Australia's reputation as a high-dividend market rests heavily on the shoulders of the big S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bank and mining shares.

That's according to Betashares investment strategist, Cameron Gleeson, who adds that the ASX 200's dividend dynamic is changing.

Gleeson says the trailing cash dividend yield of the ASX 200 Index has fallen from an average of 4%-4.5% to 3.34% a year.

A key reason for this is falling yields from the big ASX 200 bank and mining shares.

According to the CommSec trading platform, the consensus forecast dividend yields for the top ASX 200 mining shares in 2026 are:

Source: Dividend per share (DPS) forecasts from CommSec, yields calculated based on closing share prices on 8 August 2025

The forecast dividend yields for the ASX 200 bank shares in 2026 are:

Source: DPS forecasts from CommSec, yields calculated based on closing share prices on 8 August 2025

Why are dividend yields lower?

Gleeson says dividends at an ASX 200 Index level have been falling because the earnings yield has dropped over the past two years.

In a new article, he comments:

For example, in February Rio announced its smallest dividend in seven years, after earnings fell due to both higher production costs and lower commodities prices.

Gleeson adds:

Macquarie's dividends have fallen from their 2022/23 year high, while CBA's dividend growth has not kept up with its stock price, resulting in an underwhelming dividend yield of 2.73% p.a.

Rotation from ASX 200 bank to mining shares last month

Betashares chief economist David Bassanese says a modest rotation out of bank shares and into mining shares "was evident in July".

Investors are seeing more value in ASX 200 mining stocks over bank shares given their lower price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios.

We compare those P/Es below.

Source: Motley Fool Australia

Where can you go for better dividend yields?

Looking for new inspiration? Check out some new broker recommendations for ASX dividend shares to buy in 2026.