International comparisons

The available international comparisons suggest that, despite recent increases in government spending and increased private participation, the overall quality of our infrastructure lags behind comparable nations.

For example, the World Economic Forum has ranked the quality of Australia's infrastructure 20th out of 144 countries. Some of the poorest scores were for the quality of Australia's roads and ports. The World Bank's Logistics Performance Index 2014 ranked Australia's trade and transport infrastructure 16th in the world.

These patterns emphasise the fact that improving Australia's international competitiveness requires ongoing attention.

While Australia has some unique characteristics, including a large landmass relative to population, countries like Canada have similar characteristics yet rate more highly for infrastructure.

World Economic Forum International Ranking of Infrastructure, 2014