AUSTRALIA

  
   
   
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AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY

The entire continent of Australia makes use of the Australian Dollar as its currency. This Dollar is made up of 100 cents, and is represented by the $ symbol within Australia, which may be conveyed as A$ when being cited in wider-spread contexts. This currency is used in the mainland of Australia as well as in Christmas Island, Cocos Island, Norfolk Island, Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvala (the last three of which are independent Pacific Island states). It is fairly recently that Australia moved from the old British system of Pounds and Shillings to the metric system of the Dollar.

Australia’s is a free market economy, supported mainly by the services sector, which generates approximately 70% of the
Image of Australian Currency
Australian Currency
country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Over half of its exports are generated by the agricultural and mining sectors alone. Other significant exports include natural gas, coal, copper, gold, silver, lead, opals, diamonds, grain, wool and meat, amongst others. Most of its exports are sent to countries like South Korea, China, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, North America (the USA) and India. In turn, they import products and resources mainly from China, Japan, Germany, the USA, the UK (United Kingdom), Malaysia and New Zealand. Evidently, Australia enjoys close ties with Asia, Europe and America for their mutual import and export requirements.

Australia’s economy is on a steady, upward surge. It continues to grow and develop, leading to improved living conditions for its residents. It is currently one of the world’s top 20 countries in terms of GDP, with an average growth of approximately 2% per annum.

Australia is a member of G-20, Group of Twenty. This organisation brings together important economies with the aim of discussing financial issues between industrial and emerging markets on a global scale. This is, in turn, hoped to support international growth and development.