Economy Overview
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. 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 GILLARD 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.
Agriculture Products
wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry
Industries
mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel
Industrial Production Growth Rate
3% (2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 104
Labor Force
11.62 million (2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 44
Electricity production
239.9 billion kWh (2007 est.)country comparison to the world: 17
Electricity Consumption
222 billion kWh (2007 est.)country comparison to the world: 16
Electricity Exports
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity Imports
0 kWh (2008 est.)
Unemployment Rate
5.1% (2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 46 5.6% (2009 est.)
Population Below Poverty Line
NA%
Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share
Lowest 10%: 2%
Highest 10%: 25.4% (1994)
Distribution of Family Income Gini Index
30.5 (2006)country comparison to the world: 110 35.2 (1994)
Public Debt
22.4% of GDP (2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 107 22.1% of GDP (2009 est.)
Central Bank Discount Rate
4% (31 March 2010)country comparison to the world: 106 4.25% (3 December 2008) note: this is the Reserve Bank of Australia's "cash rate target," or policy rate
Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate
Stock of Narrow Money
$347.1 billion (31 December 2010 est)country comparison to the world: 13 $290.8 billion (31 December 2009 est)
Stock of Broad Money
$1.134 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 15 $976.6 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of Domestic Credit
$1.731 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 13 $1.407 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
Market Value of Publicly Traded Shares
$1.258 trillion (31 December 2009)country comparison to the world: 13 $675.6 billion (31 December 2008)$1.298 trillion (31 December 2007)
Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold
$38.62 billion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 30 $41.74 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Debt External
$1.169 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 14 $1.094 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment at Home
$329.1 billion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 14 $295.9 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment Abroad
$245.9 billion (31 December 2010 est.)country comparison to the world: 17 $221.1 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Exchange Rates
Australian dollars (AUD) per US dollar - 1.1151 (2010), 1.2822 (2009), 1.2059 (2008), 1.2137 (2007), 1.3285 (2006)
