Economic Growth in Australia
Throughout 2013-2022, Australia exhibited steady GDP growth, underpinned by strong commodity exports and robust domestic consumption. The economy was resilient against global economic shifts, maintaining growth even during commodity price downturns. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant but short-lived recession in 2020. Post-pandemic, Australia's economy rebounded quickly, driven by effective health management and fiscal stimulus, returning to growth in 2021-2022.
The Australian economy recorded an average growth rate of 2.4% in the decade to 2022, below the 4.4% average for the Asia-Pacific region. In 2022, real GDP growth was 3.7%. For more GDP information, visit our dedicated page.
Australia GDP Chart
Australia GDP Data
2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Economic Growth (GDP, ann. var. %) | 2.8 | 1.8 | -2.1 | 5.6 | 3.8 |
GDP (USD bn) | 1,418 | 1,388 | 1,363 | 1,656 | 1,721 |
GDP (AUD bn) | 1,898 | 1,998 | 1,979 | 2,207 | 2,483 |
Economic Growth (Nominal GDP, ann. var. %) | 5.3 | 5.2 | -0.9 | 11.5 | 12.5 |
GDP grows at softest pace since Q3 2022 in the third quarter
GDP growth ebbed to 0.2% on a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis in the third quarter, from 0.4% in the second quarter. Q3's reading marked the slowest growth since Q3 2022.
The downturn was driven by weakening private consumption, fixed investment and exports. Household spending recorded zero growth in the third quarter, which was below the second quarter's 0.1% expansion. Government spending, meanwhile, sped up to a 2.6% increase in Q3 (Q2: +1.4% s.a. qoq). Moreover, fixed investment growth fell to 1.1% in Q3, marking the worst result since Q4 2022 (Q2: +2.7% s.a. qoq), amid higher interest rates. On the external front, exports of goods and services contracted 0.7% in Q3, marking the worst result since Q1 2022 (Q2: +4.5% s.a. qoq). Conversely, imports of goods and services growth accelerated moderately to 2.1% in Q3 (Q2: +1.8% s.a. qoq). On an annual basis, economic growth accelerated to 2.1% in Q3, following the previous period's 2.0% growth.
The economy should expand at a relatively paltry pace in 2024 amid historically high inflation and interest rates. That said, sustained population growth, a further recovery in tourism and resilient global commodity demand will support activity. The evolution of China’s economy, particularly its housing market, is the key factor to monitor.
ING’s Robert Carnell commented: “Today's data don't close the book on further rate hikes, but they do make it harder for the RBA to justify further hikes without some stronger accompanying evidence that the inflation battle is stalling.”
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Australian GDP projections for the next ten years from a panel of 34 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable GDP forecast available for Australian GDP.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Australian GDP projections.
Want to get access to the full dataset of Australian GDP forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.
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