The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia occupying the central and central-northern regions of the continent. It shares borders with Western Australia to the west, South Australia to the south and Queensland to the east, while its northern coastline faces the Timor Sea, Arafura Sea and Gulf of Carpentaria.
Covering 1,347,791 square kilometres, the Northern Territory ranks as Australia’s third-largest federal division yet remains sparsely populated, with around 260,400 people as of March 2025. More than half live in the capital, Darwin, while Alice Springs, roughly 1,500 kilometres to the south, is the largest inland settlement. Archaeological evidence suggests human occupation stretches back over 60,000 years. British colonisation attempts failed three times before Port Darwin was successfully established in 1869. Today the economy relies heavily on mining and petroleum, which account for the majority of exports, and the population clusters along the coast and the Stuart Highway.
The Northern Territory appears in Field Notes: Tiwi rangers complete eradication of tropical fire ants from Melville Island.
