Economía - descripción: Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP at the level of the four dominant West European economies. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels. Commodities account for 57% of the value of total exports, so that 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. While Australia has suffered from the low growth and high unemployment characterizing the OECD countries in the early 1990s and during the recent financial problems in East Asia, the economy has expanded at a solid 4% annual growth pace in the last five years. Canberra's emphasis on reforms is a key factor behind the economy's resilience to the regional crisis and its stronger than expected growth rate. Growth in 2000 will depend on key international commodity prices, the extent of recovery in nearby Asian economies, and the strength of US and European markets.

Producto Bruto Interno (PBI): purchasing power parity - $416.2 billion (1999 est.)

PBI - Indice de Incremento real: 4.3% (1999 est.)

PBI - por capital: purchasing power parity - $22,200 (1999 est.)

PBI - Composición por Sector:
agriculture: 3%
industry: 26%
services: 71% (1998 est.)

Población bajo linea de pobertad: NA%

Ingreso en casa o porcentage de consumción:
lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 24.8% (1989)

Indice de Inflación (precios del consumidor): 1.8% (1999 est.)

Fuerza Laboral: 8.9 million (December 1999)

Fuerza Laboral - por ocupación: services 73%, industry 22%, agriculture 5% (1997 est.)

Indice de desempleo: 7.5% (1999)

Presupuesto:
revenues: $90.73 billion
expenditures: $89.04 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY98/99 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate: 1.5% (1999 est.)

Electricidad - Producción: 186.387 billion kWh (1998)

Electricidad - producción por fuente:
fossil fuel: 89.85%
hydro: 8.35%
nuclear: 0%
other: 1.8% (1998)

Electricidad - consumción: 173.34 billion kWh (1998)

Electricidad - exportaciones: 0 kWh (1998)

Electricidad - importaciones: 0 kWh (1998)

Agricultura - productos: wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle, sheep, poultry

Exportaciones: $58 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Exporationes - comodidades: coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat, machinery and transport equipment

Exportaciones - socios: Japan 20%, EU 14%, ASEAN 11%, US 10%, South Korea, NZ, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China (1998)

Importaciones: $67 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Importaciones - comodidades: machinery and transport equipment, computers and office machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and petroleum products

Importaciones - socios: EU 24%, US 22%, Japan 14%, ASEAN 12% (1998)

Deuda - externa: $222 billion (1999)

Economic aid - donor: ODA, $1.43 billion (FY97/98)

Moneda: 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents

Indice de intercambio: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1 - 1.52068 (January 2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997), 1.2773 (1996), 1.3486 (1995)

Año Fiscal: 1 July - 30 June