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Australia

 
     
    • 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. Growth picked up so strongly in 1994 that the government felt the need for fiscal and monetary tightening by yearend. Australia's GDP grew 6.4% in 1994, largely due to increases in industrial output and business investment. A severe drought in 1994 is expected to reduce the value of Australia's net farm production by $825 million in the twelve months through June 1995, but rising world commodity prices are likely to boost rural exports by 7.7% to $14.5 billion in 1995/96, according to government statistics. 

      Australia suffered a significant recession in 1990-91, followed by rapid growth in 1992-94. Growth has slowed somewhat since, with the Australian economy experiencing a cyclical downturn during 1996-97. Real GDP growth is expected to reach 3.5% in 1997. Inflation, which reached 5.1% during the recovery, has now fallen significantly; in 1997 Australia recorded the first annual price deflation in 35 years. Unemployment continues to hover stubbornly above 8.5%, however, despite some job creation in the second half of 1997. The Howard government inherited a substantial budget deficit in 1996, but has since embarked on an ambitious fiscal consolidation program, which relies primarily on cutting government spending. The government announced an underlying budget deficit, which removes debt repayments and assets from the headline balance, of $2.9 billion for FY 1997-98, and a substantial headline budget surplus. The government intends to balance the federal budget by the 1999-2000 fiscal year. Australia's trade deficit fell during 1995 and 1996, but it has not been erased and is projected to exceed $1 billion in 1997. Australia's net foreign debt has averaged 30%-40% of GDP for several decades and totaled $150 billion (39.7% of GDP) at the end of 1996. Australia's gross external public debt was $78 billion at the end of 1996. The public sector accounts for 40% of Australia's gross external debt; the remainder is the responsibility of the private sector. Over the long term, Australia's economic prospects generally are bright. The successful conclusion of the GATT Uruguay Round of trade liberalization negotiations should boost overall economic activity, exports, and employment. In addition, the integration of the Australian economy into the rapidly growing Asia-Pacific region and increasing emphasis on using the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum to advance regional economic liberalization should boost future growth.
     
    • National product: 
      GDP - purchasing power parity - $343.5 billion (1997 est.) 
     
    • National product real growth rate: 
      6.4% (1997 est.) 
     
    • National product per capita: 
      $20,000 (1997 est.) 
     
    • Inflation rate (consumer prices): 
      1.0% (1997 est.) 
     
    • Unemployment rate: 
      8.9% (1997 est.) 
     
    • Budget: 
     
        revenues: 
        $83.8 billion 
     
        expenditures: 
        $92.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA  
     
    • Exports: 
      $50.4 billion (1997) 
     
        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 
     
    • Imports: 
      $51.1 billion (1997) 
     
        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% 
     
    • External debt: 
      $147.2 billion (1997) 
     
    • Industrial production: 
      growth rate 3.9%; accounts for 32% of GDP 
     
    • Electricity: 
     
        capacity: 
        34,540,000 kW 
     
        production: 
        155 billion kWh 
     
        consumption per capita: 
        8,021 kWh  
     
    • 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 - 1.3058 (January 1995), 1.3667 (1994), 1.4704 (1993), 1.3600 (1992), 1.2835 (1991), 1.2799 (1990) 
     
    • Fiscal year: 
      1 July - 30 June