Oceania | Rank #13 nominal, #19 PPP
GDP of Australia: $1.8T in 2026 (IMF Data)
Resource-rich G20 economy with the world's longest unbroken pre-COVID growth streak (29 years), heavily exposed to Chinese commodity demand.
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook (April 2026 release) | Last verified May 2026
Australia 2026
$1.8T
Nominal GDP (USD)
+1.6%
Real GDP growth, 2026 IMF projection
$66,700
Per capita (nominal USD)
$1.8T
PPP GDP (international USD)
Population (2026)
27M
Currency
AUD
Capital
Canberra
Region
Oceania
The Australia Economy in 2026
Australia is the world's largest exporter of iron ore and the second-largest exporter of liquefied natural gas. Mining and resources directly account for around 14 percent of GDP and a much larger share of exports. China is the dominant customer, taking roughly 35 percent of Australian merchandise exports, predominantly iron ore and LNG.
Education services are the second-largest export sector. International students, mostly from China and India, contributed over $40 billion to the economy before the pandemic and have returned to similar levels. The combination of resources and services exports has supported a persistent current-account surplus since 2020.
Australia held the OECD record for the longest unbroken growth run, 29 years from 1991 to 2019, before the COVID recession. Real GDP grew 1.7 percent in 2025 and the IMF projects 1.6 percent for 2026. Household debt at around 190 percent of disposable income is among the highest globally and makes the economy unusually sensitive to interest-rate changes.
Sector Composition
How Australia's GDP breaks down by economic sector (approximate 2024 shares, source: World Bank national accounts).
Expenditure Components: C + I + G + (X-M)
Approximate shares of Australia's GDP by spending category. Net exports are positive (trade surplus).
Note: Shares are calculated on an absolute basis for visual proportionality. Negative net exports reduce GDP rather than adding to it.
Historical GDP Trajectory
| Year | Nominal GDP (USD) | Real Growth |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | $1.5T | +2.7% |
| 2020 | $1.4T | -2.1% |
| 2024 | $1.7T | +1.5% |
| 2025 | $1.7T | +1.7% |
| 2026 | $1.8T | +1.6% |
Source: IMF WEO April 2026 historical series, cross-referenced with World Bank Open Data. Nominal figures rounded to one decimal trillion. Real growth uses each country's national price deflator.
Top Exports
The goods and services Australia sells abroad in the largest volumes, contributing to the (X) term in the GDP formula.
Sources
- IMF Australia Country Page: primary source for nominal and PPP figures, WEO April 2026 dataset.
- World Bank Open Data: Australia: historical series, cross-check on sector shares.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS): official national accounts.
- IMF World Economic Outlook: the headline biannual cross-country dataset.