Short facts about the economy in Australia
| Economy -
overview: |
Australia has a prosperous
Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP at the level of the four
dominant West European economies. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a
major exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels.
Commodities account for 57% of the value of total exports, so that a downturn in
world commodity prices can have a big impact on the economy. The government is
pushing for increased exports of manufactured goods, but competition in
international markets continues to be severe. While Australia has suffered from
the low growth and high unemployment characterizing the OECD countries in the
early 1990s and during the recent financial problems in East Asia, the economy
has expanded at a solid 4% annual growth pace in the last five years. Canberra's
emphasis on reforms is a key factor behind the economy's resilience to the
regional crisis and its stronger than expected growth rate. Growth in 2001 will
depend on key international commodity prices, the extent of recovery in nearby
Asian economies, and the strength of US and European
markets. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $445.8
billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP - real
growth rate: |
4.7% (2000
est.) |
| GDP - per
capita: |
purchasing power parity - $23,200 (2000
est.) |
| GDP -
composition by sector: |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 26%
services: 71% (1999
est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 25.4%
(1994) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
1.4% (2000
est.) |
| Labor
force: |
9.5 million (December
1999) |
| Labor force
- by occupation: |
services 73%, industry 22%, agriculture
5% (1997 est.) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
6.4%
(2000) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $94 billion
expenditures: $103 billion, including capital
expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
| Industries: |
mining, industrial and transportation
equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
1.5% (1999
est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
191.727 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel: 89.93%
hydro: 8.36%
nuclear:
0%
other: 1.71% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
178.306 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0 kWh
(1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits;
cattle, sheep, poultry |
| Exports: |
$69 billion (f.o.b., 2000
est.) |
| Exports -
commodities: |
coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron
ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment |
| Exports -
partners: |
Japan 19%, EU 14%, ASEAN 12%, US 9%,
South Korea, NZ, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China
(1999) |
| Imports: |
$77 billion (f.o.b., 2000
est.) |
| Imports -
commodities: |
machinery and transport equipment,
computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil
and petroleum products |
| Imports -
partners: |
EU 24%, US 22%, Japan 14%, ASEAN 13%
(1999) |
| Debt -
external: |
$220.6 billion
(2000) |
| Economic aid
- donor: |
ODA, $1.43 billion
(FY97/98) |
| Currency: |
Australian dollar
(AUD) |
| Exchange
rates: |
Australian dollars per US dollar -
1.7995 (January 2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439
(1997), 1.2773 (1996) |
| Fiscal
year: |
1 July - 30 June | Source: World Factbook |
