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Introduction - Austria
Background:
Once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria was
reduced to a small republic after its defeat in World War I. Following
annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent occupation by the victorious
Allies in 1945, Austria's status remained unclear for a decade. A State Treaty
signed in 1955 ended the occupation, recognized Austria's independence, and
forbade unification with Germany. A constitutional law that same year declared
the country's "perpetual neutrality" as a condition for Soviet military
withdrawal. The Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the
European Union in 1995 have altered the meaning of this neutrality. A
prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the EU Economic and Monetary
Union in 1999. In January 2009, Austria assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN
Security Council for the 2009-10 term.
Geography - Austria
Location:
Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia
Geographic coordinates:
47 20 N, 13 20 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 83,871 sq km
country comparison to the world: 113
land: 82,445 sq km
water: 1,426 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Maine
Land boundaries:
total: 2,562 km
border countries: Czech Republic 362 km, Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy
430 km, Liechtenstein 35 km, Slovakia 91 km, Slovenia 330 km, Switzerland 164 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)
Climate:
Current Weather
temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain and some snow in
lowlands and snow in mountains; moderate summers with occasional showers
Terrain:
in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern
margins mostly flat or gently sloping
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m
Natural resources:
oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite,
tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 16.59%
permanent crops: 0.85%
other: 82.56% (2005)
Irrigated land:
40 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
84 cu km (2005)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 3.67 cu km/yr (35%/64%/1%)
per capita: 448 cu m/yr (1999)
Natural hazards:
landslides; avalanches; earthquakes
Environment - current issues:
some forest degradation caused by air and soil pollution; soil pollution results
from the use of agricultural chemicals; air pollution results from emissions by
coal- and oil-fired power stations and industrial plants and from trucks
transiting Austria between northern and southern Europe
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent
Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air
Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands,
Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of central Europe with many
easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys; major river is the Danube;
population is concentrated on eastern lowlands because of steep slopes, poor
soils, and low temperatures elsewhere
People - Austria
Population:
8,214,160 (July 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 92
Age structure:
0-14 years: 14.3% (male 599,735/female 571,690)
15-64 years: 67.6% (male 2,789,503/female 2,762,789)
65 years and over: 18.1% (male 620,782/female 869,661) (2010 est.)
Median age:
total: 42.6 years
male: 41.5 years
female: 43.6 years (2010 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.042% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 191
Birth rate:
8.65 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 215
Death rate:
10.05 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 61
Net migration rate:
1.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 39
Urbanization:
urban population: 67% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 0.7% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.051 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 4.37 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 200
male: 5.31 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 79.65 years
country comparison to the world: 28
male: 76.74 years
female: 82.71 years (2010 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.39 children born/woman (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 199
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.2% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 93
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
9,800 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 105
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
fewer than 100 (2003 est.)
country comparison to the world: 128
Nationality:
noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian
Ethnic groups:
Austrians 91.1%, former Yugoslavs 4% (includes Croatians, Slovenes, Serbs, and
Bosniaks), Turks 1.6%, German 0.9%, other or unspecified 2.4% (2001 census)
Religions:
Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 2%,
none 12% (2001 census)
Languages:
German (official nationwide) 88.6%, Turkish 2.3%, Serbian 2.2%, Croatian
(official in Burgenland) 1.6%, other (includes Slovene, official in Carinthia,
and Hungarian, official in Burgenland) 5.3% (2001 census)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: NA
female: NA
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 15 years
male: 15 years
female: 16 years (2006)
Education expenditures:
5.4% of GDP (2005)
country comparison to the world: 51
Government - Austria
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Austria
conventional short form: Austria
local long form: Republik Oesterreich
local short form: Oesterreich
Government type:
federal republic
Capital:
name: Vienna
geographic coordinates: 48 12 N, 16 22 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in
October
Administrative divisions:
9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten
(Carinthia), Niederoesterreich (Lower Austria), Oberoesterreich (Upper Austria),
Salzburg, Steiermark (Styria), Tirol (Tyrol), Vorarlberg, Wien (Vienna)
Independence:
976 (Margravate of Austria established); 17 September 1156 (Duchy of Austria
founded); 11 August 1804 (Austrian Empire proclaimed); 12 November 1918
(republic proclaimed)
National holiday:
National Day, 26 October (1955); note - commemorates the passage of the law on
permanent neutrality
Constitution:
1920; revised 1929; reinstated 1 May 1945; note - during the period 1 May 1934-1
May 1945 there was a fascist (corporative) constitution in place
Legal system:
civil law system with Roman law origin; judicial review of legislative acts by
the Constitutional Court; separate administrative and civil/penal supreme
courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
16 years of age; universal; note - reduced from 18 years of age in 2007
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Heinz FISCHER (SPOe) (since 8 July 2004)
head of government: Chancellor Werner FAYMANN (SPOe) (since 2 December 2008);
Vice Chancellor Josef PROELL (OeVP) (since 2 December 2008)
cabinet: Council of Ministers chosen by the president on the advice of the
chancellor
(For more information visit the World Leaders website )
elections: president elected by direct popular vote for a six-year term
(eligible for a second term); presidential election last held on 25 April 2010
(next to be held on 25 April 2016); chancellor formally chosen by the president
but determined by the coalition parties forming a parliamentary majority; vice
chancellor chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor
election results: Heinz FISCHER reelected president; percent of vote - Heinz
FISCHER 79.3%, Barbara ROSENKRANZ 15.2%, Rudolf GEHRING 5.4%
note: government coalition - SPOe and OeVP
Legislative branch:
bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal Council or
Bundesrat (62 seats; members chosen by state parliaments with each state
receiving 3 to 12 members in proportion to its population; members serve five-
or six-year terms) and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members
elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: National Council - last held on 28 September 2008 (next to be held by
September 2013)
election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - SPOe 29.3%, OeVP
26%, FPOe 17.5%, BZOe 10.7%, Greens 10.4%, other 6.1%; seats by party - SPOe 57,
OeVP 51, FPOe 34, BZOe 21, Greens 20
Judicial branch:
Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or
Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof
Political parties and leaders:
Alliance for the Future of Austria or BZOe [Josef BUCHER]; Austrian People's
Party or OeVP [Josef PROELL]; Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Heinz Christian
STRACHE]; Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Werner FAYMANN]; The
Greens [Eva GLAWISCHNIG]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Austrian Trade Union Federation or OeGB (nominally independent but primarily
Social Democratic); Federal Economic Chamber; OeVP-oriented Association of
Austrian Industrialists or IV; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay
organization, Catholic Action
other: three composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party or OeVP
representing business, labor, farmers, and other nongovernment organizations in
the areas of environment and human rights
International organization participation:
ACCT (observer), ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Australia
Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO,
FATF, G-9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT,
MINURSO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club,
PCA, PFP, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UN Security Council
(temporary), UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU,
WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Christian PROSL
chancery: 3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008-3035
telephone: [1] (202) 895-6700
FAX: [1] (202) 895-6750
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador William C. EACHO III
embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1090, Vienna
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [43] (1) 31339-0
FAX: [43] (1) 3100682
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red; the flag design is
certainly one of the oldest - if not the oldest - national banners in the world;
according to tradition, in 1191, following a fierce battle in the Third Crusade,
Duke Leopold V of Austria's white tunic became completely blood-spattered; upon
removal of his wide belt or sash, a white band was revealed; the red-white-red
color combination was subsequently adopted as his banner
Economy - Austria
Economy - overview:
Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard of living, is
closely tied to other EU economies, especially Germany's. Its economy features a
large service sector, a sound industrial sector, and a small, but highly
developed agricultural sector. Following several years of solid foreign demand
for Austrian exports and record employment growth, the international financial
crisis and global economic downturn in 2008 led to a recession that persisted
until the third quarter of 2009. Austrian GDP contracted 3.5% in 2009 but it
will probably see positive growth of nearly 2% in 2010. Unemployment has not
risen as steeply in Austria as elsewhere in Europe, partly because its
government has subsidized reduced working hour schemes to allow companies to
retain employees. Such stabilization measures, stimulus initiatives, and the
government's income tax reforms pushed the budget deficit to about 4% of GDP in
2009, from only about 1.3% in 2008. The Austrian economy has benefited greatly
in the past from strong commercial relations, especially in the banking and
insurance sectors, with central, eastern, and southeastern Europe, but these
sectors have been vulnerable to recent international financial instabilities.
Some of Austria's largest banks have required government support - including in
some instances, nationalization - to prevent insolvency and possible regional
contagion. In the medium-term all large Austrian banks will need additional
capital. Even after the global economic outlook improves, Austria will need to
continue restructuring, emphasizing knowledge-based sectors of the economy, and
encouraging greater labor flexibility and greater labor participation to offset
growing unemployment and Austria's aging population and exceedingly low
fertility rate.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$323.1 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 37
$335.1 billion (2008 est.)
$328.5 billion (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$378.8 billion (2009 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
-3.5% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 169
2% (2008 est.)
3.5% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$39,400 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 21
$40,800 (2008 est.)
$40,100 (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 1.5%
industry: 29.8%
services: 69% (2009 est.)
Labor force:
3.68 million (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 92
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 5.5%
industry: 27.5%
services: 67% (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate:
4.8% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
3.8% (2008 est.)
Population below poverty line:
6% (2008)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 22% (2007)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
26 (2007)
country comparison to the world: 127
31 (1995)
Investment (gross fixed):
20.8% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 81
Budget:
revenues: $175 billion
expenditures: $188.3 billion (2009 est.)
Public debt:
69.3% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 21
62.7% of GDP (2008 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
0.4% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 34
3.2% (2008 est.)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
6.82% (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 134
6.3% (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$606.2 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 19
$504.8 billion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$104.8 billion (31 December 2009)
country comparison to the world: 44
$72.3 billion (31 December 2008)
$228.7 billion (31 December 2007)
Agriculture - products:
grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs,
poultry; lumber
Industries:
construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, metals, chemicals, lumber and
wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism
Industrial production growth rate:
-16.5% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 158
Electricity - production:
66.78 billion kWh (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 40
Electricity - consumption:
68.37 billion kWh (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 38
Electricity - exports:
14.93 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports:
19.8 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production:
25,410 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 72
Oil - consumption:
273,700 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 48
Oil - exports:
50,160 bbl/day (2008)
country comparison to the world: 78
Oil - imports:
263,200 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 38
Oil - proved reserves:
50 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 76
Natural gas - production:
1.668 billion cu m (2009)
country comparison to the world: 59
Natural gas - consumption:
8.232 billion cu m (2009)
country comparison to the world: 50
Natural gas - exports:
3.961 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 30
Natural gas - imports:
10.96 billion cu m (2009)
country comparison to the world: 20
Natural gas - proved reserves:
16.14 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 77
Current account balance:
$8.73 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 23
$13.44 billion (2008)
Exports:
$129 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 29
$172.2 billion (2008)
Exports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal
goods, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners:
Germany 30.96%, Italy 8.17%, Switzerland 4.99%, US 3.99% (2009)
Imports:
$138.7 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 24
$179.8 billion (2008)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil
products; foodstuffs
Imports - partners:
Germany 45.07%, Switzerland 6.76%, Italy 6.66%, Netherlands 4.03% (2009)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$18.05 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 56
$16.7 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Debt - external:
$808.9 billion (30 September 2009)
country comparison to the world: 13
$864.2 billion (31 December 2008)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$286.4 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 16
$279.1 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$290.5 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 14
$286 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Exchange rates:
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.7338 (2009), 0.6827 (2008), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964
(2006), 0.8041 (2005)
Communications - Austria
Telephones - main lines in use:
3.285 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 47
Telephones - mobile cellular:
10.816 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 58
Telephone system:
general assessment: highly developed and efficient
domestic: fixed-line subscribership has been in decline since the mid-1990s with
mobile-cellular subscribership eclipsing it by the late 1990s; the fiber-optic
net is very extensive; all telephone applications and Internet services are
available
international: country code - 43; satellite earth stations - 15; in addition,
there are about 600 VSATs (very small aperture terminals) (2007)
Radio broadcast stations:
FM 65 (plus several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (2009)
Television broadcast stations:
9 (2010)
Internet country code:
.at
Internet hosts:
2.992 million (2009)
country comparison to the world: 26
Internet users:
5.937 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 39
Transportation - Austria
Airports:
55 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 84
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 25
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 14 (2009)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 30
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 26 (2009)
Heliports:
1 (2009)
Pipelines:
gas 2,721 km; oil 663 km; refined products 157 km (2009)
Railways:
total: 6,399 km
country comparison to the world: 29
standard gauge: 5,927 km 1.435-m gauge (3,688 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 384 km 1.000-m gauge (15 km electrified); 88 km 0.760-m gauge (10
km electrified) (2008)
Roadways:
total: 107,262 km
country comparison to the world: 40
paved: 107,262 km (includes 1,677 km of expressways) (2006)
Waterways:
358 km (2007)
country comparison to the world: 90
Merchant marine:
total: 4
country comparison to the world: 134
by type: cargo 2, container 2
foreign-owned: 2 (Netherlands 2)
registered in other countries: 4 (Cyprus 1, Malta 1, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines 2) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Enns, Krems, Linz, Vienna
Military - Austria
Military branches:
Land Forces (KdoLdSK), Air Forces (KdoLuSK)
Military service age and obligation:
18-35 years of age for compulsory military service; 16 years of age for male or
female voluntary service; service obligation 6 months of training, followed by
an 8-year reserve obligation; conscripts cannot be deployed in military
operations outside Austria (2009)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 1,960,781
females age 16-49: 1,926,134 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 1,595,379
females age 16-49: 1,566,884 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 49,455
female: 47,046 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures:
0.8% of GDP (2009)
country comparison to the world: 150
Transnational Issues - Austria
Disputes - international:
while threats of international legal action never materialized in 2007, 915,220
Austrians, with the support of the newly elected Freedom Party, signed a
petition in January 2008, demanding that Austria block the Czech Republic's
accession to the EU unless Prague closed its nuclear power plant in Temelin,
bordering Austria
Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine
destined for Western Europe; increasing consumption of European-produced
synthetic drugs
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