Hotel reservations in other destinations:
Economy
Economy
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru, and Tuvalu.
The Australian Securities Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange are the largest stock exchanges in Australia.
Australia is one of the most laissez-faire capitalist economies, according to indices of economic freedom.
Australia's per capita GDP is slightly higher than that of the UK, Germany, and France in terms of purchasing power parity.
The country was ranked third in the United Nations 2007 Human Development Index, first in the 2008 Prosperity Index, and sixth in The Economist worldwide Quality-of-Life Index for 2005.
Australia also broke a record in 2008 when four of its major cities reached the top ten of The Economist's World's Most Livable Cities list, with Melbourne ranked at 2nd, Perth at 4th, Adelaide at 7th, and Sydney at 9th.
The emphasis on exporting commodities rather than manufactures has underpinned a significant increase in Australia's terms of trade during the rise in commodity prices since the start of the century.
Australia has a balance of payments that is more than 7% of GDP negative, and has had persistently large current account deficits for more than 50 years.
Australia has grown at an average annual rate of 3.6% for over 15 years, a period in which the OECD annual average was 2.5%.
The Hawke Government floated the Australian dollar in 1983 and partially deregulated the financial system.
The Howard government followed with a partial deregulation of the labour market and the further privatisation of state-owned businesses, most notably in the telecommunications industry.
The indirect tax system was substantially changed in July 2000 with the introduction of a 10% Goods and Services Tax (GST), which has slightly reduced the reliance on personal and company income tax that characterises Australia's tax system.
In January 2007, there were 10,033,480 people employed, with an unemployment rate of 4.6%.
Over the past decade, inflation has typically been 2–3% and the base interest rate 5–6%.
The service sector of the economy, including tourism, education, and financial services, accounts for 69% of GDP.
Although agriculture and natural resources account for only 3% and 5% of GDP respectively, they contribute substantially to export performance.
Australia's largest export markets are Japan, China, the US, South Korea, and New Zealand.
Source: CIA Factbook, Wikipedia
Did you find it useful?
Book now, pay in the hotel!
|
|
★ The 10 best hotels in Australia
Hotels by type
Australia map
About Australia
Etymology
History
Politics
States and territories
Foreign relations and military
Geography
Economy
Demography
Culture
Sports
International rankings
User reviews about Australia
|
Member of the 4K.com™ network. Authoritative sites about hotels around the world.
