res and the stimulation of
exports to offset rising imports.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $430.5 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3.6% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $23,600 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.1%
industry: 27.7%
services: 69.2% (1994)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 3.1% (1996 est.)

Labor force:
total: 8.4 million (December 1996)
by occupation : finance and services 34%, public and community
services 23%, wholesale and retail trade 20%, manufacturing and
industry 17%, agriculture 6% (1987 est.)

Unemployment rate: 8.5% (1996 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $95.69 billion
expenditures : $95.15 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(FY95/96 est.)

Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food
processing, chemicals, steel

Industrial production growth rate: 1.2% (1995)

Electricity - capacity: 38.83 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production: 173 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 8,278 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products: wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruits; cattle,
sheep, poultry

Exports:
total value: $59.5 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities : coal, gold, meat, wool, alumina, iron ore, wheat,
machinery and transport equipment
partners: Japan 24%, South Korea 8%, NZ 7%, US 7%, UK, Taiwan,
Singapore, Hong Kong (1994/95)

Imports:
total value : $59.7 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: machinery and transport equipment, computers and office
machines, telecommunication equipment and parts; crude oil and
petroleum products
partners: US 22%, Japan 17%, UK 6%, China 5%, NZ 5% (1994/95)

Debt - external: $134 billion (June 1996)

Economic aid:
donor: ODA, $1.25 billion (FY95/96)

Currency: 1 Australian dollar ($A) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1 - 1.2835 (January
1997), 1.2773 (1996), 1.3486 (1995), 1.3668 (1994), 1.4704 (1993),
1.3600 (1992)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

@Australia:Communications

Telephones: 8.7 million (1987 est.)

Telephone system: good domestic and international service
domestic: domestic satellite system
international: submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and
Indonesia; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (4 Indian Ocean and
6 Pacific Ocean), 2 Inmarsat (Indian and Pacific Ocean Regions)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 258, FM 67, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stat