Jul 11, 2026 – 5.00amThe 2020s are shaping up as the worst decade for living standards growth in Australia on record, which economists say is the result of a decade-long productivity slump combined with the economic shocks of COVID-19 and the Iran war condensed into a six-year time frame.Analysis by AFR Weekend shows growth in gross domestic product per person has averaged 0.7 per cent a year since 2020, the lowest of any decade on record and a third of the rate for the 1990s.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles
‘Six years of hell’: 2020s are the Australian economy’s worst decade
Growth in GDP per person has averaged just 0.7 per cent annually since 2020, the lowest level of any decade on record. Economists say it could get worse.
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