The composition of foreign debt by country shows that the most important creditor countries for Australia in terms of total debt are Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom, representing 18, 16 and 9 per cent respectively of gross foreign debt in 1995-96.
Australia External Debt reached 1,933.6 USD bn in Dec 2022, compared with 1,894.5 USD bn in the previous quarter. Australia External Debt: USD mn data is updated quarterly, available from Sep 1988 to Dec 2022.
Total public sector borrowing was $96.6b. All Australia general government net debt (L2) reached 33.8% as a percentage of GDP.
Australian Government debt was progressively reduced after the Second World War and largely eliminated by the beginning of the 1970s.
According to usafacts.org, as of January 2023, Japan owned $1.1 trillion in US Treasuries, making it the largest foreign holder of the national debt. The second-largest holder is China, which owned $859 billion of US debt.
Australia also partners with the World Bank Group on specific development programs which support Australia's development policy priorities. Over the last five years, Australia's annual average contributions to the WBG (core and non-core) has been around USD400 million.
China may own as much as 20 per cent of all Australian Government debt according to big Canadian investment bank RBC.
Individuals income tax. Individuals' income tax is the single most important source of government revenue. Since the mid 1970s it has consistently raised around half of the Australian Government's tax receipts and continues to be a stable and predictable source of revenue.
The world's 12th largest economy
Strong growth in 2021 solidified Australia's position as the world's 12th largest economy in 2021. Nominal GDP was around A$2.2 trillion (US$1.6 trillion) in 2021. Australia is home to just 0.3% of the world's population, but accounts for 1.7% of the global economy.
In Australia, and in countries around the world, government economic support packages in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have led to large increases in government debt. This continues the trend of increasing debt since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC).
estimates China's total government debt is about $23 trillion, a figure that includes the hidden borrowing of thousands of financing companies set up by provinces and cities.
Australian Government debt was progressively reduced after the Second World War and largely eliminated by the beginning of the 1970s.
Average household debt grew by 7.3 per cent to $261,492 in 2021-22, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Australia is considered a wealthy nation with a market-based economy that has a comparatively high gross domestic product and per capita income. Its economy is driven by the service sector and the export of commodities. [Explore the top universities in Australia.]
Australians are the richest people in the world, with a median wealth three times that of the average American, a new report has shown.
Australia's average wealth is just 1.8 times our median wealth; by contrast the UK's is 2.2 times greater, while the US is second worst out of the top 50, at 6.7 times.
At the end of 2021, of the 98 countries for whom data was available, Pakistan ($27.4 billion of external debt to China), Angola (22.0 billion), Ethiopia (7.4 billion), Kenya (7.4 billion) and Sri Lanka (7.2 billion) held the biggest debts to China.
This year, Victoria is expected to hold about $170 billion in debt while NSW is forecast to hold about $160 billion. Foo said the states routinely under-delivered on their infrastructure plans.
An Associated Press analysis of a dozen countries most indebted to China — including Pakistan, Kenya, Zambia, Laos and Mongolia — found paying back that debt is consuming an ever-greater amount of the tax revenue needed to keep schools open, provide electricity and pay for food and fuel.
Investors in Japan and China hold significant shares of U.S. public debt. Together, as of September 2022, they accounted for nearly $2 trillion, or about 8 percent of DHBP. While China's holdings of U.S. debt have declined over the past decade, Japan has slightly increased their purchases of U.S. Treasury securities.