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Australia

Includes Australia real Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with latest forecasts and historical data, GDP per capita, GDP composition and breakdown by sector.

Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about Australia economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of Australia best banks and safest banks are also available.

Basic Information

Government Type: Federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

Capital City: Canberra

GDP & Economic Information

Macroeconomy & Sovereign Data

Central Bank Reserve Bank of Australia

Currency Australian dollars (AUD)

International Reserves USD 53.9 billion (2018)

Gross Domestic Product – GDP USD 1,418.3 billion (2018, estimate)


GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) Intl$ 1,318.2 billion (2018, estimate)

GDP Data

Real GDP growth
2007 4.4%
2008 2.7%
2009 1.9%
2010 2.4%
2011 2.8%
2012 3.9%
2013 2.1%
2014 2.6%
2015 2.5%
2016 2.8%
2017* 2.4%
2018*2.8%
GDP per capita – current prices USD 56,351.6 (2018, estimate)

GDP per capita – PPP Intl$ 52,373.5 (2018, estimate)

GDP (PPP) – share of world total 0.96% (2019, estimate)
GDP – composition by sector agriculture: 2.6%
industry: 24%
services: 66.6%
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP) 1.9% (2015)

Inflation 2015 1.5%
2016 1.3%
2017 2%
2018* 2%
2019* 1.6%

Inflation & Debt

Inflation 2015 1.5%
2016 1.3%
2017 2%
2018* 2%
2019* 1.6%
Government Bond Ratings Standard & Poor’s: AAA

Moody’s: Aaa

Standard & Poor’s / Moody’s (Updated January 2017)
Unemployment rate 2015 6.1%
2016 5.7%
2017 5.6%
2018* 5.3%
2019* 5.1%
Household saving rates 3.5% (2017)

Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP) 2015 37.7%
2016 40.5%
2017 41.1%
2018* 41.4%
2019* 41.8%
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP) 2015 -2.8%
2016 -2.5%
2017 -1.7%
2018* -0.8%
2019* -0.7%
Market value of publicly traded shares 2016 USD 1,268.5 billion
2017 USD 1,508.5 billion
2018 USD 1,262.8 billion
Largest Companies Bendigo & Adelaide Bank, Sydney Airport, Lendlease Group, Bank of Queensland, Ramsay Health Care, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac Banking Group, BHP Group, ANZ, NAB – National Australia Bank, Macquarie Group, Telstra, Woolworths, Wesfarmers, Suncorp Group, CSL, Woodside Petroleum, QBE Insurance Group, Scentre Group, South32, Fortescue Metals Group, Origin Energy, Insurance Australia Group, AGL Energy, Amcor, Goodman Group, Qantas Airways, Transurban Group, Bluescope Steel, Santos, Brambles, Dexus, AMP, Caltex Australia, GPT Group, Viva Energy Group, Mirvac Group

Import/Export

Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services) 21.7% (2018)


Shares in world total merchandising export 1.32% (2018)


Shares in world total commercial services export 1.18% (2018)


Total exports USD 327.1 billion (2018 estimate)


Export commodities Opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems, and medical herbs
Iron ore, coal, gold, natural gas, beef, aluminum ores and conc, wheat, meat (excluding beef), wool, alumina, alcohol
Total imports USD 308.8 billion (2018 estimate)


Import commodities Motor vehicles, refined petroleum, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude petroleum, medicaments, goods vehicles, gold, computers
Exports – major partners China 33.5%, Japan 14.6%, South Korea 6.6%, India 5%, Hong Kong 4% (2017)


Imports – major partners China 22.9%, US 10.8%, Japan 7.5%, Thailand 5.1%, Germany 4.9%, South Korea 4.5% (2017)


Competitiveness & Trade

Current account balance USD -29.6 billion (2018 estimate)
Current account balance by percentage of GDP -2.1 % (2018 estimate)

FDI inflows 2016 USD 45,522 million
2017 USD 42,294 million
2018 USD 60,438 million
FDI Outflows 2016 USD 328 million
2017 USD 3,320 million
2018 USD 3,635 million
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser N/A


United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) – World Investment Report
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014 Industry Funds Management Pty Ltd, ITR Concession Co LLC, United States, USD 5.7 billion / APA Group, QCLNG Pipeline Pty Ltd, Australia, USD 4.6 billion
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015 N/A
Best countries for doing business
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.

Overall ranking:

14 out of 190 countries

Subcategories:​
Starting a Business: 7 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 11 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 62 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 42 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 4 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 57 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 28 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 106 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 6 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 20 out of 190 countries
Global competitiveness ranking 16 out of 141 countries

Index of Economic Freedom Ranking: 5 / Score: 80.9 (Free)

(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)

Population & Geographic Data

Total Area 7,741,220 sq km

Total Population 1990 17.17 million
2000 19.141 million
2010 22.17 million
2015 23.99 million
2020* 25.98 million

*Estimate
Urban population as % of total population 1960 81.5%
1980 85.6%
2000 84.2%
2018 86%
Population median age 38.8 years

CIA World Factbook / Population median age
Population growth rate 1.01% (2018 estimate)

Life expectancy 82.4 years (2018 estimate)



CIA World Factbook / Life expectancy
% of population living on less than $3.10 a day N/A

Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index) 5.8 (last available estimate, 2014)

(0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality)
Freedom House rating Free
Political Rights: 1
Civil Liberties: 1 (2019)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
Total telephone subscribers as % of population Fixed: 7.8%

Fixed: 32.5% Mobile: 113.6% (2018)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)
Internet users as % of total population 86.55 % (2017)

Language & Religon

Languages English 72.7%, Mandarin 2.5%, Arabic 1.4%, Cantonese 1.2%, Vietnamese 1.2%, Italian 1.2%, Greek 1%, other 14.8%, unspecified 6.5% (2016 est.)

Literacy N/A

Religions Protestant 23.1% (Anglican 13.3%, Uniting Church 3.7%, Presbyterian and Reformed 2.3%, Baptist 1.5%, Pentecostal 1.1%, Lutheran .7%, other Protestant .5%), Roman Catholic 22.6%, other Christian 4.2%, Muslim 2.6%, Buddhist 2.4%, Orthodox 2.3% (Eastern Orthodox)

World Rankings

Population 2.8 M
Mercer Cost of living index N/A
C02 Emissions per capita 1.9 metric tons per capita (2018)

Global Finance Rankings & Awards: Australia

Global Finance Magazine holds several conferences and awards ceremonies throughout the year to recognize the winning financial institutions and companies in a host of categories including World’s Best Trade Finance Banks, World's Biggest Banks, World's Safest Banks, World's Best Developed & Emerging Markets Banks, World's Best Internet Banks, and World’s Best Investment Banks.


Data Sources:

IMF World Economic Outlook

UN World Population Prospects

World Inequality Report

S&P Global Ratings

Moody’s

Fitch Ratings

IMF Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS)

UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

CIA The World Factbook

World Bank’s World Integrated Trade Solution

Forbes Global 2000

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