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%.