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Country profiles

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China

Trade statistics

China is now Australia’s largest bilateral trading partner. Bilateral trade with China reached A$49.9 billion in 2006-07.

Poverty Statistics
- 61 million or 4.6% of Chinese are considered below the national poverty line.
- According to the World Bank, 219 million or 16.6% of Chinese still live on less than $1 per day. This is extreme poverty and it means families are not able to afford the most basic necessities to ensure survival.
- 620 million or 47% of Chinese live on less than $2 a day. At this income level, it is not possible to have many of the things we take for granted, such as healthcare and education. The smallest misfortune (health issue, job loss, etc) threatens survival.
- Although high growth in China continues without showing any signs of slowing down, the benefits are not reaching the poor. This has led to China having the second highest level of income inequality in Asia behind Nepal (ADB 2007).
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India

Trade statistics

India is now Australia’s 6th largest export market with bilateral trade worth over A$11 billion. Growth in trade exceeds 20% year after year.

Poverty Statistics
- 282 million or 25% of Indians live below the national poverty line.
- 390 million or 34.3% of Indians live on less than $1 a day (World Bank, 2004), struggling to come up with the money for the most basic necessities to ensure survival.
- 903 million or 79.9% of Indians live on less than $2 a day, unable to afford adequate healthcare or education.
- 1.9 million children die each year before the age of five.
- 2 million Indians live with HIV and AIDS.
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Thailand

Trade statistics

More than 650 Australian companies are registered active exporters to Thailand under TAFTA, the Thailand Australia Free Trade Agreement. Bilateral trade is worth more than A$10.5 billion.

Poverty Statistics
- 6.1 million or 10% of Thai people live below the national poverty line.
- Only 1.26% of Thailand’s 61.5 million people live on less than $1 a day, which is around 775,000 people.
- However, 25.2% or 15.5 million Thai people are live on less than $2 a day.
- Some NGOs estimate there are up to 2.8 million prostitutes in Thailand, one third of whom are thought to be children sold into the trade.
- 854,000 or 1.4% of Thai people are living with HIV and AIDS.
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Indonesia

Trade statistics

The majority of Australia’s largest companies have operations in Indonesia, with bilateral trade worth more than $9 billion.

According to The World in 2050, a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2006, Indonesia is predicted to be the second fastest growing economy over the next 45 years (behind India but ahead of China).

Poverty Statistics
- 39 million or 18% of Indonesia is officially poor according to the national poverty line.
- There is no data on the number of Indonesians living on less than $1 and $2 a day.
- The economy is growing but unfortunately, so is poverty.
- The number of underweight children is increasing. Currently 66 million or 28.2% of Indonesian children under five are underweight.
- Rapid deforestation in Indonesia is a major environmental concern.
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Vietnam

Trade statistics

Official figures cite 146 Australian investment projects in Vietnam, including those of large corporations such as BlueScope Steel, ANZ Bank and QBE. Bilateral trade in 2006 was worth approximately A$6.6 billion.

Poverty Statistics
- 16.4 million or 19.5% of Vietnamese are below the national poverty line.
- There is no data on the number of Vietnamese living on less than $1 and $2 a day.
- Poverty is increasing, not decreasing, in the Mekong Delta region.
- 17% of Vietnamese are malnourished.
- Over half of urban dwellers still live in slums.
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Papua New Guinea

Trade statistics

Papua New Guinea is heavily dependent on Australia for development. Over 50% of Papua New Guinea’s international trade and investment is from Australia. In 2006, bilateral trade was valued at A$3.8 billion.

Poverty Statistics
- 2.3 million or 37% of Papua New Guineans live below the national poverty line.
- There is no data available on the number of Papua New Guineans living on less than $1 and $2 a day.
- According to a recent AusAID report, 64,000 Papua New Guineans are now HIV-positive. The figure will rise to 500,000 by 2025 unless the present trend is reversed.
- Only 58% of children reach Grade 5.
- Papua New Guinea is at risk of failing to reach six out of the eight MDGs and is probably lagging the furthest behind of any nation in the Asia Pacific.
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The Philippines

Trade statistics

Bilateral trade with the Philippines was valued at A$1.75 Billion in 2006. Australia is a major investor in the mining sector.

Poverty Statistics
- 36.4 million or 40% of Filipinos live below the national poverty line.
- There is no data available on the number of Filipinos living on less than $1 and $2 a day.
- The Philippines has the 3rd highest rate of inequality between rich and poor in the Asia Pacific (behind Nepal and China).
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Bangladesh

Trade statistics

Bilateral trade amounted to only A$222 million in 2006. However, over the next decade, Bangladesh offers tremendous commercial opportunities to Australian companies operating in the energy, telecommunications, and transport sectors and the Bangladsehi Government has set an agenda of modernising the economy by 2020.

Poverty Statistics
- 68 million or 45% of Bangladeshis live below the national poverty line.
- 54 million or 36% of Bangladeshis live on less than $1 a day.
- 124 million or a staggering 82.8% of Bangladeshis live on less than $2 a day.
- Rates of girls to boys in primary education in 2006 was 1.0, but in tertiary education it dropped to 0.5.
- Only 65% of children reach Grade 5.
- 38 million or 25% of Bangladeshis live in urban areas. 32 million of them (84%) live in slums and only 51% have access to adequate sanitation facilities.
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Cambodia

Trade statistics

Current bilateral trade is worth A$58 million but is expected to rise with the extraction of offshore oil and gas reserves likely to begin before 2010. This represent tremendous opportunities for Australian companies servicing that sector.

The Cambodian Government is also committed to developing the mining sector with large-scale extractions.

Poverty Statistics
- 5.6 million or 40% of Cambodians live below the national poverty line.
- 4.8 million or 34.1% of Cambodians live on less than $1 a day.
- 10.9 million or 77.7% of Cambodians live on less than $2 a day.
- Only 57% of children reach Grade 5.
- Cambodia’s infant mortality rate of 143 deaths per 1000 births is one of the highest in the world. By comparison, Australia’s figure is 4.3 deaths per 1000 births.
- Cambodia has the highest prevalence of tuberculosis in Asia at 700 per 100,000.
- Over 70% of urban dwellers live in slums.
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Laos

Trade statistics

The value of Australian exports to Laos in 2006-07 was just over $25 million but there is a great potential for growth particularly in the mining sector.

Two medium-sized gold and copper mining projects alone have made Australia one of the largest sources of direct foreign investment in Laos. Oxiana Resources and Pan Australian Resources’ gold and copper projects together will probably contribute about 10% of Laos’s GDP by 2008.

Poverty Statistics
- 2 million or 30.7% of Laotians live beneath the national poverty line.
- 1.8 million or 27% of Laotians live on less than $1 a day.
- 4.8 million or 74.1% of Laotians live on less than $2 a day.
- 40% of children under five are underweight.
- Only 63% of children reach Grade 5.
- Laos has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world at 650 deaths per 100,000 births. By comparison, Australia’s figure is 6 deaths per 100,000 births.
- Only 19.4% of all births are attended by skilled health personnel.
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