Welcome to the statistical publication International Investment Australia 2016. This publication provides a detailed snapshot of the latest trends in Australia’s international investment position.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) publishes official statistics on Australia’s international investment, compiled using international standards set out by the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations. The ABS publishes international investment statistics on a quarterly basis in the publication Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia (catalogue 5302.0) and in more detail on a calendar year basis in the publication International Investment Position, Australia: Supplementary Statistics (catalogue 5352.0). Some additional detailed data is available upon request, although the amount of information (either published or unpublished) is limited.

Other data sources such as the Foreign Investment Review Board also publish international investment related data that can be used to provide some additional information on Australia’s investment relationship with the world. Users need to keep in mind that such statistics are generally not directly compatible with the ABS international investment statistics because they are not compiled within the framework established by international standards for balance of payments statistics.

Sections 1 & 5 – Information boxes on international investment statistics

Section 1 includes a number of information boxes that provide easy to read information on the definitions and the concepts used to compile and interpret ABS international investment statistics.

Section 5 provides an information box covering the definitions and concepts used by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) in collecting Australia’s international investment approvals statistics. Section 5 also contains a summary of the foreign investment approvals statistics collected by the FIRB.

It is highly recommended that if you are a new user of international investment statistics that you first read these information boxes as they will help you use these different statistics appropriately.

Sections 2 & 4 – ABS statistics on international investment

Sections 2 and 4 provide the detailed official statistics on Australia’s international investment. Most tables include the latest periods, usually three to five years as well as period snapshots of the data ten years ago. Also included are data on selected investment ratios and foreign ownership statistics.

Section 3 – International investment comparisons

Section 3 presents foreign direct investment statistics for the world as published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). This section compares Australia’s foreign direct investment trends with other countries.