# Australia and United Kingdom compared

Australia and United Kingdom side by side: 41 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 4 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/aus-vs-gbr
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- Australia: 1 January 1901 — Six colonies join to create the Commonwealth of Australia
- United Kingdom: 12 July 927 — The monarchs of Britain recognise Æthelstan as king of the English

## Economy

| Metric | Australia | Observed | United Kingdom | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $1.76 T | 2024 | $3.69 T | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $64,604 | 2024 | $53,246 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | 1.4% | 2024 | 1.1% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 3.2% | 2024 | 3.3% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 47.1% | 2024 | 62.8% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | Australia | Observed | United Kingdom | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 27 m | 2024 | 69 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 83.1 yrs | 2024 | 81.4 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 87.6% | 2024 | 83.2% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 1.5 | 2024 | 1.6 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Australia | Observed | United Kingdom | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 83.3 | 2024 | 79.6 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 79.4 | 2024 | 70.3 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 86.5 | 2024 | 74.4 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 82.0 | 2024 | 78.7 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 82.3 | 2024 | 78.8 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 85.3 | 2024 | 78.4 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Australia | Observed | United Kingdom | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 10.4% | 2023 | 11.1% | 2024 |
| Physicians | 4.09 | 2022 | 3.30 | 2023 |
| Under-5 mortality | 3.6 | 2024 | 4.7 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 91.0% | 2024 | 89.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | — | — | 99.8% | 2024 |

## Education

| Metric | Australia | Observed | United Kingdom | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education spending | 5.1% | 2022 | 5.9% | 2021 |
| Primary enrolment | 99.6% | 2024 | 102.2% | 2023 |
| Secondary enrolment | 131.9% | 2024 | 112.1% | 2023 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 108.4% | 2024 | 80.4% | 2023 |

## Technology

| Metric | Australia | Observed | United Kingdom | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 1.9% | 2021 | 2.7% | 2023 |
| Researchers (per million) | 4,569 | 2010 | 4,473 | 2017 |
| Internet users | 96.1% | 2024 | 95.5% | 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 113 | 2024 | 122 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 25.2% | 2024 | 29.2% | 2024 |

## Geography

| Metric | Australia | Observed | United Kingdom | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 7,692,020 km² | 2023 | 241,930 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 17.4% | 2023 | 13.3% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 47.2% | 2023 | 70.3% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 14.1 | 2024 | 4.2 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 12.3% | 2021 | 12.2% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Australia | Observed | United Kingdom | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 13.4% | 2021 | 0.6% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 0.3% | 2021 | 0.4% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 10.5% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 0.1% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 |
| Copper (mined) | 730 kt | 2025 | — | — |
| Iron ore | 980 Mt | 2025 | — | — |
| Gold (mined) | 280 t | 2025 | — | — |
| Lithium (mined) | 92.0 kt | 2025 | — | — |
| Cobalt (mined) | 3,700 t | 2025 | — | — |
| Nickel (mined) | 45.0 kt | 2025 | — | — |
| Rare earths | 29.0 kt | 2025 | — | — |
| Bauxite | 97 Mt | 2025 | — | — |
| Zinc (mined) | 1.1 Mt | 2025 | — | — |
| Phosphate rock | 2.5 Mt | 2025 | — | — |

## Military

| Metric | Australia | Observed | United Kingdom | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 1.9% | 2024 | 2.3% | 2024 |
| Defense spending | $34 B | 2024 | $82 B | 2024 |
| Armed forces | 60,000 | 2020 | 153,000 | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/AUS.md and https://terralore.co/country/GBR.md.

## Entangled histories (4 events)

Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources.

- 22 August 1770: **Cook charts and claims the east coast** — Lieutenant James Cook charted the eastern coast of the continent aboard HMB Endeavour and claimed it for Britain as New South Wales, opening the way to British colonisation. (from the Australia chronicle; sources: Defining Moments: Cook claims Australia; Australia (country))
- 26 January 1788: **The First Fleet founds the penal colony** — Captain Arthur Phillip's First Fleet established a British penal colony at Sydney Cove, beginning permanent European settlement and the dispossession of Aboriginal peoples of the Sydney region. (from the Australia chronicle; sources: Defining Moments: Convict cargo and the First Fleet; Australia (country))
- 1901: **Immigration Restriction Act and 'White Australia'** — One of the new parliament's first laws established the cornerstone of the 'White Australia' policy, using a dictation test to exclude non-European migrants and keep the nation overwhelmingly white and British. (from the Australia chronicle; sources: The Immigration Restriction Act 1901; Australia (country))
- 3 March 1986: **Australia Act and full legal independence** — The Australia Act 1986, building on the Statute of Westminster adopted in 1942, ended the British Parliament's power to legislate for Australia and abolished appeals to the Privy Council, completing Australia's legal independence. (from the Australia chronicle; sources: Australia (country))

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/AUS/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/GBR/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Australia and United Kingdom compared", terralore.co/compare/aus-vs-gbr, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.