The DFAT website has an excellent collection of economic and trade data on the nations and the Australian states. Below is a comparison between the Australian states for economic and trade data in 2004. The states compared are; the Australian Capital Territory , New South Wales , Northern Territory , Queensland , South Australia , Tasmania , Victoria and Western Australia .

Population

The largest three states are NSW, Victoria and Queensland. The two largest states comprise more than half of the countries population. This is undoubtedly because of the two mega-cities in these states; Sydney and Melbourne.

• 6,731,295 : NSW
• 4,972,779 : Vic
• 3,882,037 : Qld
• 1,982,204 : WA
• 1,534,250 : SA
• 482,128 : Tas
• 324,021 : ACT
• 199,913 : NT

Gross State Product (AUD Millions)

The eastern economy is the dominant one. This is also where most of the nation's population is. For comparison, New Zealand's GDP is approximately between Queensland's and Western Australia's.

• 283,067M : NSW (34.8% of Au GDP)
• 206,733M : Vic (25.4% of Au GDP)
• 140,574M : Qld (17.3% of Au GDP)
• 88,935M : WA (10.9% of Au GDP)
• 53,897M : SA (6.6% of Au GDP)
• 16,246M : ACT (2.0% of Au GDP)
• 14,283M : Tas (1.8% of Au GDP)
• 9,494M : NT (1.2% of Au GDP)

% Real Gross State Product Growth Per Head

Western Australia tops the GSP Growth per Capita.

• 5.8 : WA
• 5.1 : Qld
• 3.7 : SA
• 2.4 : Vic
• 2.0 : NSW
• 1.8 : Tas
• 1.4 : ACT
• 0.1 : NT

Unemployment Rate

The ACT leads the unemployment rate, while Tasmania has nearly twice the rate of the ACT.

• 3.9% : ACT
• 5.2% : NT
• 5.6% : NSW
• 5.6% : Vic
• 5.7% : WA
• 6.2% : Qld
• 6.4% : SA
• 6.9% : Tas

Merchandise Exports (AUD Millions)

Western Australia and Queensland topped this list. WA's main exports were Iron Ore, non-monetary gold and crude petroleum. Queensland's main exports were Coal, Beef and Aluminium. NSW was little different, sharing the same major exports as Queensland. South Australia has as its major export, alcoholic beverages, which is testament to the strength of the wine industry in South Australia.

• 34,827M : WA (29.6% of national merchandise exports)
• 22,756M : Qld (19.4% of national merchandise exports)
• 21,323M : NSW (18.1% of national merchandise exports)
• 18,946M : Vic (16.1% of national merchandise exports)
• 7,755M : SA (6.6% of national merchandise exports)
• 2,439M : Tas (2.1% of national merchandise exports)
• 2,039M : NT (1.7% of national merchandise exports)
• 277M : ACT (0.0% of national merchandise exports)

Merchandise Imports (AUD Millions)

NSW's main imports were computer equipment, medical, motor vehicles and telecommunications equipment. Victoria imported motor vehicles, petrol, aircraft and telecommunications equipment. By comparison Tasmania's main imports were Ships, Electrical Plants, Pulp/Waste paper and Cocoa.

• 57,204M : NSW (40.5% of national merchandise imports)
• 43,256M : Vic (30.7% of national merchandise imports)
• 20,148M : Qld (14.3% of national merchandise imports)
• 12,755M : WA (9.0% of national merchandise imports)
• 5,949M : ACT (No figures)
• 5,500M : SA (3.9% of national merchandise imports)
• 1,598M : NT (1.1% of national merchandise imports)
• 610M : Tas (0.4% of national merchandise imports)

Services Exports (AUD Millions)

NSW and Victoria topped this list as would be expected with the eastern economy again dominating.

• 15,262M : NSW (44.3% of national services exports)
• 7,817M : Vic (22.7% of national services exports)
• 6,301M : Qld (18.3% of national services exports)
• 2,685M : WA (7.8% of national services exports)
• 955M : SA (2.8% of national services exports)
• 785M : ACT (2.3% of national services exports)
• 481M : NT (1.4% of national services exports)
• 173M : Tas (0.5% of national services exports)

Services Imports (AUD Millions)

The eastern economy was the main user of imported services.

• 16,407M : NSW (46.1% of national services imports)
• 8,722M : Vic (24.5% of national services imports)
• 4,400M : Qld (12.4% of national services imports)
• 3,336M : WA (9.4% of national services imports)
• 1,224M : SA (3.4% of national services imports)
• 1,087M : ACT (3.1% of national services imports)
• 254M : NT (0.7% of national services imports)
• 149M : Tas (0.4% of national services imports)

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