Australia's export community at a glance

• there are 25,000 exporting companies;
• 76 per cent of exporters are small businesses;
• 21 per cent are medium-sized businesses;
• micro exporters (employing one to four people) are the fastest growing;
• 83 per cent of exporters are wholly Australian owned;
• 3 per cent are large businesses which contribute 58 per cent of total export revenue;
• the average annual wage paid by an exporter to a full-time employee is $46,000 compared with $28,600 for a non-exporter;
• 69 per cent of exporters use the internet compared with 28 per cent of non-exporters; and
• business performance - return on assets are 7.4 per cent for an exporter and 5.4 per cent for a non-exporter.

Source: 'A Portrait of Australian Exporters' ABS Cat 8154.0, Australian Bureau of Statistics and 'Knowing and Growing the Exporter Community', Australian Trade Commission, 2002.