Australia’s Swan Sticks to Promise of Budget Surplus by 2016
Treasurer Wayne Swan maintained his forecast for the nation to return to a budget surplus by 2016 even as it grapples with a surge in population and the resulting pressure on services.
Managing the rising population and the impact of climate change may be “two of our greatest economic challenges,” Swan said in e-mailed speech notes today, adding that he’s “committed” to surplus in the year ended June 2016.
Australia, the world’s most sparsely populated developed nation, expects 35 million residents by 2049 compared with 21.5 million now. With the number of people aged over 65 forecast to double, Swan expects gross domestic product per capita to decline while the demand for government services will rise.
“It is a particularly daunting challenge when it comes to government finances,” Swan said in the speech bad credit personal loan lenders. “These factors will contribute to significant ongoing fiscal pressures.”
The government will release its third intergenerational report before May, detailing forecast changes in the nation’s demographics, Swan said.
Today’s population forecast compares with an outlook in the 2007 intergenerational report projecting population of 28.5 million by 2047. The revision results from higher fertility rates, a greater number of women of childbearing age and immigration.
Australia is the fourth-most sparsely populated independent country, according to the United Nations, ranking behind Mongolia, Namibia and Western Sahara. The country has an average of three people per square kilometer, according to the Population Reference Bureau.
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