griffin and is the economic center for the nearby communities of Woden-Weston Creek, Belconnen, and Queanbeyan. The government is the chief employer in Canberra, but tourism and light-manufacturing industries are growing.

Major landmarks in Canberra include the new Parliament House (opened in 1988); the Church of Saint John the Baptist (1840s); Captain Cook Memorial Water Jet, located in Lake Burley Griffin; and the Australian War Memorial, which includes a museum and an art gallery. Other sites include the National Library (1960); the Australian National Gallery (1982), housing works by Australian and other artists; the High Court of Australia building; and the civic center. Major educational institutions and academic organizations in the Canberra area are the Australian National University (1946), Canberra School of Music (1965), the University of Canberra (1990; formerly Canberra College of Advanced Education), the Australian Defence Force Academy (1981), the Australian Academy of Science (1954), and the Australian Academy of the Humanities (1969). Mount Stromlo Observatory is also here. Canberra serves as the headquarters of Australia's largest scientific research body, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization.

The site of Canberra was settled by Europeans in 1824, and in 1908 the sparsely populated area was chosen to be the capital of Australia. The American architect Walter Burley Griffin won an international competition for the design of the new city. Construction began in 1913 but was interrupted by World War I (1914-1918). Only in 1927 was the national parliament moved here from Melbourne, which had been its temporary seat since 1901. Canberra's population grew rapidly following World War II (1939-1945). Population (2001 estimate) 309,799.