Jan 072023
Overview of Australia – Economy

Australia’s economy is the 12th largest in the world, and its per capita GDP makes it one of the richest countries globally. The country’s abundant natural resources are also among the key reasons for its economic prosperity.

Overview of Australia
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Australian Economy

Overview
source
 CIA World Fact Book
(2010)
 
Australia’s abundant and diverse natural resources attract high levels of foreign investment and include extensive reserves of coal, iron ore, copper, gold, natural gas, uranium, and renewable energy sources. A series of major investments, such as the US$40 billion Gorgon Liquid Natural Gas project, will significantly expand the resources sector. Australia also has a large services sector and is a significant exporter of natural resources, energy, and food. Key tenets of Australia’s trade policy include support for open trade and the successful culmination of the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations, particularly for agriculture and services. The Australian economy grew for 17 consecutive years before the global financial crisis. Subsequently, the Rudd government introduced a fiscal stimulus package worth over US$50 billion to offset the effect of the slowing world economy, while the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates to historic lows. These policies – and continued demand for commodities, especially from China – helped the Australian economy rebound after just one quarter of negative growth. The economy grew by 1.2% during 2009 – the best performance in the OECD – and by 3.3% in 2010. Unemployment, originally expected to reach 8-10%, peaked at 5.7% in late 2009 and fell to 5.1% in 2010. As a result of an improved economy, the budget deficit is expected to peak below 4.2% of GDP and the government could return to budget surpluses as early as 2015. Australia was one of the first advanced economies to raise interest rates, with seven rate hikes between October 2009 and November 2010. The government is focused on raising Australia’s economic productivity to ensure the sustainability of growth, and continues to manage the symbiotic, but sometimes tense, economic relationship with China. Australia is engaged in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks and ongoing free trade agreement negotiations with China, Japan, and Korea.
Fiscal year1 July – 30 June
Exchange ratesAustralian dollars per US dollar – 1.0902 (2010), 1.2822 (2009), 1.2059  (2007), 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006), 1.3095 (2005), 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002)
GDPreal growth rate
per capita (PPP)
by sector
3.9% (2010 est)
$41,000 (2010 est), $40,400 (2009 est), $40,300 (2008 est)
agriculture 4%, industry 24.8%, services 71.2% (2010 est)
Labour force11.62 million (2010 est)
agriculture 3.6%, industry 21.1%, services 75% (2009 est)
Unemployment rate5.1% (2010 est), 5.6% (2009 est)
Inflation rate2.9% (2010 est), 1.8% (2009 est), 2.3% (2007 est)
Commercial bank prime lending rate6.02% (2009 est), 8.91% (2008 est)
Agriculture – productswheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits, cattle, sheep, poultry
Industriesmining, industrial & transport equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel
Electricityproduction
consumption
239.9 billion kWh (2007 est), 236.7 billion kWh (2005)
222.0 billion kWh (2007 est), 219.8 billion kWh (2005)
Oilproduction
consumption
exports
imports
proved reserves
589,200 bbl/day (2009 est), 572,400 bbl/day (2005 est)
946,300 bbl/day (2009 est), 903,200 bbl/day (2005 est)
311,900 bbl/day (2008 est), 333,200 bbl/day (2004)
716,700 bbl/day (2008 est), 611,400 bbl/day (2004)
3.318 billion bbl (2010 est), 1.437 billion bbl (2006)
Natural gasproduction
consumption
exports
imports
proved reserves
42.33 billion cu m (2009 est), 38.62 billion cu m (2008 est)
26.59 billion cu m (2009 est), 25.72 billion cu m (2005 est)
23.20 billion cu m (2009 est), 11.90 billion cu m (2005 est)
6.56 billion cu m (2009 est)
3.115 trillion cu m (2010 est), 750.6 billion cu m (2006 est)
Current account balance$-35.23 billion (2010 est), $-41.33 billion (2009 est), $-56.2 billion (2007 est)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold$38.62 billion (2010 est), $41.74 billion (2009 est)
Debt – external$1,169 trillion (2010 est), $1.094 trillion (2009 est), $824.9 billion (2007)
Exports$210.7 billion (2010 est), $154.8 billion (2009 est), $141.7 billion (2007 est)
Imports$200.4 billion (2010 est), $160.4 billion (2009 est), $159.4 billion (2007 est)
Commoditiesexportscoal, iron ore, gold, meat, wool, alumina, wheat, machinery and transport equipment
importsmachinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products
Partners
 
exports
(2009)
China 21.8%, Japan 19.2%, South Korea 7.9%, India 7.5%, US 4.9%, UK 4.4%, NZ 4.1% (2009)
exports
(2006)
Japan 19.1%, China 14.3%, South Korea 8%, India 5.9%, US 5.8%, NZ 5.2%
imports
(2009)
China 17.9%, US 11.3%, Japan 8.4%, Thailand 5.8%, Singapore 5.5%, Germany 5.3%
imports
(2006)
China 14.5%, US 13%, Japan 9.6%, Singapore 6.2%, Germany 5.2%, UK 4.5%, Thailand 4%

Updated August 2011. You may notice that we show information from a variety of dates. We are unable to find the same type of information for more recent dates than what we show here. The information provided above is for entertainment purposes only. For more information, please visit any of the Australian government websites and the CIA World Fact Book


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