Digital activity in the Australian economy, 2019-20

This article provides an update on the size, growth and nature of digital activity in Australia for 2019-20.

Released

29/10/2021

Source

Measuring Digital Activities in the Australian Economy

Introduction

This article provides an update on the size, growth and nature of digital activity in Australia for 2019-20. These experimental estimates incorporate data from the most recent 2019-20 Supply and Use tables.

The ABS measures digital activity in Australia as the production of:

Digital enabling infrastructure, such as computer hardware, software, telecommunications equipment and support services that form and facilitate the use of computer networks;
Digital media, which covers digital audio, video and advertisement broadcasting services that can be created, accessed, stored or viewed on digital devices; and
E-commerce, which incorporate retail and wholesale services and margins from digitally ordered or platform enabled online transactions.

This article supplements the previous Digital activity in the Australian economy article which provides analysis of experimental data back to 2011-12.

More details on the ABS digital activity framework are covered in the Chief Economist Series.

Digital activity share of the Australian economy

Digital activity value added increased by 7.4% ($7.5 billion) in 2019-20, compared with a 2.0% increase for the total Australian economy. This growth was driven by increases in online sales from retailers and wholesalers.

Digital activity accounted for 5.9% ($109.0 billion) of total economy value added ($1,857.0 billion), compared to 5.6% ($101.5 billion) in 2018-19 (Graph 1).

Graph 1 - Digital activity value added ($m) and Share in aggregate value added (%), 2017-18 to 2019-20, Current prices
	Share of Aggregate Value Added (%)	Digital Activity Value Added ($m)
2017-18	5.80	99,060
2018-19	5.60	101,501
2019-20	5.90	109,018

Graph 1 - Digital activity value added ($m) and Share in aggregate value added (%), 2017-18 to 2019-20, Current prices

["","Share of Aggregate Value Added","Digital Activity Value Added"]

[["2017-18","2018-19","2019-20"],[[5.7999999999999998],[5.5999999999999996],[5.9000000000000004]],[[99060],[101501],[109018]]]

[]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"","axis_min":"","axis_max":"","axis_title":"","precision":-1,"axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"","axis_min":"0","axis_max":"120000","axis_title":"$m","precision":"-1","table_units":"($m)","tooltip_units":"(m)","axis_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"$","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false},{"axis_id":"1","tick_interval":"","axis_min":"0","axis_max":"6","axis_title":"%","precision":"2","table_units":"(%)","tooltip_units":"","axis_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"%","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

In 2019-20, the digital activity share of aggregate value added (5.9%) was higher than 13 industry divisions, but below traditional drivers of economic activity like Mining (10.9%), Finance (8.1%), Construction (7.6%) and Health (7.8%) (Graph 2).

Graph 2 - Industry share in aggregate value added (%), digital activity embedded, 2019-20, Current prices
	Industry (%)	Digital activity (%)
B Mining	10.9
Ownership of Dwellings	9.3
K Financial and Insurance Services	8.1
Q Health Care and Social Assistance	7.8
E Construction	7.6
M Professional, Scientific and Technical Services	7.6
C Manufacturing	6.0
Digital economy		5.9
O Public Administration and Safety	5.8
P Education and Training	5.2
I Transport, Postal and Warehousing	4.8
G Retail Trade	4.4
F Wholesale Trade	4.0
N Administrative and Support Services	3.7
L Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services	3.0
D Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services	2.6
J Information, Media and Telecommunications	2.3
A Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing	2.1
H Accommodation and Food Services	2.1
S Other Services	1.8
R Arts and Recreation Services	0.8

Graph 2 - Industry share in aggregate value added (%), digital activity embedded, 2019-20, Current prices

["","Industry","Digital activity"]

[["B Mining","Ownership of Dwellings","K Financial and Insurance Services","Q Health Care and Social Assistance","E Construction","M Professional, Scientific and Technical Services","C Manufacturing","Digital economy","O Public Administration and Safety","P Education and Training","I Transport, Postal and Warehousing","G Retail Trade","F Wholesale Trade","N Administrative and Support Services","L Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services","D Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services","J Information, Media and Telecommunications","A Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing","H Accommodation and Food Services","S Other Services","R Arts and Recreation Services"],[[10.9],[9.3000000000000007],[8.0999999999999996],[7.7999999999999998],[7.5999999999999996],[7.5999999999999996],[6],[null],[5.7999999999999998],[5.2000000000000002],[4.7999999999999998],[4.4000000000000004],[4],[3.7000000000000002],[3],[2.6000000000000001],[2.2999999999999998],[2.1000000000000001],[2.1000000000000001],[1.8],[0.80000000000000004]],[[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[5.9000000000000004],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null]]]

[]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"1","axis_min":"","axis_max":"","axis_title":"","precision":-1,"axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"1","axis_min":"","axis_max":"11","axis_title":"%","precision":"","table_units":"(%)","tooltip_units":"(%)","axis_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

The production of the digital products has not been removed from the existing industries for which it is partially embedded. Therefore, the shares add to more than 100% of aggregate value added.

Composition of digital activity in the Australian economy

Within digital activity, the share in production was dominated by demand for Support services (44.0%), Telecommunications (21.7%) and Wholesale e-commerce (18.9%) (Graph 3).

In 2019-20, the shares of E-Commerce - Retail and E-Commerce - Wholesale in total digital activity value added increased by 0.8% while the shares of Telecommunications and Digital media decreased by -1.3% and -0.8% respectively.

Graph 3 - Share in total digital activity value added (%), 2017-18 - 2019-20
	Hardware (%)	Software (%)	E-commerce - Retail (%)	Digital media (%)	E-commerce - Wholesale (%)	Telecommunications (%)	Support services (%)
2017-18	1.80	3.30	4.00	6.80	17.80	24.20	42.00
2018-19	1.80	3.00	4.70	5.80	18.00	23.00	43.60
2019-20	1.80	2.90	5.50	5.10	18.90	21.70	44.00

Graph 3 - Share in total digital activity value added (%), 2017-18 - 2019-20

["","Hardware","Software","E-commerce - Retail","Digital media","E-commerce - Wholesale","Telecommunications","Support services"]

[["2017-18","2018-19","2019-20"],[[1.8],[1.8],[1.8]],[[3.2999999999999998],[3],[2.8999999999999999]],[[4],[4.7000000000000002],[5.5]],[[6.7999999999999998],[5.7999999999999998],[5.0999999999999996]],[[17.800000000000001],[18],[18.899999999999999]],[[24.199999999999999],[23],[21.699999999999999]],[[42],[43.600000000000001],[44]]]

[]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"","axis_min":"","axis_max":"","axis_title":"","precision":-1,"axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"10","axis_min":"","axis_max":"","axis_title":"%","precision":"2","table_units":"(%)","tooltip_units":"(%)","axis_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Digital activity growth

In 2019-20, digital activity value added grew by 7.4% in current price terms, compared to a 2.0% increase in total economy value added (Graph 4).

Within digital activity, the largest increases were in E-commerce - Retail (25.1%) and E-commerce - Wholesale (12.3%) driven by growing online trade. Digital media showed a fall of 6.8%, driven by a decrease in free to air radio and TV broadcasting services, which was partially offset by an increase in internet publishing and broadcasting services.

Graph 4 - Annual value added (%), digital activity vs. total economy, 2019-20, Current prices
	Digital activities (%)	Total Economy (%)	Total digital activity (%)
Hardware	7.20
Support services	8.50
E - Commerce - Retail	25.10
E - Commerce - Wholesale	12.30
Telecommunications	1.60
Software	5.60
Digital media	-6.80
Total digital activity			7.40
Total Economy		2.00

Graph 4 - Annual value added (%), digital activity vs. total economy, 2019-20, Current prices

["","Digital activities","Total Economy","Total digital activity"]

[["Hardware","Support services","E - Commerce - Retail","E - Commerce - Wholesale","Telecommunications","Software","Digital media","Total digital activity","Total Economy"],[[7.2000000000000002],[8.5],[25.100000000000001],[12.300000000000001],[1.6000000000000001],[5.5999999999999996],[-6.7999999999999998],[null],[null]],[[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[2]],[[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[7.4000000000000004],[null]]]

[]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"","axis_min":"","axis_max":"","axis_title":"","precision":-1,"axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"","axis_min":"","axis_max":"","axis_title":"%","precision":"2","table_units":"(%)","tooltip_units":"(%)","axis_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Note: These estimates of value added do not include taxes less subsidies on products.

Graph 5 - Annual growth in value added (%), digital activity vs. total economy, Current prices, 2017-18 - 2019-20
	2017-18 (%)	2018-19 (%)	2019-20 (%)
Digital media	2.00	-12.50	-6.80
Software	13.00	-6.90	5.60
Telecommunications	0.40	-2.60	1.60
E-commerce - Wholesale	11.70	3.70	12.30
E-commerce - Retail	14.50	21.20	25.10
Support services	7.90	6.20	8.50
Hardware	-3.30	3.60	7.20
Total digital activity	6.40	2.50	7.40
Total Economy	4.80	5.90	2.00

Graph 5 - Annual growth in value added (%), digital activity vs. total economy, Current prices, 2017-18 - 2019-20

["","2017-18","2018-19","2019-20"]

[["Digital media","Software","Telecommunications","E-commerce - Wholesale","E-commerce - Retail","Support services","Hardware","Total digital activity","Total Economy"],[[2],[13],[0.40000000000000002],[11.699999999999999],[14.5],[7.9000000000000004],[-3.2999999999999998],[6.4000000000000004],[4.7999999999999998]],[[-12.5],[-6.9000000000000004],[-2.6000000000000001],[3.7000000000000002],[21.199999999999999],[6.2000000000000002],[3.6000000000000001],[2.5],[5.9000000000000004]],[[-6.7999999999999998],[5.5999999999999996],[1.6000000000000001],[12.300000000000001],[25.100000000000001],[8.5],[7.2000000000000002],[7.4000000000000004],[2]]]

[]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"","axis_min":"","axis_max":"","axis_title":"","precision":-1,"axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"axis_id":"0","tick_interval":"","axis_min":"","axis_max":"","axis_title":"%","precision":"2","table_units":"(%)","tooltip_units":"(%)","axis_units":"","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Note: These estimates of value added do not include taxes less subsidies on products.

Revisions

Some estimates of digital activity have been revised in line with the updates made through the revisions applied to the Australian National Accounts, see the Improved estimates of the annual National Accounts: Results of the 2021 historical revisions for further information. Additionally, revisions have been made to estimates in 2017-18 and 2018-19, resulting from new and updated information.

APA

Citation