Description

Established in 1966, the Australian dollar (AUD) is the official currency of Australia and several countries and territories, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, Norfolk Island, Nauru, Tuvalu, and Kiribati. The Australian dollar symbol is $, however, symbols such as A$ or AU$ are also used to distinguish the Australian dollar from other dollar-denominated currencies. The Australian dollar, also known as the ‘buck’, ‘dough’ and ‘aussie’, ranks as the fifth most traded currency in the world.

Australia's central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), is mainly responsible for monetary policy and producing the country’s money supply. It issues AUD notes in five denominations: $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100. The Australian dollar is divided into 100 cents, and its coins are issued in six denominations: 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, $1 and $2.

Economy

• Australia has a mixed economy, which relies on the service industry contributing to almost 63 percent of the total gross domestic product (GDP).
• In 2020, Australia ranked as the 13th largest national economy by nominal GDP, with the country’s GDP being estimated at almost USD1.4 trillion.
• With Australia’s natural resources valued at USD19.9 trillion in 2019, Australia is the 10th richest country in the world in terms of natural resources. These resources include metals, coal, diamonds, meat and wool, which account for the main products of the country’s export.
• The country is also known for having the largest gold reserves globally, supplying over 14 percent of the world's gold demand and 46 percent of the world's uranium demand.
• Australia imports products such as computers, machines, telecommunication parts, equipment, petroleum products and crude oil.
• The popularity of AUD among traders is due to numerous factors related to geology, geography, and government policy.
• The AUD/USD currency pair is one of the most frequently traded pairs globally.
• AUD exchange rates are tied to demand for Australia’s natural resources from Asian countries, especially China and India. Therefore, the Australian dollar is also known as a commodity currency.
• In 2020, the Reserve Bank of Australia increased the cash in circulation from A$83 billion to A$94 billion due to increased demand for notes.
• The Australian Securities Exchange in Sydney is the 16th largest stock exchange globally, in terms of domestic market capitalisation.

History

• In 1966, the Australian dollar replaced the Australian pound, with the exchange rate of A£1 = A$2. The first coins introduced included 1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, and 50 cents.
• In 1967, Australia abandoned the sterling standard and pegged the Australian dollar to the US dollar at the rate of 1 AUD = 1,12 USD.
• AUD was the legal tender of Papua New Guinea until 1975 and the Solomon Islands until 1977.
• In 1983, AUD became a free-floating currency.
• In 1988, Australia issued the first notes made of polymer, to prevent counterfeiting, becoming the first country in the world to ever do it.
• In 2006, the 1 cent and 2-cent coins were discontinued and taken out of circulation.
• Australia has made special edition coins and notes to celebrate events such as the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981 and the Brisbane Commonwealth Games of 1982.

Trivia

• All Australian coins portray Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse, with different images on the reverse of each coin.
• The initial 50-cent coins contained 80 percent silver but were withdrawn after a year because the value of the silver content significantly exceeded the coin’s face value.
• The Royal Australian Mint has produced more than 14 billion circulating coins since its opening in 1965. The mint is also able to produce more than 600 million coins per year.
• Note Printing Australia Limited (NPA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of Australia and has produced polymer banknotes for many other countries including New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Chile, Malaysia, Vietnam, Romania, Northern Ireland, Taiwan, Mexico, Thailand and Brazil.