Australia's net foreign assets (current LCU) was -136.13 billion in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 58.18% from -325.53 billion in 2015.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | -136.13 billion | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | -461.66 billion | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | -325.53 billion | 2015 |
| Highest | 12.33 billion | 1983 |
| Lowest | -719.77 billion | 2021 |
| Average since 2016 | -389.58 billion | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 828 million |
What the numbers say
In 2025, Australia's net foreign assets (current LCU) rose 76.56 billion on 2024 (from -212.69 billion to -136.13 billion).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −6.55 billion and a typical year strayed about 113.37 billion from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 304.61 billion in 2024 and the biggest yearly fall was 323.9 billion in 2020. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2016 to 2025 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains less than 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2025, Australia had the 101st highest value of the 106 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
Closest to Australia in the 2025 ranking
- Georgia — 98th of 106: 628.46 million
- Sierra Leone — 99th of 106: 417.37 million
- New Zealand — 100th of 106: -85.35 billion
- Qatar — 102nd of 106: -243.38 billion
- Pakistan — 103rd of 106: -249.12 billion
- Norway — 104th of 106: -894.82 billion
What this measures
Net foreign assets are the sum of foreign assets held by monetary authorities and deposit money banks, less their foreign liabilities. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.
All 66 values
| Year | Net foreign assets (current LCU) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | -136,133,665,283 |
| 2024 | -212,692,900,935 |
| 2023 | -517,307,294,600 |
| 2022 | -712,363,780,633 |
| 2021 | -719,772,688,230 |
| 2020 | -461,655,665,834 |
| 2019 | -137,752,727,725 |
| 2018 | -359,600,137,347 |
| 2017 | -322,215,779,700 |
| 2016 | -316,301,851,292 |
Net foreign assets (current LCU) in nearby economies
- Brunei Darussalam — 15.89 billion (2025)
- Cambodia — 130.8 trillion (2025)
- China — 30.27 trillion (2024)
- Fiji — 3.45 billion (2025)
- Hong Kong SAR, China — 12.08 trillion (2025)
- Indonesia — 2,159.04 trillion (2025)
- Japan — 54.94 trillion (2025)
- Korea, Rep. — 627.85 trillion (2024)
- Macao SAR, China — 883.16 billion (2025)
- Malaysia — 289.8 billion (2025)
- Micronesia, Fed. Sts.
More financial sector data for Australia
- Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) — 133.79% (2025)
- Net domestic credit (current LCU) — 5.96 trillion (2025)
- Monetary sector credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 133.79% (2025)
- Broad money (current LCU) — 3.7 trillion (2025)
- Broad money (% of GDP) — 133.12% (2025)
- Broad money to total reserves ratio — 32.96 (2025)
- Consumer price index (2010 = 100) — 148.46 (2025)
- Inflation, consumer prices (annual % growth) — 2.87% (2025)
- Claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) — 7.99% (2025)
- Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Australia's net foreign assets (current LCU)?
- -136.13 billion in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1960?
- It is down 16,541% from 828 million in 1960. The highest value was 12.33 billion in 1983 and the lowest -719.77 billion in 2021.
- How does Australia rank?
- 101st highest of 106 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in net foreign assets (current LCU) unusual for Australia?
- In 2025, Australia's net foreign assets (current LCU) rose 76.56 billion on 2024 (from -212.69 billion to -136.13 billion). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was −6.55 billion and a typical year strayed about 113.37 billion from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator FM.AST.NFRG.CN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.
Legal entity
Devansh Yadav
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Governing law: Courts at Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Phone: +91 8433475698
Legal: legal@analyzeit.in