Understanding Australia’s Business and Consumer Environment: A Guide for Successful Business Down Under

Key Findings:

• At the height of the global slowdown, advanced economies as a
  whole contracted by 3.5% – contrasting with Australia’s 1.4% growth.
• Whereas incomes and consumer expenditure have stagnated across
  many advanced economies, Australia’s per capita disposable income and
  expenditure have expanded by 9.8% and 3.5% respectively in real terms
  since 2008.
• In 2012, Australia was ranked 15 out of 183 economies on the
  World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index, meaning it is the fifteenth
  easiest place in the world to start and operate a local firm.
• Australia has an educated population: 99.9% of adults (those
  aged 15+) were literate in 2011, but suffers from skills shortages.
• In 2011, the population aged 45-49 in Australia had the
  highest average gross income: A$77,810 (US$80,259).