Distillers Australia
A one-page guide to Australia for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- Canberra
- Official languages
- English (national language, no official language in law)
- Currency
- Australian dollar (AUD)
- Time zone
- UTC+8 / +9:30 / +10 (+10:30 / +11 daylight saving in some states)
- Area
- 7,741,220 km²
People
- Population
- 27.6 million (2025)
- Population growth
- 1.5% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 87.7%
- Aged under 15
- 17.7%
- Aged 65 and over
- 18.1%
- Life expectancy
- 83.1 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$1.80 trillion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$65,130 (2025)
- Economic growth
- 1.35% (2025)
- Inflation
- 2.87% (2025)
Climate
Ranges from wet tropical in the north to arid in the centre; coastal south is temperate. Driest inhabited continent (mean rainfall about 470 mm); summer monsoon in the north, winter rain in the south.
Alcohol
- Alcohol is
- Legal
- Legal drinking age
- 18 nationally (purchase)
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 10.51 litres of pure alcohol (2024)
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); World Bank API (population, area, GDP, growth, inflation); WHO GHO OData (SA_0000001688); UN Comtrade public preview API (HS 2208); Wikipedia: Australia; Wikipedia: Legal drinking age; Wikipedia: Alcohol in Australia; Food & Drink Business - excise freeze leaves spirits out (March 2025); Australian Distillers Association. Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.