1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2003  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 24/01/2003   
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Contents >> National Accounts >> 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 29.16 and 29.17 show the external account for a number of years between 1965-66 and 2000-01; table 29.16 shows a series of snapshots at five-yearly intervals to 1990-91, while table 29.17 shows annual time series from 1993-94 to 2000-01.


29.16 EXTERNAL ACCOUNT, Current prices - Five-yearly intervals

1965-66
1970-71
1975-76
1980-81
1985-86
1990-91
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m
$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
411
777
1,631
3,257
9,043
20,981
Secondary income
169
358
773
1,264
1,797
2,422
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
-15,382
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
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).


29.17 EXTERNAL ACCOUNT, Current prices - Annual intervals

1993-94
1994-95
1995-96
1996-97
1997-98
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m
$m

Imports of goods and services
85,396
97,654
101,078
103,590
118,482
126,453
140,323
152,424
Primary income receivable
Compensation of employees
283
389
458
539
792
854
963
1,065
Property income
19,031
24,669
26,215
27,175
27,683
27,598
31,185
33,975
Total
19,314
25,058
26,673
27,714
28,475
28,452
32,148
35,040
Secondary income
3,241
3,347
3,228
3,561
3,971
5,247
4,407
4,387
Capital transfers to non-residents
758
843
907
877
971
1,011
1,199
1,260
Acquisitions less disposals of non-produced non-financial assets
-17
-32
-25
6
-30
19
83
107
Net lending
-15,730
-27,868
-20,382
-16,286
-21,680
-32,199
-32,427
-17,611
Resources provided by non-residents
92,962
99,002
111,479
119,463
130,189
128,983
145,734
175,607
Exports of goods and services
83,015
87,654
99,095
105,160
113,744
112,025
125,972
153,131
Primary income payable
Compensation of employees
511
551
610
678
747
797
826
901
Property income
5,269
6,390
6,530
7,885
9,637
9,466
11,976
14,568
Total
5,780
6,941
7,140
8,563
10,384
10,263
12,802
15,469
Secondary income payable
3,109
3,024
3,292
3,540
3,993
4,498
4,625
4,565
Capital transfers from non-residents
1,058
1,383
1,952
2,200
2,068
2,197
2,335
2,442
Resources provided to non-residents
92,962
99,002
111,479
119,463
130,189
128,983
145,734
175,607

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 29.18 shows net lending to non-residents as a proportion of GDP since 1965-66.

Graph - 29.18 net lending to non-residents, share of gdp


The importance of foreign trade to the Australian economy is illustrated by graph 29.19, which shows the ratios of exports and imports of goods and services to GDP for the financial years 1965-66 to 2000-01. In 2000-01 the import ratio was 22.75% and the export ratio was 22.85%.

Graph - 29.19 exports and imports, share of gdp



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