Economy

The distinctive features of the economy of Cape York Peninsula are that:

• It is dominated by the mining industry, which contributes more than half of GRP, employs 12% of workforce (10 times the national average) and occupies 4.5% of area.
• The dominant land use, in terms of area, is cattle grazing (57%) which contributes 2.4% of GRP and which, together with commercial fishing, employs 6% of workforce.
• The public sector is the dominant employer through Public administration and defence (9.7%) and Community services (36%) sectors, with the latter being contributed to largely through the CDEP program in indigenous communities.
• Non-market activities add significantly to the region's formal economic base, with crude calculations suggesting that the economic value of subsistence activities could be $6 million.
• The regional economy is not very well inter-linked, with inputs and outputs flowing between the region and other parts of the country rather than within the region.
• Tourism is a growth industry on Cape York Peninsula.