Economy of Western Australia

Economy of Western Australia
Mount Tom Price mine: Iron-ore is the state's leading export commodity
CurrencyAustralian dollar
Statistics
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.


The Western Australian economy is a state economy dominated by its resources and services sector and largely driven by the export of iron-ore, gold, liquefied natural gas and agricultural commodities such as wheat. Covering an area of 2.5 million km2, the state is Australia's largest, accounting for almost one-third of the continent. Western Australia is the nation's fourth most populous state, with 2.6 million inhabitants (11% of the national population).[1]

In 2011, Western Australia provided 46% of Australia's merchandising exports.[2] In 2018-19, Western Australia's gross state product was A$260.6 billion (17.5% of Australia's GDP),[3] making it the nation's most productive state, and one of the most wealthy places on earth with a GDP per capita of A$135,479 (compared with the national average of A$74,605).[4] In 2018-19, Western Australia exported A$147.1 billion worth of goods and imported A$34.1 billion, creating a trade surplus of A$112.95 billion. This is in contrast to the national trade deficit of A$70.5 billion.[5]

  1. ^ "Australia at a Glance 2008". Australian Bureau of Statistics. 7 February 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
  2. ^ Curran, Enda (21 February 2012). "Western Australia Plans Sovereign Wealth Fund". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  3. ^ https://www.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-01/gross-state-product-economic-notes-2018-19.pdf [dead link]
  4. ^ https://www.jtsi.wa.gov.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/wa-economic-profile-0619.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  5. ^ https://www.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-02/international-trade-economic-notes-2019.pdf [dead link]