Economy

Economy - overview: Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP on par with the four dominant West European economies. The Australian economy has been resilient in the face of the global economic downturn in 2001 chalking up 2.3% GDP growth, as the domestic economy is offsetting the external slump and business and consumer confidence remains robust. Canberra's emphasis on reforms is a key factor behind the economy's strength, and Australia is expected to outperform its trading partners in 2002, with GDP growth projected to be 3% or better. Australia probably will experience some weakness in mid-2002 as its business cycle tends to lag the US by about six months, and larger problems could emerge if Australia's trade position worsens.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $465.9 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $24,000 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3%
industry: 25%
services: 72% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 25% (1994)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 35 (1994)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 9.2 million (December 2001)
Labor force - by occupation: services 73%, industry 22%, agriculture 5%
Unemployment rate: 7% (2001)
Budget:
revenues: $86.8 billion
expenditures: $84.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.)
Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel
Industrial production growth rate: 0% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 202.68 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 90%
hydro: 8%
nuclear: 0%
other: 2% (2000)
Electricity - consumption: 188.49 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry
Exports: $68.8 billion (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment
Exports - partners: Japan 19%, US 9%, South Korea 7%, China 6%, New Zealand 5.8%, Singapore 4% (2001 est.)
Imports: $70.2 billion (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products products
Imports - partners: US 20%, Japan 13%, China 7.7%, UK 6%, Germany 5%, South Korea 4%, NZ 4%, Malaysia 3.6% (2001 est.)
Debt - external: $168.7 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - donor: ODA, $894 million (FY99/00 )
Currency: 1 Australian dollar ($AUD) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (January 2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997)
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

NOTE: The information on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of 2002 information contained here.