How many countries does Australia claim?

Question

I just never knew, if its 1 big country or the continent and country that have many smaller countries.

BTW-when was it discovered, in relation to the discovery of the 7 continents. (order of discovery)

Answer 1

Australia is one large country and the main part of a relatively small continent called Australasia.  That includes some islands that may sometimes be referred to as in southeast Asia; New Guinea and several somewhat west of there.

It was first discovered by humans by at least 40,000 years ago.  That was before people discovered either of the American continents or Antarctica.  At least, it's probably before anybody reached America, although some authors dispute that on a number of grounds.