Business in Australia

Composition of GDP : The Australian economy is based overwhelmingly on services, which account for 79.1% of GDP.
The mining sector accounts for 7.6%; manufacturing 11%; agriculture, forestry and fishery 2.3%.

GDP (current prices) : US$1,010.5 billion (2008)
US$ 755.1 billion (2009 IMFforecast)

GDP Per Capita : US$ 46,907 (2008)
US$ 34,974 (2009 IMF forecast)

GDP Growth : 2.0% (2008)

Foreign Exchange Reserves : US$ 40,919 mn. (April, 2009)

Main natural resources : Coal, Gold, Iron Ore, Bauxite, Alumina, Uranium, Lead, Zinc, Copper, Nickel, Natural Gas.

Principal crops : Wheat, Barley, Oats, Oilseeds

Global Trade : A$448.4 bn (2008)
(Exports :A$222.56 bn;Imports : $225.83 bn)

Financial Year : July 1 - June 30

Currency : Australian Dollar

Exchange Rate : A$ 1 = US¢ 81.56 (July 2009)
A$ 1 = Rs. 39.50 (July 2009)

AUSTRALIA'S PRINCIPAL TRADING PARTNERS (2008, Australian$)

Country	Total Trade	Rank	Exports	Rank	Imports	Rank
Japan	$70.80 bn.	1	$50.56 bn.	1	$20.23	3
China	$67.73 bn.	2	$32.47 bn.	2	$35.25 bn.	1
United States	$38.83 bn.	3	$12.13 bn.	5	$26.69 bn.	2
Republic of Korea	$24.90 bn.	4	$18.46 bn.	3	$6.43 bn.	10
Singapore	$22.35 bn.	5	$6.16 bn.	9	$16.19 bn.	4
United Kingdom	$19.27 bn.	6	$9.32 bn.	7	$9.95 bn.	7
New Zealand	$17.00 bn.	7	$9.39 bn.	6	$7.60 bn.	9
Thailand	$15.55 bn.	8	$5.34 bn.	10	$10.21 bn.	6
India	$15.35 bn.	9	$13.52 bn.	4	$1.83 bn.	24

Major Australian Exports (2008) :
Coal (A$ 46.40 bn.)
Iron Ore & concentrates ($30.22 bn.)
Gold ($14.29 bn.)
Crude Petroleum ($10.35 bn.)
Natural Gas ($9.05 bn.)

Major Australian Imports (2008) :
Crude Petroleum (A$17.9 bn.)
Refined Petroleum (A$15.06 bn.)
Motor Vehicles (A$14.75 bn.)
Gold (A$9.73 bn.)
Telecom Equipment (A$ 6.90 bn.)

Outward Investment : A$1,000 bn. (May 2009)

Inward Investment : A$1,657.5 bn. (May 2009)

Leading Investing Countries :
U.S.A. ($430.06 bn./25.9%)
U.K. ($406 bn./ 24.5%)
Japan ($63.8 bn./ 3.8%)
Hong Kong ($46.18 bn./2.8%)
Switzerland ($30.9 bn./ 1.8%)

Major Tourist attractions

Australia encompasses a range of climatic zones, from the tropical northern regions, through to arid expanses of the interior and temperate regions in the south. Its beaches, a pristine natural environment, and unique fauna attract a large number of tourists.

Australia has several tourist attractions : the Great Barrier Reef, the Gold Coast of Queensland and Uluru (Ayers Rock), the rugged outback of the Northern Territory and the Blue Mountains. Other attractions in Australia range from the vibrant cities of Sydney and Melbourne to the charms of the Gold Coast.

The Australian coastline has thousands of miles of beautiful beaches. Information on resorts, excursions, places of interest, sports and activities within Australia is available under each individual State section at the Australia's official travel website http://www.australia.com/index.aspx

Major Universities

Group of Eight: The Group of Eight are the leading group of eight research intensive universities in Australia. The group of eight member universities are:

The University of Adelaide
The Australian National University
The University of Melbourne
Monash University
The University of New South Wales
The University of Queensland
The University of Sydney
The University of Western Australia

Besides the universities in the Group of Eight, there are 32 other universities. The complete list is available at http://www.australian-universities.com/list/

Major newspapers/magazines

All newspapers in Australia can be accessed at http://www.nla.gov.au/npapers/ and all journals can be accessed at http://www.nla.gov.au/ajol/

Website of some widely read newspapers are given below:

The Age : http://www.theage.com.au/
The Australian : http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/
The Sydney Morning Herald : http://www.smh.com.au/
Australian Financial Review : http://www.afr.com/home/
The Canberra Times : http://www.canberratimes.com.au/