12 things you should know about Australia’s economy

Here’s a dozen surprising statistics about Australia’s economy and it’s links with China.

Business Insider summarised an intensive presentation form HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham with 12 stats that may surprise you:

1. In the past six years, Australia’s economy has grown 16%.
   By comparison, the US has grown 6%, while the British economy has not grown at all and Europe’s is 2% smaller. China’s economy has grown by 65%.
2. No other OECD economy has a larger export exposure to Asia than Australia and the largest part of this is to China.
3. Around 73% of Australia’s exports go to Asia, and we expect this to rise to 80% by 2020.
4. Three Asian economies alone – China, Japan and Korea – account for 54% of Australia’s exports.
5. Much of what Australia exports are commodities, which account for 57% of total exports.
6. Over the next six years the value of iron ore exports is expected to rise 54%, coal by 41% and LNG by 330%, as newly built capacity comes on line.
7. Other goods and services account for 40% of Australia’s exports, which include agricultural products, manufactured goods, and tourism and education services.
8. Chinese tourist visits to Australia have increased by 110% in the past four years.
9. 28% of Australia’s population was born outside the country.
10. Of the more than 5 million foreign-born individuals living in Australia, 2 million were born in Asia.
11. Thanks to strong migration, Australia’s population growth has averaged 1.4% year on year over the past decade, compared to an average of +0.7% among the OECD economies.
12. Australia’s financial ties are still mainly to Western markets, with 56% of foreign direct investment and 57% of overseas direct investment with the US and Europe, although links to Asia are growing.