Australia’s economy is lagging behind Morocco, Uganda and Senegal – and experts say it’s not likely to get any better.
While Australia is a generally high income country, the country has one of the least complex economies, ranking 93rd out of 133.
Australia has lost 22 positions in just a decade due to few key exports and industries.
The Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for International Development developed the Atlas of Economic Complexity, which measures how diverse a country’s economy is.
Australia’s economy lags behind Morocco, Uganda and Senegal and is unable to develop products due to limited natural resources, and experts say it is unlikely to get any better
While Australia (pictured) is a high-income country, the nation ranks 93rd among the most complex countries, losing 22 positions in a decade
For countries to get richer, they must continue to develop sophisticated products and industries, which Australia has failed to do.
The report points out that Australia does not have a diverse range of basic products.
However, to become a richer country, Australia will need to develop more products for export, which will make the economy more complex.
Though Australia is rich in iron ore, coal, oil and gas, the report finds that while Australia is wealthy, it’s growing dumber.
“Compared to a decade earlier (1995), Australia’s economy has become less complex and has fallen 22 positions in the ECI ranking,” the report says.
“Australia’s deteriorating complexity has been caused by a lack of export diversification.”
Going forward, the report advises Australia to utilize existing resources and diversify production.
The report also pointed out that Australia is far less complex than expected for its income level, meaning income is expected to grow slowly.
The Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for International Development developed the Atlas of Economic Complexity, which measures the development of a country’s exports
The economy is expected to grow at just 2.2 percent each year for the next decade and is expected to rank in the bottom half of countries worldwide.
The report explains that counties that want to get richer must consider developing new products.
“Research shows that countries whose exports are more complex than expected for their income levels grow faster,” says the report.
“Growth can therefore be driven by a process of know-how diversification to produce a broader and increasingly complex range of goods and services.
“Australia’s biggest exports are low complexity products, minerals and agriculture.”
Uganda (pictured) ranks 91st among the most complex countries, compared to a decade ago, Uganda’s economy has become more complex and has improved 7 positions in the ECI ranking.
