Overview: Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP comparable to levels in industrialized West European countries. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels. Primary products account for more than 60% of the value of total exports, so that, as in 1983-84, 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. Australia has suffered from the low growth and high unemployment characterizing the OECD countries in the early 1990s. In 1992-93 the economy recovered slowly from the prolonged recession of 1990-91, a major restraining factor being weak world demand for Australia's exports. Unemployment has hovered around 10% and probably will remain at that level in 1994 as productivity gains rather than more jobs account for growth.

National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $339.7 billion (1993)

National product real growth rate: 4% (1993)

National product per capita: $19,100 (1993)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.1% (1993)

Unemployment rate: 10% (December 1993)

Budget:
revenues: $71.9 billion
expenditures: $83.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY93)

Exports: $44.1 billion (1992)
commodities: coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, wheat, machinery and transport equipment
partners: Japan 25%, US 11%, South Korea 6%, NZ 5.7%, UK, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong (1992)

Imports: $43.6 billion (1992)
commodities: machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, crude oil and petroleum products
partners: US 23%, Japan 18%, UK 6%, Germany 5.7%, NZ 4% (1992)

External debt: $141.1 billion (1993)

Industrial production: growth rate 1.9% (FY93); accounts for 32% of GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 40,000,000 kW
production: 150 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 8,475 kWh (1992)

Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel

Agriculture: accounts for 5% of GDP and over 30% of export revenues; world's largest exporter of beef and wool, second-largest for mutton, and among top wheat exporters; major crops - wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruit; livestock - cattle, sheep, poultry

Illicit drugs: Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of licit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate

Economic aid:
donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $10.4 billion

Currency: 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1 - 1.4364 (January 1994), 1.4704 (1993), 1.3600 (1992), 1.2835 (1991), 1.2799 (1990), 1.2618 (1989)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

NOTE: The information regarding Australia on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Australia Economy 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Australia Economy 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.