Australia
Overview of Australia
The only continent covered by a single country
7th most popular country for international tourism
24th largest goods and trading partner to the United States
Home to many popular coastal cities such as Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and more
Driest continent on earth (besides Antarctica)
Contains the Great Barrier Reef
Australia’s Economy
$1,450,000,000,000 USD
Australia’s GDP (2019)
Australia’s GDP
GDP: 2% annual growth rate
13th highest nominal GDP in the world
Real GDP per person: $53,800 USD
Distribution of GDP across economic sectors:
Services (66.56%)*: research, surveying, legal
Industry (24.12%): mining, tourism, manufacturing
Agriculture (2.46%): forestry, fishing, farms
*Australia’s most profitable industry
Scarce
Recent droughts have led to low water storage levels
Water scarcity has led to various water restrictions (food, consumption)
Scarce and Growth
Growth
Aluminum, zinc, and coal mining industries
Online grocery and food delivery platforms
Cryptocurrency exchanges
Australia’s Top Exports
China(Australia’s 1st most frequent trading partner) | Iron ore | Coal | LiquefiedNatural Gas |
United States(Australia’s 2nd most frequent trading partner) | Beef | Aviation Equipment | PharmaceuticalProducts |
Japan(Australia’s 3rd most frequent trading partner) | Coal | Iron ore | Beef |
Real exports of goods and services in 2019 Q4: 106,933
Real imports of goods and services in 2019 Q4: 98,515
Net exports of goods and services in 2019 Q4: 8,418
Life in Australia
Life in Australia: Housing
Average house prices (2019):
Sydney: $666,036 USD
Melbourne: $513,999 USD
Brisbane: $369,633 USD
People typically live in houses, terraces, semi-detached houses, duplexes, townhouses, and apartment units
Life in Australia: Transportation
Trains: many high speed trains in major cities
Buses (most popular in Sydney, Melbourne, & Brisbane)
Biking/Cycling: used by many students
Ferries: not as popular, but still an option for transportation here
Life in Australia: Education
Third most popular international student destination in the world
Contains six of the world’s top 100 universities
Australian universities have produced 15 Nobel laureates
Tourism
A complex idea can be conveyed with just a single still image, namely making it possible to absorb large amounts of data quickly.
Attracts around 10 million tourists annually
Tourism generated an estimated $43.9 billion (USD) in 2018
970 people arrive in Australia every hour
Sydney Opera House
Great Barrier Reef
National parks (Blue Mountain, Purnululu, etc.)
Unemployment
Unemployment Rate: 5.14% (2019)
Top 5 most in-demand professions:
Registered Nurses
Software and application programmers
Electricians
Carpenters
Secondary School Teachers
Money in Australia
Currency
Australian Dollars (AUD)
AU$0.66 = $1.00 USD
Polymer notes of $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100
Coin denominations between $0.05 and $2.00
More about Australia
Social Programs
Australia offers age pensions, youth allowance, sick allowance, and more.
Economy
Australia has a mixed market economy, much like the United States
Living
Since many of Australia’s popular cities are along a coast, a lot of Australia operates on beach cities
Money Fact
Australia developed the first ever plastic bank note
Wine Industry
Australia has over 60 separate wine regions
The Outback
Only about 60,000 people live in the Outback of Australia