South Australia’s regions, accounting for 30 per cent of the state’s population, is responsible for over 40 per cent of the state’s exports according to new research released by the South Australian Centre for Economic Studies (SACES).

 

Commissioned by the South Australian Local Government Association, the research examined geography and population, economy and supportive indicators for the seven country regions of the state.

 

LGA President, Mayor Kym McHugh said the SACES profiles were part of a longer-term strategy of the LGA in which it was working with country Council regional associations on a discussion paper on future directions for SA regions.

 

The findings of the SACES's profiles, that South Australia's economic progress, social cohesion and the development of its natural resources depend entirely on the economic performance, social vitality and natural resource management of the regions, was "no surprise to people in the country," he said.

 

"The seven combined regions collectively account for 51.4 percent of the State's export flows and 51 percent of import flows with a combined gross regional product of 25 percent of the State's gross product," Mayor McHugh said.

 

The full report can be found here