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Oceania: Oceania Economy Profile

2012/08/15

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Oceania Economy Profile

The area known as Oceania has a widely varied economy, with the large nations of Australia and New Zealand having modern, industrial economies, while the smaller island nations depend largely on agriculture, fishing, and tourism.

Australia has a prosperous Western-style mixed economy, with a per capita GDP on par with the four dominant Western European economies, and ranked third on the 2004 Human Development Index and sixth on The Economist world-wide quality-of-life index 2005. In recent years, the Australian economy has been resilient in the face of global economic downturn, with steady growth. Rising output in the domestic economy has been offsetting the global slump, and business and consumer confidence remains robust. Australia's emphasis on reform is another key factor behind the economy's strength.

New Zealand also has a modern, developed economy. Its primary export industries are agriculture, horticulture, fishing, forestry and information technology. There are also substantial tourism and export education industries. The film and wine industries are considered to be up-and-coming.

The other islands of Oceania depend mainly on the primary sectors of agriculture, fishing and mining. Industry is scarce due to the lack of natural resources and room for development. Tourism is also a key industry. Some of the smaller countries even bring in large amounts of money selling stamps to collectors. Unfortunately. imports tend to outpace export capital, leaving most of the smaller nations with a trade deficit.

Australia and New Zealand's trading arrangements are known as Closer Economic Relations. Australia and New Zealand, along with other countries, are members of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the East Asia Summit (EAS), which may become trade blocs in the future particularly EAS.