Overview of 21 APEC Economies

Member Economy and Year Joined	Area ('000 sq km)	Population (million)	GDP (US$bn)	GDP per capita (US$)	Exports (US$m)	Imports (US$m)
Australia (1989)	7,692	20.2	692.4	33,629	86,551	103,863
Brunei Darussalam (1989)	6	0.4	5.7	15,764	4,713	1,638
Canada (1989)	9,971	32.0	1,084.1	33,648	315,858	271,869
Chile (1994)	757	15.4	105.8	6,807	32,548	24,769
China (1991)	9,561	1,299.8	1,851.2	1,416	593,647	560,811
Hong Kong, China (1991)	1	6.9	174.0	25,006	265,763	273,361
Indonesia (1989)	1,905	223.8	280.9	1,237	71,585	46,525
Japan (1989)	378	127.3	4,694.3	36,841	566,191	455,661
Korea (1989)	99	48.2	819.2	16,897	253,845	224,463
Malaysia (1989)	330	25.5	129.4	4,989	125,857	105,297
Mexico (1993)	1,958	105.0	734.9	6,920	177,095	171,714
New Zealand (1989)	271	4.1	108.7	26,373	20,334	21,716
Papua New Guinea (1993)	463	5.9	3.5	585	4,321	1,463
Peru (1998)	1,285	27.5	78.2	2,798	12,111	8,872
Philippines (1989)	300	86.2	95.6	1,088	39,588	40,297
Russia (1998)	17,075	144.0	719.2	5,015	171,431	86,593
Singapore (1989)	1	4.2	116.3	27,180	179,755	163,982
Chinese Taipei (1991)	36	22.5	335.2	14,857	174,350	168,715
Thailand (1989)	513	64.6	178.1	2,736	97,098	95,197
United States (1989)	9,364	293.0	12,365.9	41,815	818,775	1,469,704
Vietnam (1998)	332	82.6	51.0	610	26,061	32,734

 

Australia has a prosperous economy, with a per capita GDP reaching US$33,629 per annum. The country was ranked third in the United Nations' 2005 Human Development Index and sixth in The Economist worldwide quality-of-life index 2005. In recent years, the Australian economy has been resilient in the face of global economic downturn.

 

Big trade partners of Australia are APEC member economies, including Japan, China and the US. The Japanese market accounted for 20.4 per cent of Australia’s total export value in 2005-2006. Meanwhile, the import value from China accounted for 13.8 per cent of the country’s total import turnover.

 

One of the first 12 member economies of APEC, Brunei Darussalam is also a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the British Common Wealth.

 

This small, wealthy economy is a mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship, government regulation, welfare measures, and village tradition. Crude oil and natural gas production account for nearly half of GDP. Substantial income from overseas investment supplements income from domestic production. The government provides for all medical services and subsidizes rice and housing. Stated plans for the future include upgrading the labour force, reducing unemployment, strengthening the banking and tourist sectors, and, in general, further widening the economic base.

Canada is one of the world's wealthiest nations with a high per capita income, a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Group of Eight (G8). Canada is also a member of the The Commonwealth of Nations and La Francophonie, as well many other organisations.

 

Canada closely resembles the U.S. in its market-oriented economic system. Canada is a world leader in the production of many natural resources such as gold, nickel, uranium, wood and lead.

 

The biggest export partner of Canada is the US, followed by Japan and the UK. Its main importers include the US, China and Japan. In 2005-2006, export from Canada to the US accounted for 83.9 per cent of the country’s total export turnover, while its import turnover from the US accounted for 56.5 per cent.

 

Chile's economy is highly dependent on international trade. In 2005, export accounted for 39 per cent of Chile’s GDP. Chile has traditionally been dependent upon copper exports; the state-owned firm Codelco is the world's largest copper-producing company with a record output over the past 200 years.

 

Within APEC, Chile has close trade ties with the US, Japan and China and the US has become the market to which Chile has focused on exporting its goods. Chile’s export turnover to the US in 2005 accounted for 15.8 per cent the economy’s total export turnover. The US is the second largest import market of Chile, just behind Argentina, accounting for 14.6 per cent of the economy’s import value.

 

China was one of the earliest centres of human civilisation, as a result of the mix of cultures existing and continuing from at least 3,500 years ago. Chinese civilisation was also one of the few to invent writing independently.

 

The economy joined APEC in 1991 and has promoted its trade exchange with other APEC member economies. The biggest export market of China is the US with 2005 value accounting for 21.4 per cent of the economy’s total turnover. Also, Hong Kong, (China) and Chinese Taipei are the second largest export and third import partners of China, respectively.

 

Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of China. Hong Kong (China) has the least restricted economy in the world and has become an important international trade and financial centre for a long time.

 

Hong Kong has a highly internationalised economy with favourable business environment, a free competition market, well-developed infrastructure facilities and a widespread financial and stock market system.Its main export markets include the US, Japan and China mainland. Its main import partners include China, Japan and Chinese Taipei.

 

Indonesia boasts rich natural resources with high reserves of oil and gas, tin, niken, bauxite, copper, coal, gold, and silver. Indonesia is a member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is the world second largest gas exporter. Despite export crude oil, Indonesia has to import refined oil, so the Government has to subsidise prices of petrol and oil to keep prices of fuel low.

 

Indonesia’s main farm-produce includes rice, sugarcane and rubber. Its main industrial products exported to APEC member economies, include crude oil, gas, wood and garments. Indonesia imports machines, equipment and transportation means, chemicals and fuel. The biggest partner of Indonesia in 2005 was Singapore, accounting for 16.4 per cent of the economy’s import turnover.

 

Japan is poor in terms of natural resources, which have to be imported. The country has the world’s second largest economy, just behind the US.

 

The economy is promoting six reform programmes, including a reform in its economic structure, a reduction of budget deficit, a reform of the financial sector and the reorganisation of the governmental structure. Japan has begun to implement its administrative reform since January 2001 and has gained significant results. The biggest export and import partners of Japan are the US and China.

 

Thirty years ago, the GDP of the Republic of Korea was just the same as poor African and Asian countries. Now, the country is the tenth largest economy in the world.

 

The Republic of Korea has a market economy and a strongly developed electronic industry. Since the 1970s, many Korean companies have found a foothold in the world market. These include Samsung, Hyundai and Daewoo. In the Republic of Korea, for example, Samsung is very dynamic in insurance, engineering, trade and real estate. Main trade partners of the Republic of Korea include APEC economies, such as the US, China and Japan.

 

With an area of 330,000 square metres, Malaysia is home to more than 25 million people, of whom Malays and local people account for 59 per cent; Chinese, 31.3 per cent. Islam is the national religion of Malaysia.

 

Malaysia has the biggest reserves of tin, rubber and coconut oil in the world. Apart from construction, all economic sectors of Malaysia have seen a significantly high growth. In particular, the manufacturing sector became a driving force for the Malaysia’s GDP growth in 2004. Services and agriculture represent a backbone of the economy. Three important trade partners of Malaysia include the US, Japan and Singapore.

 

Mexico has a mixed economy, featured by a mixture of modern and outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunication, electricity generation, natural gas distribution and airports. The number of State-owned enterprises of Mexico fell from more than 1,000 in 1982 to less than 200 in 1999.

 

Mexico is also the fourth largest oil producer in the world. In 2005, Mexico earned US$213.7billion in export turnover, mainly from exporting petroleum and petroleum products, silver, vegetables, coffee and cotton. Its main export markets include the US, accounting for 85.8 per cent; Canada, two per cent; and Spain, 1.4 per cent. At the same time, Mexico has to import rolled steel, agricultural machines, electronic appliances, automobile and motorbike accessories, and airplanes.

 

New Zealand has developed agriculture and industry, in which animal husbandry plays an important role. The economy’s agriculture is featured with a high specialisation and mechanisation. Its cultivation and fishing has developed well. Its industry concentrates mainly on processing farm-produce, such as butter, cheese, meat and milk. Its mining industry, in particular in oil and gas has gradually developed.

 

New Zealand has trade relations with most of countries in the world and its biggest partners include Australia and the US. Its main exports include woollen, butter, cheese, dairy powder, fish and vegetables and fruit.

 

Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by rugged terrain, the high cost of developing infrastructure. Agriculture provides a subsistence livelihood for 85 per cent of the population. Its main agricultural products include oil, coconut meat, tea and coffee. The economy has high reserves of oil, copper and gold.

Its main export is oil, accounting for 70 per cent of its total export turnover and over 20 per cent of GDP. It is followed by copper, coffee, cacao and coconut meat. The main export markets include Australia, Japan and China. Papua New Guinea imports machines, food, fuel and chemicals. Its main import markets include Australia, Singapore and Japan.

 

The Peruvian economy has undergone considerable free market reforms, from legalizing parts of the informal sector to significant privatizations in the mining, electric/power, and telecommunications industries since 1990. Peru has now a high economic growth rate of 4.8 per cent in 2004 and 6.67 per cent in 2005. This is driven mainly by the expansion of construction, manufacturing industries and services. In the coming time, Peru is planning to orientate local and foreign investment capital to tourism, agriculture, mining, construction, oil and gas, and electric power.

 

Peru has potential to export agricultural products, textiles, clothing, shoes, petroleum derivatives, natural gas, minerals, as well as fish and seafood products, tourism, and manufactured goods. Its major export markets include the US, the UK, Chile and Japan.

 

The Philippines used to be the second most prosperous Asian economy, just behind Japan. In the peak of the Asian financial crisis in 1998, the Philippines’ economy suffered heavily.

 

At present, the Philippines remains a developing agriculture-based economy. However, light industry and services have gradually increased their contributions. In recent years, numerous call centres and business process outsourcing (BPO) firms have infused momentum into the Philippine market, turning the Philippines into the most vibrant BPO industries in Asia. The Philippines’ main trade partners include the US and Japan.

 

More than a decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia’s economy entered a phase of rapid economic expansion with the GDP growing by an average of 6.7 per cent annually in 1999–2005 on the back of higher petroleum prices, a weaker rubble, and increasing service production and industrial output. Russia’s economic development relies mainly on the export of petroleum, gas, metals and wood, which account for more than 80 per cent of the country’s export turnover.

 

In 2005, the country’s GDP (PPP – purchasing power parity) reached US$1.576 billion, helping Russia become the ninth largest economy in the world. The Russia will become the world eighth largest economy in next few years with a stable growth rate. Its main trade partners in 2005 are not APEC economies, such as the US and Japan. Instead, they are Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Ukraine.

 

Singapore is almost without natural resources. The country has coal, lead and clay only. Due to narrow land, it is possible to say that Singapore has a less developed agriculture, which mainly farms rubber, coconut trees, vegetables and fruit. Every year, the economy has to import food and foodstuff to meet the local demand.

 

Singapore is an Asian leading country in terms of infrastructure facilities and some industries, such as seaports, ship building and repair, oil refineries, processing and machine assembly. Singapore is said to be the pioneer in converting to the knowledge-based economy. Singapore relies mainly on trade and services, accounting for 40 per cent of its income. The US and Malaysia are two main trade partners of Singapore.

 

Chinese Taipei is one of the strongest economies in Asia, being in the top 20 world leading economies with high growth rate in the last three decades and high foreign exchange reserves.

 

Chinese Taipei’s export turnover in 2005 reached US$198.43 billion, up by 8.8 per cent against 2004. Its main exports include computers, machines, electronic appliances, clothes, plastic products, rubber and chemicals. Chinese Taipei imports electronic machines and equipment, raw materials and precise mechanic tools. Its main trade partners include China, the US, Japan, and Hong Kong (China). Also in 2005, the economy’s foreign direct investment capital attraction reached US$4.23 billion.

 

Thailand is traditionally agricultural economy, being the world largest rice exporter. After the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Thailand’s economy faced many difficulties. However, since 1999, it has seen signs of recovery and continues to recover with an aim for a sustainable development. Its GDP growth rate increased from 4.4 per cent in 1999 to 4.6 per cent in 2000 and six per cent in 2005-2006. The growth rate is driven by investment of the private and State sectors, especially big projects, capitalised more than THB 340 billion for infrastructure development.

 

Thailand’s major trade partners are APEC economies such as the US, Japan and China.

 

The US is always referred to as the world’s largest economy with developed service and industry sectors. Its agriculture has found a certain foothold. The economy is fuelled by an abundance of natural resources such as coal, petroleum, and precious metals. The largest sector in the US economy is services, which employs roughly three quarters of the work force. The US has strong automobile, airplane and electronic manufacturing industries. In particular, the US is the world leaders in information and communication technology with many world famous giants such as Microsoft, IBM and Intel.

It biggest trade partner is Canada, which is followed by other countries, such as Mexico, China and Japan.

 

Vietnam initiated its economic reform in 1986 with a conversion from the centrally-planned economy into a market economy. After two decades of renovation, Vietnam’s GDP has seen a high year-on-year growth rate. As a result, GDP growth rate increased from 3.9 per cent in the 1986-1990 period, the early stage of the renovation process, to between seven and eight per cent in the 1995- 2005 period. The country’s economic structure has significantly changed for the better.

 

Between 1990 and 2005, the contribution of agriculture to the economy fell. Instead, the contribution of industry and construction has increased sharply. The private sector has witnessed strong development while the Government continues to reorganise and rearrange the State-owned sector. In recent years, FDI in Vietnam has increased from US$2.6 billion in 2001 to US$5.8 billion in 2005 and US$6.5 in the first ten months of 2006.

 

Vietnam’s main exports include crude oil, textiles and garments, seafood, woodworks, electronic products and rice. Its major trade partners within APEC include China, Japan, the US and Singapore.