New South Wales, located in the south – east region of Australia, encompasses the entire region of the Australian Capital Territory. It is the most populated state of Australia. Sydney is the capital and the largest city of the state. New South Wales is abbreviated as NSW and this short form is generally more commonly used. The residents of the state are referred to as New South Welsh or New South Welshmen. At the end of June 2010, 7.24 million people were estimated to reside in the state of New South Wales.
Queensland is situated to the north of the state and Victoria is located to its south. New South Wales is bordered by the State of South Australia on the west and the Tasman Sea on the east. Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle are the three biggest cities of New South Wales. Many forests can be found in New South Wales. The western slopes and plains, which occupy a large part of the state, are arid or semi-arid and sparsely populated. Agriculture is a major occupation in the Western slopes.
The Snowy Mountains, part of the Great Dividing Ranges lie in this state. Skiing is a favourite sport in this region. The peaks of many mountains exceed 1,000 metres. The Central, Northern and Southern Tablelands, the South West Slopes and the Southern Highlands also form part of the Great Dividing Ranges, located within NSW.
On the whole, New South Wales experiences an arid or semi-arid weather. While the eastern region mostly has temperate, wet climate, the southern region experiences cold weather. The climate ranges from cool to cold in the Snowy Mountains region, where snowfall is common in winter.
The steel and shipbuilding industry dominated the economy of New South Wales, few decades ago. Since the 1970’s however, the state has achieved rapid economic growth and transformation. New industries like information technology and financial services have replaced the old industries. Agriculture continues to contribute to the economy; however, production has declined over the years. The Central Business District of Sydney houses the Australian headquarters of many companies. Many international IT companies have set up their headquarters in the Macquarie Park region. The NSW Business Chamber with over 30,000 members, represents the business community of the State.
Sydney is a major tourist attraction and tourism provides employment to over 8% of the workforce. Places like the North Coast, Byron Bay and Coffs Harbour have developed as tourist destinations over a period of time. The Northern Tablelands produce the world's finest wools, apart from quality lambs and beef cattle. Hunter Valley is renowned for its many vineyards and quality wines produced. The region of Riverina is estimated to be the largest wine producer in the State. The largest thoroughbred horse breeding grounds in Australia is situated at Scone, in the Hunter Valley. NSW boasts of one-third of the country's sheep, apart from cattle and pigs. The State contributes about half of Australia’s timber production.
NSW has 780 national parks and reserves, teeming with wildlife. Several rainforests, rugged bush, waterfalls, outback deserts and marine wonderlands form part of the landscape in the region.