Australia vs New Zealand

Why people mix them up

The flags are the main problem: both are blue ensigns with the Union Jack in the corner and the Southern Cross constellation on the fly. Add that both are English-speaking former British colonies in the south-west Pacific, both use dollars, both are rugby and cricket nations, and that they are often shown together on maps and in travel brochures, and it is easy to see why they merge in people's minds. Geographically they are clearly separate: about 2,000 km of Tasman Sea lies between them.

How to tell them apart

• Australia's flag has six white stars, including a large seven-pointed Commonwealth Star under the Union Jack; New Zealand's has only four stars, and they are red with white borders.
• Australia is one huge landmass, about 7.7 million km²; New Zealand is two main islands totalling roughly 268,000 km².
• Australia has about 26 million people; New Zealand has around 5 million.
• New Zealand has Māori as an official language alongside English; Australia's working language is English only.
• The capitals are Canberra (Australia) and Wellington (New Zealand).
• New Zealand lies to the south-east of Australia, further from the equator, with the Southern Alps running down its South Island.

Memory hook

"Four red for New Zealand, six white for the wide one." More stars and more land both belong to Australia; the small country gets the small, red constellation.

On the map

For Australia, scroll to the bottom-right of the world map, below Indonesia, and tap the giant continent-sized country sitting on its own. For New Zealand, look to the south-east of Australia, across the Tasman Sea, and tap the pair of long islands angled from north-east to south-west. If you are tapping one single enormous shape, it is Australia; if it is two slim islands, it is New Zealand.