Indicators of economy in Australia

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Overall, the gross domestic product in Australia in 2020 decreased moderatly from 1.392 trillion US dollars to 1.327 trillion US dollars. Certainly, there have been shifts in some sectors of the economy, but a drop of 4.7 percent is still comparatively good this year. Numerous countries suffered more substantial losses. The tourism sector alone slumped by around 45 percent. The unemployment rate rose from 5.2 to 6.5 percent. The country's gross debt increased by 14.5 percent. The inflation rate fell from 1.6 percent previously to 0.8 percent by the end of 2020.

In 2021, there was already a recovery and the gross domestic product increased to 1.553 trillion US dollars (=111.5% of 2019).

Income and purchasing power

The average monthly income in Australia is 4,764 US Dollar per capita. In the USA, the figure is 5,911 US Dollar. Compared with the United States, however, prices for daily consumer goods are around 9.0 percent higher. If you compare income and price levels, the result is a more expensive life in Australia than in the United States. The bottom line is that the costs do not offset the lower income, and you get about 26.1 percent less.

However, it is also important to remember that this is a purely statistical model. Both the labor output and the type and quality of the goods received always correspond to the national average on both sides of the equation - so they do not necessarily have to match. Here you can also find an international comparison of cost of living and purchasing power.

Unemployment rates in percentages 1991 - 2022

Economic performance 2021

In the Global Innovation Index, Australia ranked 25th in 2022 with 47.1 points. The index is calculated annually by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and most recently included 132 countries. The top country was Switzerland with 64.6 points. Out of the 2,000 largest listed companies in the world, 30 originate from Australia. This is determined annually in the Forbes Global 2000 list. The 10 largest companies in the country in 2022 were:

Rank 75: BHP Group (Melbourne)
Rank 107: Commonwealth Bank (Sydney)
Rank 174: Westpac Banking Group (Sydney)
Rank 192: ANZ (Melbourne)
Rank 199: NAB - National Australia Bank (Melbourne)
Rank 312: Macquarie Group (Sydney)
Rank 371: Fortescue Metals Group (East Perth)
Rank 374: Woolworths (Sydney)
Rank 547: CSL (Parkville)
Rank 559: Wesfarmers (Perth)

Development of gross domestic product in billions of USD 1960 - 2021

Household debt and deficits 2021

Imports and Exports 2021

Development of imports and exports in billions of USD 1989 - 2021