1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2002  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 25/01/2002   
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Contents >> Introduction >> External account

The external account is derived from the detailed balance of payments current and capital accounts (see International accounts and trade). It shows Australia's exports and imports, incomes and transfers received by Australian residents from non-residents, and incomes and transfers payable to non-residents by Australian residents. The balance on the external account is net lending to non-residents. This is the same as the balance in the national capital account.

Tables 29.17 and 29.18 show the external account for a number of years between 1965-66 and 1999-2000; table 29.17 shows a series of snapshots at five-yearly intervals to 1990-91, while table 29.18 shows annual time series from 1991-92 to 1999-2000.


29.17 EXTERNAL ACCOUNT, Current Prices - Five-Yearly

1965-66

$m
1970-71

$m
1975-76

$m
1980-81

$m
1985-86

$m
1990-91

$m

Imports of goods and services
3,683
5,214
11,163
25,530
47,199
66,948
Primary income receivable -
- Compensation of employees
11
17
44
110
164
429
- Property income
400
760
1,587
3,147
8,879
20,552
- Total primary income receivable
411
777
1,631
3,257
9,043
20,981
Secondary income receivable
169
358
773
1,264
1,797
2,653
Capital transfers to non-residents
40
78
203
320
486
653
Acquisitions less disposals of non-produced non-financial assets
-
-
-
-
-
-7
Net lending
-899
-782
-1,454
-5,597
-14,658
-15,611
Resources provided by non-residents
3,404
5,645
12,316
24,774
43,867
75,615
Exports of goods and services
3,136
5,086
11,225
22,604
38,948
66,259
Primary income payable -
- Compensation of employees
10
13
59
119
165
432
- Property income
93
164
370
741
2,025
3,325
- Total primary income payable
103
177
429
860
2,190
3,757
Secondary income payable
79
248
486
823
1,413
2,875
Capital transfers from non-residents
86
134
176
487
1,316
2,724
Resources provided to non-residents
3,404
5,645
12,316
24,774
43,867
75,615

Source: Australian System of National Accounts (5204.0).


29.18 EXTERNAL ACCOUNT, Current Prices - Annual

1991-92

$m
1992-93

$m
1993-94

$m
1994-95

$m
1995-96

$m
1996-97

$m
1997-98

$m
1998-99

$m
1999-2000

$m

Imports of goods and services
69,269
79,077
85,396
97,654
101,078
103,590
118,482
126,453
140,954
Primary income receivable -
- Compensation of employees
326
311
283
389
458
539
792
854
941
- Property income
18,179
18,452
19,031
24,669
26,215
27,331
27,597
27,472
30,394
- Total primary income receivable
18,505
18,763
19,314
25,058
26,673
27,870
28,389
28,326
31,335
Secondary income receivable
2,898
3,423
3,451
3,554
3,463
3,674
4,051
5,377
4,558
Capital transfers to non-residents
695
743
758
843
907
877
971
1,011
1,230
Acquisitions less disposals of non-produced non-financial assets
-
33
-17
-32
-25
6
-30
19
64
Net lending
-11,298
-14,639
-15,937
-28,074
-20,613
-16,597
-21,691
-32,549
-32,558
Resources provided by non-residents
80,069
87,399
92,965
99,004
111,483
119,420
130,172
128,637
145,583
Exports of goods and services
70,080
76,899
83,015
87,654
99,095
105,160
113,744
111,843
125,774
Primary income payable
Compensation of employees
455
497
511
551
610
678
747
797
817
Property income -
3,996
5,583
5,269
6,390
6,530
7,885
9,637
9,201
11,927
- Total primary income payable
4,451
6,080
5,780
6,941
7,140
8,563
10,384
9,998
12,744
- Secondary income payable
2,764
3,073
3,112
3,026
3,292
3,497
3,976
4,599
4,652
- Capital transfers from non-residents
2,774
1,347
1,058
1,383
1,956
2,200
2,068
2,197
2,413
Resources provided to non-residents
80,069
87,399
92,965
99,004
111,483
119,420
130,172
128,637
145,583

Source: Australian System of National Accounts (5204.0).

Australia has generally been a net borrower of funds from overseas. In the national accounts, this situation is reflected by a negative value for net lending to non-residents. The only exception to this pattern was in 1972-73 when Australia was a net lender to non-residents. Net borrowing from non-residents (i.e. negative net lending to non-residents), expressed as a proportion of GDP, increased significantly during the early 1980s and has remained at relatively high levels since then. Graph 29.19 shows net lending to non-residents as a proportion of GDP since 1965-66.




The importance of foreign trade to the Australian economy is illustrated by graph 29.20, which shows the ratios of exports and imports of goods and services to GDP for the financial years 1965-66 to 1999-2000. In 1999-2000 the import ratio was 22.3% and the export ratio was 19.9%.






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