Economy of Queensland
The economy of Queensland is the third largest economy within Australia. Queensland generated 19.5% of Australia's gross domestic product in the 2008-09 financial year. The economy is primarily built upon mining, agriculture, tourism and financial services. Queensland's main exports are coal, metals, meat and sugar.
| Currency | Australian Dollar (A$ or AUD) |
|---|---|
| 1 July – 30 June | |
| Statistics | |
| GDP | A$288.3 billion (2012-13) |
GDP growth | 3.5% (2012-13) |
| 2.5% (2013) | |
Labour force | 2,313,800 (2010-11) |
Labour force by occupation | Retail trade (11.7%), Construction (11%), Health care & social assistance (10.1%), Manufacturing (8.5%), Education & training (7.6%) |
| Unemployment | 6.2% (2018) |
Main industries | Mining, tourism, agriculture, financial services |
| External | |
| Exports | A$49.2 billion (2010-11) |
Export goods | Coal, beef, aluminium, copper, copper ores & concentrates, fertilizers, animal feed, zinc ores & concentrates, lead ores & concentrates, lead |
Main export partners | Japan (29.5%), India (11.8%), South Korea (11.3%), China (9.3%), Taiwan (5.8%) |
| Imports | A$41.7 billion (2008-2009) |
Import goods | Crude petroleum, passenger motor vehicles, refined petroleum, gold, goods vehicles, civil engineering equipment & parts, rubber tyres, treads & tubes, aircraft, spacecraft & parts, furniture, mattresses & cushions, mechanical handling equipment & parts |
Main import partners | China (11.9%), United States (11.1%), Japan (10.2%), Papua New Guinea (7.2%), Malaysia (5.7%) |
| Public finances | |
Credit rating |
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All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars. | |
Western Australia and Queensland are often referred to as the "resource states" because their economies are currently dependent on exports of resources such as coal, iron ore and natural gas. However, of the two states, Queensland has a more diversified base. In 2006, exports from Queensland totaled A$49.4 billion. By 2009 this figure had grown to A$65.5 billion.
Brisbane is categorised as a global city, and is among Asia-Pacific cities with largest GDPs. It has strengths in mining, banking, insurance, transportation, information technology, real estate and food. Some of the largest companies headquartered in Brisbane, all among Australia's largest, include Suncorp Group, Virgin Australia, Aurizon, Bank of Queensland, Flight Centre, CUA, Sunsuper, QSuper, Domino's Pizza Enterprises, Star Entertainment Group, ALS, TechnologyOne, NEXTDC, Super Retail Group, New Hope Coal, Jumbo Interactive, National Storage, Collins Foods and Boeing Australia.
In 2018, there were 134,312 international students enrolled in the state, largely focused on Brisbane. Most of the state's international students are from Asia.