Australia has bucked the trend for economic inertia after it was revealed that its economy has grown at its fastest rate since the financial crisis of 2008.
Known for being resource-rich, worldwide demand for iron ore and other commodities (particularly from China) helped it report a 4.3 per cent growth over the last year, far exceeding the modest expectations that were projected.
The country reported an equally impressive 1.3 per cent growth for the first quarter of 2012, which was described as stunning by Australia’s treasurer Wayne Swan.
“Whilst you’ve got European countries which are going backwards and other developed economies around the world with very high levels of unemployment, Australia has surged forward in a remarkable way,” Mr Swan expanded.
“We have seven eurozone economies in recession, as well as in the UK, and many more developed economies which are crippled by unemployment; this result says something very special about Australia,” he added.
Another major reason for the boost to economic productivity came from a sizeable surge (19.7 per cent) in engineering construction, principally in the field of mining.
Last month, the Australian government projected that the so-called mining boom the country is experiencing will play an integral part in helping the economy grow over the next year.