Australia - The Lucky Country

Australia is known to many as the land Down Under. But to economists and other analysts, Australia is known as the Lucky Country.

Blessed with an abundance of natural resources, historic ties to Britain, an industrious population, and an agreeable climate, Australians have some of the highest standards of living in the world. In addition, Australia’s distance from the rest of the world has insulated it from political turmoil happening in Europe and North America.

But modern Australia is neither isolated nor isolationist. In recent decades, Australia has become an internationally competitive, advanced market economy due in large part to economic reforms adopted in the 1980s and its location in one of the fastest growing regions of the world economy.

Australia engages in global trade for her mineral wealth, in exchange for the bounty produced by the rest of the world. As a member of the Anglosphere, Australia maintains close ties with the Commonwealth and the United States. Australian soldiers have also fought overseas in both World Wars, as well as in regional peacekeeping efforts, such as deployment to East Timor during its struggle for independence.