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Benchmarking Australia

Benchmarking Australia: the numbers, live

The charts investors ask for when they benchmark Australia against its peers — economic scale and growth, the outlook, public finances, foreign investment, trade, innovation and living standards — rebuilt from open data and refreshed automatically as the IMF, World Bank and ABS publish. This is an independent FDIstats product, not a government publication. For the Australian Government’s official investment case, see Austrade’s Why Australia Benchmark Report.
Austrade’s official Benchmark Report

World ranking by GDP, 2025

14th

of 191 economies (IMF, US$)

Real growth since 2019

13.2%

Advanced economies 10.9%

Foreign investment in Australia, 2025

A$5.12 tn

7.5% a year since 2003

Government gross debt, 2025

51%

of GDP · advanced economies 108%

1 · Fundamentals

A large, resilient economy

Figure 1 ·World’s largest economies, 2025
  1. 🇺🇸United States$30.8 tn
  2. 🇨🇳China$19.6 tn
  3. 🇩🇪Germany$5.0 tn
  4. 🇯🇵Japan$4.4 tn
  5. 🇬🇧United Kingdom$4.0 tn
  6. 🇮🇳India$3.9 tn
  7. 🇫🇷France$3.4 tn
  8. 🇷🇺Russia$2.6 tn
  9. 🇮🇹Italy$2.6 tn
  10. 🇨🇦Canada$2.3 tn
  11. 🇧🇷Brazil$2.3 tn
  12. 🇪🇸Spain$1.9 tn
  13. 🇰🇷South Korea$1.9 tn
  14. 🇦🇺Australia$1.8 tn
  15. 🇲🇽Mexico$1.8 tn

Source: IMF World Economic Outlook (NGDPD), current US$; estimates for the latest year.

Figure 2 ·Cumulative real GDP growth, 2019 to 2025
  1. 🇸🇬Singapore23.9%
  2. 🇺🇸United States15.1%
  3. 🇦🇺Australia13.2%
  4. 🇰🇷South Korea11.7%
  5. 🇨🇦Canada11.6%
  6. 🇨🇭Switzerland11.3%
  7. 🌐Advanced economies10.9%
  8. 🇳🇱Netherlands9.8%
  9. 🇳🇿New Zealand9.2%
  10. 🇸🇪Sweden7.0%
  11. 🇮🇹Italy6.3%
  12. 🇬🇧United Kingdom5.4%
  13. 🇫🇷France5.1%
  14. 🇯🇵Japan2.1%
  15. 🇩🇪Germany0.2%

Source: IMF World Economic Outlook (NGDP_RPCH), compounded annual real growth.

Figure 3 ·Growth outlook: average real GDP growth, 2026–2030
  1. 🌐World3.2% p.a.
  2. 🇸🇬Singapore2.7% p.a.
  3. 🇳🇿New Zealand2.3% p.a.
  4. 🇺🇸United States2.0% p.a.
  5. 🇰🇷South Korea2.0% p.a.
  6. 🇦🇺Australia2.0% p.a.
  7. 🇸🇪Sweden1.9% p.a.
  8. 🇨🇦Canada1.7% p.a.
  9. 🌐Advanced economies1.7% p.a.
  10. 🇨🇭Switzerland1.5% p.a.
  11. 🇬🇧United Kingdom1.4% p.a.
  12. 🇳🇱Netherlands1.3% p.a.
  13. 🇫🇷France1.1% p.a.
  14. 🇩🇪Germany1.0% p.a.
  15. 🇮🇹Italy0.6% p.a.
  16. 🇯🇵Japan0.6% p.a.

Source: IMF World Economic Outlook projections (latest round). Projections are revised twice a year.

Figure 4 ·General government gross debt, % of GDP, 2025
  1. 🇯🇵Japan207%
  2. 🇸🇬Singapore171%
  3. 🇮🇹Italy137%
  4. 🇺🇸United States124%
  5. 🇫🇷France116%
  6. 🇨🇦Canada114%
  7. 🇬🇧United Kingdom102%
  8. 🇩🇪Germany63%
  9. 🇳🇿New Zealand55%
  10. 🇰🇷South Korea52%
  11. 🇦🇺Australia51%
  12. 🇳🇱Netherlands43%
  13. 🇨🇭Switzerland39%
  14. 🇸🇪Sweden35%

Source: IMF World Economic Outlook (GGXWDG_NGDP). Lower is stronger fiscal headroom.

2 · Global ties & open markets

Plugged into Asia, backed by global capital

The level of foreign investment in Australia has grown by 7.5% a year since 2003, reaching A$5.12 tn in 2025. Foreign direct investment has grown 7.0% a year over the same period, to A$1.30 tn. Total foreign investment has risen from 130% of GDP in 2003 to 184% in 2025.

Figure 5 · Foreign investment stock in Australia, 2003–2025
  • Total foreign investment
  • Foreign direct investment

Source: ABS, International Investment Position, Australia: Supplementary Statistics (5352.0).

Figure 6 · Total foreign investment in Australia, % of GDP

Sources: ABS 5352.0 (levels at 31 December); World Bank WDI GDP in A$ (NY.GDP.MKTP.CN).

Figure 7 · Main sources of foreign direct investment, 2015–2025
  • United States
  • Japan
  • United Kingdom
  • Canada
  • Bermuda
  • Singapore

Source: ABS, International Investment Position, Australia: Supplementary Statistics (5352.0).

Figure 8 · Emerging and developing Asia’s share of the world economy

35% in 2025, projected 38% by 2031 (PPP)

  • Emerging & developing Asia
  • Advanced economies
  • Australia

Source: IMF World Economic Outlook (PPPSH), including projections.

Figure 9 · Australia’s exports and imports of goods and services
  • Exports
  • Imports

Source: World Bank WDI (NE.EXP.GNFS.CD, NE.IMP.GNFS.CD), current US$.

Go deeper

Every partner economy’s investment and trade with Australia, with printable two-way briefs.

Australia investment hubTrade and investment together →

3 · Skills & innovation

A connected, innovative workforce

Figure 10 ·Research & development expenditure, % of GDP (latest to 2023)
  1. 🇰🇷South Korea4.9%
  2. 🇸🇪Sweden3.6%
  3. 🇺🇸United States3.5%
  4. 🇯🇵Japan3.4%
  5. 🇨🇭Switzerland3.2%
  6. 🇩🇪Germany3.1%
  7. 🇬🇧United Kingdom2.7%
  8. 🇳🇱Netherlands2.3%
  9. 🇫🇷France2.2%
  10. 🇦🇺Australia1.9%
  11. 🇨🇦Canada1.8%
  12. 🇸🇬Singapore1.8%
  13. 🇳🇿New Zealand1.6%
  14. 🇮🇹Italy1.4%

Source: World Bank WDI (GB.XPD.RSDV.GD.ZS), from UNESCO/OECD.

Figure 11 ·Internet users, % of population (latest to 2024)
  1. 🇰🇷South Korea98%
  2. 🇨🇭Switzerland97%
  3. 🇳🇱Netherlands97%
  4. 🇦🇺Australia96%
  5. 🇬🇧United Kingdom96%
  6. 🇸🇪Sweden96%
  7. 🇺🇸United States95%
  8. 🇨🇦Canada94%
  9. 🇸🇬Singapore94%
  10. 🇩🇪Germany94%
  11. 🇳🇿New Zealand94%
  12. 🇮🇹Italy89%
  13. 🇫🇷France89%
  14. 🇯🇵Japan86%

Source: World Bank WDI (IT.NET.USER.ZS), from ITU.

4 · Quality of life

High living standards

Australia ranks 7th of the 14 peer economies shown for GDP per person at purchasing power parity.

Figure 12 ·GDP per capita at purchasing power parity, 2025
  1. 🇸🇬Singapore$164k
  2. 🇨🇭Switzerland$102k
  3. 🇺🇸United States$90k
  4. 🇳🇱Netherlands$85k
  5. 🇸🇪Sweden$74k
  6. 🇩🇪Germany$74k
  7. 🇦🇺Australia$72k
  8. 🇨🇦Canada$67k
  9. 🇫🇷France$66k
  10. 🇬🇧United Kingdom$66k
  11. 🇰🇷South Korea$65k
  12. 🇮🇹Italy$64k
  13. 🇯🇵Japan$57k
  14. 🇳🇿New Zealand$56k

Source: IMF World Economic Outlook (PPPPC), current international dollars.

This page is produced independently by FDIstats from public data and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Austrade. Figures update automatically: IMF projections change with each World Economic Outlook (April and October); ABS investment statistics annually in May. Peer set: Australia, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland. See Sources & methods. GDP rankings in US$ move with exchange rates.