Treasurer Wayne Swan has been awarded the prestigious finance minister of the year award for his handling of the Australian economy.

The award is judged by leading European banking and finance magazine Euromoney on advice from global bankers and investors.

Each year the award honours the finance minister, treasurer or central bank governor whose decisions "have directly benefited both the performance and perception of their country's economic and financial achievements".

Australia survived the global financial crisis without suffering the recession that crippled most Western economies and has registered strong growth during the latest downturn which has hit other countries hard.

Mr Swan oversaw the cash handouts in 2008 and the schools building program that were widely credited with quarantining Australia from the economic woes of the GFC.

The only other Australian treasurer to win the coveted award was Paul Keating in 1984 after a raft of economic reforms including deregulating banking and floating the dollar.

Mr Swan has presided over an economy which grew 1.2 per cent in the June quarter while most of the world's developed economies stalled, while unemployment at 5.3 per cent is roughly half that of the United States and Europe.

Australia also has a low level of debt and consumer confidence is also up - again, in contrast to that of other advanced economies.

Australia's economy has relied to a large degree on the health of China's manufacturing sector and the coal, gas and iron ore Australian companies provide to the Asian giant.

Mr Swan has had failures though. His mining tax proposal under the Rudd government was thwarted by an effective campaign by mining companies and was replaced by a far less lucrative minerals resource rent tax acceptable to the miners.

Mr Swan will be presented with the award in Washington next weekend.