Updated the 5th of March 2019

Regional gap in GDP per capita, 2000-16 Index of regional disparity in GDP per capita, 2016

The gap in GDP per capita between the richest and poorest region increased in Australia over the last sixteen years. Behind this trend is the growth of GDP per capita of more than 50% in the Northern Territory over the period 2000-16. In Tasmania, the region with lowest GDP per capita in the country, economic growth only reached 25% in the same period.

With an annual average productivity growth of 1.1% over the period 2000-16, Australia outperformed the 1% OECD average. Regional growth ranges from 2.3 % per year in Western Australia to 0.6% per year in Victoria. The youth unemployment rate in Tasmania reached 16.4% in 2016, more than twice the level in the Canberra region.

Productivity trends, most and least dynamic regions, 2000-16 Youth unemployment rate, 15-24 years old, 2007-16

Source: OECD Regional Database. Notes: (1) Figure on regional gap in GDP per capita: OECD regions refer to the administrative tier of subnational government (large regions, Territorial Level 2); Australia is composed of 8 large regions. (2) Figure on index of regional disparity: top (bottom) 20% regions are defined as those with the highest (lowest) GDP per capita until the equivalent of 20% of national population is reached, this indicator provides a harmonised measure to rank OECD countries, using data for small regions (Territorial Level 3) when available. (3) Productivity is measured as GDP per employee at place of work in constant prices, constant Purchasing Power Parities (reference year 2010).

Australia

20 000

30 000

40 000

50 000

60 000

70 000

80 000

2000 2005 2010 2016

GDP per capita in USD PPP

Lowest regionTasmania

Highest regionNorthern Territory

35 543 USD

66 846 USD

45 817 USD

1

2

3

4

Top 20 % richest over bottom 20% poorest regionsRatio

Country (number of regions considered)

Small regions(TL3)

Large regions (TL2)

2016 2000

Australia

70 000

80 000

90 000

100 000

110 000

120 000

130 000

140 000

2000 2005 2010 2016

GDP per worker in USD PPP

Victoria: lowest productivity growth (+0.6% annually)

Western Australia: highest productivity growth (+2.3% annually)

N. Territory: highest productivity in 2016 (+1.5% average annual growth over 2000-16)

OECD

0

5

10

15

20

25

2007 2012 2016

rate (%)

Lowest rateCanberra Region ACT

Highest rateTasmania

7.4%

16.4%

12.4%Australia

Regions and Cities at a Glance 2018 – AUSTRALIA http://www.oecd.org/regional

Economic trends in regions

Updated the 5th of March 2019

Relative ranking of the regions with the best and worst outcomes in the 11 well-being dimensions, with respect to all 402 OECD regions. The eleven dimensions are ordered by decreasing regional disparities in the country. Each well-being dimension is measured by the indicators in the table below.

All eight Australian states are among the top 25% of OECD regions in three well-being dimensions: environment, income and housing. In seven out of eleven well-being dimensions, Canberra (Capital Territory) ranks the highest. Australia has the sixth largest regional disparities in safety among OECD countries.

Both the high- and low-performing states in Australia fare better than the OECD median region in all well-being dimensions, with the exceptions of unemployment rate and labour force education.

Source: OECD Regional Database. Visualisation: https://www.oecdregionalwellbeing.org. Notes: (1) OECD regions refer to the first administrative tier of subnational government (large regions, Territorial Level 2); Australia is composed of 9 large regions. (2) Household income per capita data are based on USD constant PPP, constant prices (year 2010).

NorthernTerritory

Canberra Region

Canberra Region

CanberraRegion

NorthernTerritory

Tasmania CanberraRegion

CanberraRegion

CanberraRegion

CanberraRegion

Victoria

Tasmania Tasmania

NorthernTerritory Tasmania

WesternAustralia Northern

TerritoryTasmania

NorthernTerritory

NorthernTerritory

TasmaniaNew South Wales

Safety Jobs Health Education Community LifeSatisfaction

Access toservices

CivicEngagement

Environment Income Housing

Top region Bottom region

Ra

nkin

g o

f O

EC

D r

eg

ion

s(1

to

40

2)

top

20

%b

ott

om

20

%m

idd

le 6

0%

Canberra Capital Region States and territories

Top 20% Bottom 20%

Safety

Homicide Rate (per 100 000 people), 2016 0.9 1.3 0.7 1.2

Jobs

Employment rate 15 to 64 years old (%), 2017 71.3 67.7 73.8 70.9

Unemployment rate 15 to 64 years old (%), 2017 5.7 5.5 5.0 6.8

Health

Life Expectancy at birth (years), 2016 82.2 80.4 82.9 82.0

Age adjusted mortality rate (per 1 000 people), 2016 6.7 8.1 6.4 7.0

Education

Labour force w ith at least upper secondary education (%), 2017 83.3 81.7 85.7 80.3

Community

Perceived social netw ork support (%), 2013 94.5 91.4 95.5 93.2

Life Satisfaction

Life satisfaction (scale from 0 to 10), 2013 7.3 6.8 7.5 7.2

Access to services

Households w ith broadband access (%), 2017 85.7 78.0 87.9 83.5

Civic engagement

Voters in last national election (%), 2017 or lastest year 95.1 70.9 96.3 92.4

Environment

Level of air pollution in PM 2.5 (µg/m³), 2015 5.1 12.4 4.1 6.6

Income

Disposable income per capita (in USD PPP), 2016 27 698 17 695 31 974 25 088

Housing

Rooms per person, 2016 2.3 1.8 2.6 2.3

Australian regionsCountry

Average

OECD median

region

Differences in well-being across regions

Updated the 5th of March 2019

OECD population is concentrated in cities* Percentage of population in cities, 2016

Source: OECD Metropolitan Database. Number of cities: 18 in Australia compared to 1 138 within the OECD.

In Australia, 79% of the population lives in cities of more than 50 000 inhabitants. The share of population in cities with more than 500 000 people is 67% compared to 55% in the OECD area.

Importance of metropolitan areas Cities above 500 000 people, 2016

Contribution of metropolitan areas to GDP growth Cities above 500 000 people, 2000-16

Metropolitan areas (cities above 500 000 inhabitants) in Australia account for 64% of national GDP and 68% of employment. Between 2000 and 2016 they generated for 63% of the national GDP growth.

In terms of GDP per capita, Greater Perth is among the richest 15% of OECD metropolitan areas, and Greater Adelaide is above the median of the 327 metropolitan areas. Air pollution in Australian metropolitan areas is among the lowest across the OECD, with the exception of Greater Melbourne. Four out of six Australian metropolitan areas are among the 20% least polluted of the OECD.

OECD Metropolitan areas ranking Cities above 500 000 people

GDP per capita, 2016

Air pollution (PM2.5), 2017

Source: OECD Metropolitan Database. Number of metropolitan areas with a population of over 500 000: 6 in Australia compared to 327 in the OECD.

* Note: Cities are defined here as functional urban areas, which are composed by high-density urban centres of at least 50 000 people and their areas of influence (commuting zone). For more information, see: http://www.oecd.org/cfe/regional-policy/functionalurbanareasbycountry.htm.

67%6%

6%

21%

United States

people in citieswith population above 500 000

peopleoutside cities

United States

people in cities withpopulation between50 000 and 250 000

24.1 million people - 79% live in cities

United StatesAustralia

people in cities with population between 250 000 and 500 000

OECD average

1.2 billion people - 70%live in cities

people in citieswith population

above 500 000

people in cities withpopulation between

50 000 and 250 000

peopleoutside cities

55%

9%

30%

people in cities with populationbetween 250 000 and 500 000

6%

64% 68% 67%63%58% 55%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

% of nationalGDP

% of nationalemployment

% of nationalpopulation

Australia OECD average%

63%68%

Gre

ate

r S

ydn

ey

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1 2

%

All metropolitan areas Largest contributor

Australia OECD average

32

7 m

etr

op

olit

an

are

as

0

20 000

40 000

60 000

80 000

100 000USD PPP

Top 20% richest metropolitan areas

Bottom 20% poorest metropolitan areas

0

10

20

30

Lev el of air pollution in PM 2.5 (µg/m³)

Top 20% least polluted metropolitan areas

Bottom 20% most polluted metropolitan areas

Metropolitan areas in the national economy

Updated the 5th of March 2019

Subnational government expenditure by function As a share of total subnational government expenditure, 2016

Subnational government expenditure amounts to USD 7 922 per capita in Australia compared to an OECD average of USD 6 817. In Australia, this is equivalent to 46.3% of total public expenditure and to 16.4% of GDP. In comparison, across the OECD, subnational government expenditure accounts for 40.4% of total public expenditure and for 16.2% of GDP. Health and education are the two largest spending items for subnational governments in Australia: together they represent 47% of subnational expenditure compared to 43% in the OECD area.

In Australia, 72.5% of total public investment was carried out by subnational governments compared to an OECD average of 56.9%.

Role of subnational governments in public investment Subnational government public investment per capita, 2016

Source: OECD Subnational Government Structure and Finance Database.

Note: The function ‘Other’ includes housing and community amenities, recreation, culture and religion; environment; public order and safety.

OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance 2018

The 2018 edition of OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance shows how regions and cities contribute to national growth and the well-being of societies. It updates its regular set of region-by-region indicators, examining a wide range of policies and trends and identifying those regions that are outperforming or lagging behind in their country.

Consult this publication on line: https://oe.cd/pub/2n9

HealthHealth 25% 18%

Education 22% 25% Education

Other 20% 15% Other

Economic affairs 15% 14% Economic affairs

General public services 11% 14% General public services

Social protectionSocial protection 7% 14%

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Australia OECD average

Subnational expenditure per capita: USD 7 922 USD 6 817

0

200

400

600

800

1 000

1 200

1 400

1 600

Total public investmentUSD 1 395 per capita2.9% of GDP

Total public investmentUSD 1 278 per capita3.0% of GDP

Subnational governmentinvestmentUSD 1 011 per capita72.5% of public invest.

USD per capita

Subnational government investmentUSD 727 per capita 56.9% of public invest.

OECD averageAustralia

Subnational government finance