Australia - Gross capital formation (% of GDP)

Gross capital formation (% of GDP) in Australia was 22.27 as of 2020. Its highest value over the past 60 years was 33.63 in 1969, while its lowest value was 22.27 in 2020.

Definition: Gross capital formation (formerly gross domestic investment) consists of outlays on additions to the fixed assets of the economy plus net changes in the level of inventories. Fixed assets include land improvements (fences, ditches, drains, and so on); plant, machinery, and equipment purchases; and the construction of roads, railways, and the like, including schools, offices, hospitals, private residential dwellings, and commercial and industrial buildings. Inventories are stocks of goods held by firms to meet temporary or unexpected fluctuations in production or sales, and "work in progress." According to the 1993 SNA, net acquisitions of valuables are also considered capital formation.

Source: World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files.

See also:

Year Value
1960 31.57
1961 33.14
1962 28.42
1963 30.82
1964 30.69
1965 33.53
1966 32.61
1967 32.92
1968 32.98
1969 33.63
1970 32.97
1971 32.09
1972 30.42
1973 28.38
1974 30.56
1975 26.80
1976 26.42
1977 26.96
1978 25.81
1979 27.84
1980 27.08
1981 28.67
1982 29.82
1983 25.29
1984 26.62
1985 28.01
1986 28.50
1987 27.37
1988 27.98
1989 29.62
1990 28.95
1991 24.23
1992 22.35
1993 23.60
1994 24.27
1995 26.01
1996 24.80
1997 24.87
1998 25.66
1999 26.18
2000 26.29
2001 23.43
2002 24.44
2003 25.96
2004 27.09
2005 27.48
2006 27.54
2007 27.54
2008 28.63
2009 27.39
2010 26.81
2011 26.47
2012 27.73
2013 27.88
2014 26.74
2015 26.28
2016 25.41
2017 24.10
2018 24.56
2019 23.29
2020 22.27

Limitations and Exceptions: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total. Data on capital formation may be estimated from direct surveys of enterprises and administrative records or based on the commodity flow method using data from production, trade, and construction activities. The quality of data on government fixed capital formation depends on the quality of government accounting systems (which tend to be weak in developing countries). Measures of fixed capital formation by households and corporations - particularly capital outlays by small, unincorporated enterprises - are usually unreliable. Estimates of changes in inventories are rarely complete but usually include the most important activities or commodities. In some countries these estimates are derived as a composite residual along with household final consumption expenditure. According to national accounts conventions, adjustments should be made for appreciation of the value of inventory holdings due to price changes, but this is not always done. In highly inflationary economies this element can be substantial.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Gross domestic product (GDP) from the expenditure side is made up of household final consumption expenditure, general government final consumption expenditure, gross capital formation (private and public investment in fixed assets, changes in inventories, and net acquisitions of valuables), and net exports (exports minus imports) of goods and services. Such expenditures are recorded in purchaser prices and include net taxes on products.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual

Classification

Topic: Economic Policy & Debt Indicators

Sub-Topic: National accounts