For many years, natural resources have played an important role in Canada's economic development. Now, natural resources are still important, but they continue to decline as a percentage of GDP, with agriculture, mining, logging, and other industries accounting for less than 8 percent of the economy's GDP. Natural resource industries also include forestry, fishing, mining and energy. These industries play an important role in contributing to Canada's development. Water resources are one of Canada's important natural resources. Hydroelectricity accounts for three-quarters of the country's total power generation, second only to the United States and Russia, and is the world's third largest hydroelectric power producer. Canada is rich in forest resources, and forestry is very well developed and vital to Canada's economy. Mineral resources are Canada's most valuable resource. Canada has almost all the minerals needed for a modern economy. It produces more than 60 types of minerals. The most valuable of these are crude oil, natural gas, iron ore, nickel, zinc, asbestos and potash. Canada leads the world in nickel and zinc production, is second in potash production, and is third and fourth in gold and silver production, respectively. Canada is rich in uranium and aluminum resources and is a major producer of uranium. Manufacturing plays an important role in Canada's economy, accounting for 19% of GDP in 1995. Major industries include automobile manufacturing and food processing. Canada's manufacturing products include paper, technical equipment, automobiles, food, clothing, etc. Canada is the world's largest exporter of lumber and newsprint. The largest trading partner of Canada's manufacturing industry is the United States. Canada, like other developed countries, is dominated by the service sector. Today, Canada is the second largest service sector in the seven western countries after the United States. The service sector accounts for 67% of Canada's GDP and provides about 70% of the jobs in the labour market. Areas covered include: transportation, education, health care, construction, finance, communications and the government sector. More than 70 percent of Canada's workforce is currently employed in the service sector. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which came into force on January 1, 1994, has brought the Canadian economy closer to the U.S. economy. A well-educated workforce, efficient infrastructure, abundant natural resources, and an excellent investment climate make Canada increasingly attractive to international investors. In addition, the development of high-tech industries such as electronics, biology, environmental protection and the involvement of a growing number of international enterprises provide a strong guarantee for the sustainable development of the Canadian economy. Canada's agriculture plays an important role in the national economy. The main agricultural products are wheat, oats and barley, etc. Canada is the world's largest grain exporter. The producing areas of wheat are mainly the three plains provinces, where the land is fertile, rainfall is sufficient, and the land is flat and suitable for farming. This region produces so much grain that it has been called not only the breadbasket of Canada, but also the breadbasket of the world. It is estimated that one Canadian farmer produces enough food to feed 55 people
Australia's Economic Characteristics
Australia has ensured the gradual realization of the country's strategic economic, financial and social development goals through a series of effective economic restructuring and financial liberalization reforms in the 1970s-1980s. In the decade or so from the 1990s to the present, Australia has withstood the impact and test of the Asian financial crisis, maintained rapid growth for more than a decade, and sustained low inflation and unemployment rates.
Australia's economic growth
Since 1990, the Australian economy has maintained rapid growth. In the decade from 1996 to 2006, the country's real GDP growth rate averaged 3.26 percent, ranking 7th in the world in terms of average annual GDP growth, making it one of the strongest growing economies in the world.
Four major industries support the Australian economy.
At present, the service industry, manufacturing industry, mining industry and agriculture are the four leading industries in Australia. According to Australia's official statistics, in 2006, the output value of Australia's service industry, manufacturing industry, mining industry and agriculture accounted for 78%, 13%, 5% and 4% of GDP respectively.
Rich and diverse mineral resources, skilled mining professionals and advanced extraction and processing technologies have made Australia a leading country in the global mining industry. Currently, the mining industry accounts for about 5 percent of Australia's total economy, and mineral exports account for one-third of the country's export earnings. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in the 13 years from 1994 to 2006, the output value of the mining industry rapidly climbed from A$2.35 billion to A$12.584 billion. Driven by the huge demand for raw materials in China and India, Australia's mining industry will continue to maintain rapid growth momentum.
As a result of the rapid development of services, mining and manufacturing industries, Australia's agricultural share of the national economy from 7% in 1970 to about 4% in 2006, the agricultural sector accounted for the proportion of social employment also fell from 8.2% in 1970 to 4.6% in 2006. However, the country's agriculture itself has continued to grow, with increasing production, output and efficiency, and a significant increase in agricultural exports.
Consumer spending accounted for 70 percent of the total, and fixed capital investment grew rapidly.
In 2006, Australia's private consumption and government consumption reached 543.37 billion and 171.85 billion Australian dollars, accounting for 58.9% and 18.6% of GDP, the two together up to 77.5%, fixed asset investment accounted for only 7.2% of GDP. Obviously, compared with investment, consumption in the Australian economy is in a more important position.
Since 1993, by the mining industry, manufacturing industries such as the rapid development of the Sydney Olympics and the pull of Australia's investment in fixed assets grew steadily and climbed to 39.3 billion Australian dollars in 2000, but the Olympic Games after two years of investment in a certain degree of slowdown, coupled with the country's recession that year, so that the fixed asset investment in 2001 and 2002, a negative growth. negative growth. However, the real estate industry continues to heat up, especially in the precision manufacturing industry and mining industry in western Australia to pull, Australia's fixed asset investment once again a spurt of rapid growth, which also greatly contributed to the economic prosperity. 2006, Australia's fixed asset investment totaled 65.7 billion Australian dollars, an increase of 4.6 percent year-on-year.
The overall consumer price index rose, and inflationary pressure gradually appeared.
While the economy continues to grow rapidly, Australia's inflation rate is still at a relatively low level, the consumer price index growth is relatively moderate, of which the country's consumer price index in 2003 and 2004 increased by 1.9% and 2% respectively. However, from 2005 onwards, Australia's inflation rate has risen, the year the consumer price index rose sharply 3.3%, although the RBA to take a series of control measures, but in 2006 the CPI still increased by 3%, of which the second quarter of the CPI increase of as high as 4.4%, a record high CPI in the past decade. With the increasing inflationary pressure, the RBA also correspondingly raised the benchmark interest rate from 4.75% in 2004 to 6.25% in 2006. In order to further curb inflation, the Reserve Bank of Australia on August 8 this year again to raise the benchmark interest rate of 25 basis points to 6.50 percent 鈥熣庖彩亲匀ツ辏翟乱岳窗拇 exhausted the Asian central bank for the fourth time to raise interest rates.
Total imports and exports have grown steadily, and the balance of the trade deficit has been reduced
In recent years, Australia's foreign trade has maintained a rapid growth momentum, with total import and export merchandise trade having climbed from $91.25 billion in 1992 to $292.41 billion in 2006, an average annual increase of 29.1 percent. With the increasing demand for resources in emerging Asian economies, Australia's trade deficit is expected to shrink further in the future.
Analysis of the drivers of Australia's economic growth
Industrial restructuring characterized by export-oriented economy and specialization.
In order to enhance the sustainable development of the national economy, Australia began a national economic restructuring in the 1970s. On the one hand, the national economy was transformed from inward-oriented to outward-oriented. The Australian government gradually realized that the development of an export-oriented economy could break through the constraints of a small domestic market, improve the international competitiveness of enterprises, and the growth of exports could also improve the balance of payments, so it began to focus on the development of an externally oriented economy to increase exports to drive the development of the national economy.
On the other hand, the manufacturing industry changed from diversification to specialization. In order to get rid of the sequelae of the colonial economy, reduce the dependence on imported products, after the Second World War, Australia's manufacturing industry development is mainly diversified as the goal, the establishment of a relatively complete national economic system. early 1970s, the Australian government gradually transformed the manufacturing industry development mode, in order to better utilize the advantages of its factor endowment, the development of comparative advantage of the manufacturing industry, the government strongly support enterprises to maintain a certain production technology and capacity based on the gradual shift to specialization, the government has been working hard to develop the manufacturing industry, and to develop the manufacturing industry. In order to make better use of its factor endowment and develop a manufacturing industry with comparative advantages, the government strongly supported enterprises in maintaining a certain level of production technology and capacity, and gradually shifting to specialized production. To this end, the Government has sought to rationalize its product mix and has adjusted the regional distribution of industry and the organization of enterprises. Under the guidance of government policy, some electronic components and large ships have ceased production, while many new products (such as foodstuffs, medical devices and cultural goods) have been put into production, and some industries such as automobiles and shipbuilding have been reorganized.
Developing import and export trade with comparative advantages.
Australia is a large resource country, small population, low resource costs, high labor costs, manufacturing prices in the international comparative advantage of low. To this end, the Australian government has made use of its strengths and avoided its weaknesses to adjust the structure of import and export trade through domestic industrial structure and trade structure adjustment, while introducing liberal foreign trade policies such as lowering tariffs, reducing trade barriers and expanding trading partners. Giving full play to its advantage of rich natural resources, Australia has become an important exporter of primary products in the world, and its traditional export products are mineral products, livestock products and agricultural products, including coal, gold, wool, beef, iron ore, bauxite, aluminum, crude oil and refined oil, natural gas, cotton and sugar. Among them, fuel and mineral exports account for about 1/3 of the total value of Australia's exports.
Domestic market development strategy of introducing competition mechanism.
Australia has a population of only 21 million, but private consumption has accounted for 60% of its GDP, a strong domestic consumer market has enabled Australia to withstand the Asian financial crisis and the 2003 severe drought double test. The achievements are attributed to the Australian government's efforts to cultivate a competitive domestic market and the introduction of a series of effective reform policies in line with the laws of the market. First, it actively promoted the privatization reform of state-owned enterprises to enhance the vitality of enterprises, removed barriers to market access, implemented policies to deregulate the financial and labor markets, and provided a competitive market environment. Second, it improved the market's resource allocation capacity through the reform of the distribution system of taxation and welfare, and increased the capacity of individual immediate consumption through measures such as full employment, improving the social security system, and encouraging consumer credit. The cultivation of the domestic market has not only boosted domestic demand, but also to meet the growing consumer demand of the people and maintain social stability.
Financial liberalization reform with deregulation as the main component.
From the 1940s to the 1970s, Australia had a long history of strict regulation of the financial sector, and was one of the countries with the strictest financial controls in the world at the time.
For Australia's financial industry, the financial liberalization reform with deregulation as the main content is undoubtedly a profound revolution, in the short period of six years from 1980 to 1985, Australia canceled or relaxed almost all the financial control measures, financial liberalization in one step, Australia in the developed countries quickly by the most stringent financial control to the most loosely regulated countries. Australia quickly changed from the most tightly regulated country to the most loosely regulated country in the developed world.