Between 1990-91 and 1998-99 Australia's total energy consumption increased by 23%. Over the same period, population increased by just under 10%, and GDP by over 34% (in chain volume terms). Aggregate energy intensity (energy consumed per unit of output) of the economy declined by around 9% from 1990-91 to 1998-99. Despite the high growth in electricity generation, total energy consumption grew at a slower rate than GDP, particularly over the more recent years shown (table 15.21).
An indicator of aggregate energy intensity, such as the ratio of energy use to GDP, does not account for the effects of changes in the structure of energy use over time. Aggregate energy intensity is a very basic indicator and does not provide an adequate picture of the underlying trends in energy intensity within the economy. The next section International comparisons of energy performance provides more detail on the composition of this aggregate indicator.
15.21 SELECTED ENERGY INDICATORS
|
 | Energy consumption | Electricity generation | Energy use by road transport | Population | GDP(a) | Per capita energy use | Per capita electricity generation | Energy use/
GDP(a) | Road transport use per capita |
| PJ | PJ | PJ | '000 | $m | GJ/capita | GJ/capita | GJ/$m | GJ/capita |
|
| 1990-91 | 3,949.9 | 1,065.0 | 796.6 | 17,284.0 | 439,783 | 228.5 | 61.6 | 8,981.5 | 46.1 |
| 1991-92 | 3,982.7 | 1,092.9 | 809.7 | 17,494.7 | 441,458 | 227.7 | 62.5 | 9,021.7 | 46.3 |
| 1992-93 | 4,081.8 | 1,096.5 | 829.1 | 17,667.1 | 457,735 | 231.0 | 62.1 | 8,917.4 | 46.9 |
| 1993-94 | 4,181.9 | 1,109.6 | 853.5 | 17,854.7 | 476,556 | 234.2 | 62.1 | 8,775.3 | 47.8 |
| 1994-95 | 4,365.3 | 1,162.6 | 878.0 | 18,071.8 | 498,113 | 241.6 | 64.3 | 8,763.7 | 48.6 |
| 1995-96 | 4,505.5 | 1,211.8 | 904.3 | 18,310.7 | 520,669 | 246.1 | 66.2 | 8,653.3 | 49.4 |
| 1996-97 | 4,611.0 | 1,244.1 | 921.3 | 18,524.2 | 540,379 | 248.9 | 67.2 | 8,532.9 | 49.7 |
| 1997-98 | 4,777.6 | 1,347.3 | 936.4 | 18,730.4 | 565,881 | 255.1 | 71.9 | 8,442.8 | 50.0 |
| 1998-99 | 4,858.3 | 1,398.3 | 960.7 | 18,937.2 | 591,546 | 256.5 | 73.8 | 8,212.9 | 50.7 |
|
| (a) Chain volume measure. Reference year is 1997-98. |
Source: Australian Demographic Statistics (3101.0); Australian System of National Accounts (5204.0); ABARE, electronic datasets. |
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