In 2022, coal iron ore and natural gas were Australia's largest exports by value.
China remains Australia's largest two-way trading partner representing 24.9% of total trade.
Australia's economic complexity ranks 93rd globally indicating a need for greater export diversification.
Quick summary
Australia's top exports in 2022 were coal ($142 billion), iron ore ($124 billion), natural gas ($90 billion) and education-related services ($26 billion).
Refined petroleum was Australia's largest import in 2020, at $53 billion (10% of all imports).
China, Japan and South Korea are Australia's top export destinations. China is Australia's largest two-way trading partner, accounting for 24.9% of all imports and exports.
Australia's trade surplus fell to $6.79 billion in September 2023, down from a surplus of $10.16 billion in August 2023.
Australia ranks 93rd in the Atlas of Economic Complexity, countries such as Uganda, Malawi and Kazakhstan have a higher ranking. Over the past decade, Australia's complexity has dropped by 12 places.
Australia might not have a diverse range of exports but it's still one of the largest economies in the world. Based on GDP figures, Australia is the 12th largest economy in the world with a GDP of $1.675 trillion.
Australia's top 10 exports 2022 ($ million)
Exports
2020
2021
2022
% share 2022
1. Coal
43,368
63,505
142,345
21.20%
2. Iron ore and concentrates
116,915
154,656
124,213
18.50%
3. Natural gas
36,209
49,811
90,343
13.50%
4. Education-related travel services
31,688
22,023
26,590
4.00%
5. Gold
25,492
23,281
23,513
3.50%
6. Wheat
3,910
9,436
14,457
2.20%
7. Crude petroleum
6,239
10,113
14,424
2.20%
8. Crude minerals
993
1,823
12,227
1.80%
9. Beef
9,596
9,062
10,271
1.50%
10. Aluminium ores and concentrates
8,301
8,901
9,865
1.50%
Australia's top 10 imports ($ million)
Imports
2020
2021
2022
% share 2022
1. Refined petroleum
15,857
25,694
53,199
10.00%
2. Passenger motor vehicles
18,690
23,355
27,698
5.20%
3. Freight transport services
11,309
16,956
26,770
5.00%
4. Personal travel (excluding education-related services)
China remains Australia's largest export partner but trade fell 2% vs the previous year. Exports to Japan and South Korea grew 84% and 42%, respectively year-on-year. Most of the demand was driven by strong commodity prices.
The top 5 import partners for Australia in 2022 were:
China: $114.24 billion (up 22%).
USA: $56.66 billion (up 29%).
Singapore: $28.89 billion (up 65%).
South Korea: $27.92 billion (up 111%).
Japan: $27.43 billion (up 131%).
These 5 countries make up 50% of Australia's total international trade in imports.
In 2020–21:
The number of Australian business importers increased by 6%, to 124,507.
56% of business importers in Australia traded at least once with China.
Australia's largest two-way trading partners
Country
Amount
% share
1. China
$299.4 billion
24.90%
2. Japan
$147.3 billion
12.30%
3. United States
$87.3 billion
7.30%
4. South Korea
$81.9 billion
6.80%
5. Singapore
$52.9 billion
4.40%
6. India
$48.5 billion
4.00%
7. Taiwan
$42.7 billion
3.60%
8. Malaysia
$33.4 billion
2.80%
9. New Zealand
$31.4 billion
2.60%
10. Germany
$29.2 billion
2.40%
International trade balance
Australia's trade surplus fell to $6.79 billion in September 2023, down from a surplus of $10.16 billion in August. This is the lowest surplus level since March 2021.
ABS data shows that exports fell $658 million (1.4%) in September 2023, driven by non-monetary gold.
Non-monetary gold exports fell by 39.2% from August to September 2023, but exports of general merchandise increased by 2.1%.
Imports rose $2.7 billion (7.5%) from August to September 2023.
Non-monetary gold imports increased by 39.7% from August to September 2023, while capital goods imports increased by 23.3%.
In the 2022 calendar year, Australia's balance on goods and services was a surplus of $155 billion.
Total goods and services exports increased by 29% to $668.94 billion in 2022. Total goods and services imports increased by 33% to $513.21 billion in 2022.
Economic Complexity Index
The Atlas of Economic Complexity from the Growth Lab at Harvard University ranks economies around the world based on their level of complexity. Each jurisdiction is given an Economic Complexity Index (ECI).
Australia is ranked 93rd with an ECI of -0.55 and has fallen 12 places over the 10 years to 2021. It's also significantly down from its ranking of 60th (ECI: 0.04) in 2000. New Zealand is ranked 52nd with an ECI of 0.20.
According to the index, Australia's worsening complexity is due to "a lack of diversification of exports".
Australia has the 9th richest economy per capita out of the 133 included in the study, with a GDP per capita of $60,444. Australia's GDP per capita growth has averaged 0.7% over the 5 years to 2021.
Australia's lack of economic complexity means slow economic growth is predicted. Harvard Growth Lab forecasts growth in Australia of 2.0% annually in the 10 years to 2031, ranking Australia in the bottom half of countries.
Tim Falk is a writer for Finder, writing across a diverse range of topics. Over the course of his 20-year writing career, Tim has reported on everything from travel and personal finance to pets and TV soap operas. When he’s not staring at his computer, you can usually find him exploring the great outdoors.
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If you're looking to transfer money out of Australia, read our guide on the six best transfer companies.
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