Australia now ranks as the sixth largest destination for international investment, new data from the QIC has revealed.

In a recent analysis comparing the world’s 50 largest economies in terms of demographics, economic activity, debt and governance, Australia’s overall ranking was behind only Norway, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and Denmark.

“This puts us well ahead of many of our advanced economy partners, who are our most likely competitors for foreign capital,” said QIC chief economist Matthew Peter.

Namely, Australia is ahead of leading economies such as the US, which is in 20th place, in addition to New Zealand, the UK, Switzerland, Germany and Canada.

According to Peter, the nation's popularity as an offshore investment opportunity is about to grow.

"Looking forward to 2050, we rise to fourth place overall, behind only the Scandinavians: Norway (which retains its top spot), Sweden (2nd) and Denmark (3rd)."

The QIC explained that Australia's strong performance was reflected in its top 10 rankings in key areas: 8th in Demography, 9th in Economic Activity and 10th in Governance.

Peter added: "Our weakest performance is in the debt imbalance category, where we rank 15th in 2023, rising just one place to 14th by 2050."

In terms of demographics, Australia boasts the world's fastest population growth rate of 2.4 percent, matched only by Nigeria, which translates to a 2.9 percent growth rate of the working-age population .

"Our strong population growth rates translate into strong results for economic activity, especially for an advanced economy," Peter said.

In addition, Australia's trend employment growth rate of 1.9 percent was more than twice the global average and the US rate of 0.8 percent.

According to the chief economist, this supports a strong rate of Australian GDP growth, currently estimated at 2.3 per cent, ahead of the US and Canada, in addition to advanced economies in Asia and Europe.

"Looking forward to 2050, Australia's relatively strong population growth allows us to continue our robust economic growth, with GDP growth trending down to just 2.2 per cent."

Addressing Australia's weaker rating on debt imbalance measures, the QIC said its position was weighed down by its net external debt position, which stands at 32 percent of GDP.

“This offsets the favorable public sector debt position, where gross government debt is only 55 percent of GDP, significantly lower than the world average of 85 percent. Australia's ranking improves only marginally to 14th by 2050.

While acknowledging that Australia's debt imbalance ranking is an area where Australia has room to improve, Peter reiterated that the country's key indicators still compare favorably against the world's 50 largest economies.

"Strong demographics, economic activity and governance make it a desirable destination for international investors, both now and in the future," he said.