Introduction

 

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. Following the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995, some Austrians have called into question this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999.

 

Geography

 

Location: Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia

 

Geographic coordinates: 47 20 N, 13 20 E

 

Map references: Europe

 

Area: total: 83,870 sq km; land: 82,444 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: 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: 16.91%;permanent crops: 0.86%;other: 82.23% (2001)

 

Irrigated land: 457 sq km (2000 est.)

 

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

 

Population: 8,184,691 (July 2005 est.)

 

Age structure: 0-14 years: 15.6% (male 656,058/female 624,574);15-64 years: 67.8% (male 2,790,673/female 2,756,612);65 years and over: 16.6% (male 543,626/female 813,148) (2005 est.) ;

 

Median age: total: 40.44 years; male: 39.3 years; female: 41.61 years (2005 est.)

 

Population growth rate: 0.11% (2005 est.) ;

 

Birth rate: 8.81 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

 

Death rate: 9.7 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

 

Net migration rate: 1.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

 

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female; under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female;15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female;65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female; total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

 

Infant mortality rate: total: 4.66 deaths/1,000 live births; male: 5.74 deaths/1,000 live births;

female: 3.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

 

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 78.92 years; male: 76.03 years; female: 81.96 years (2005 est.)

 

Total fertility rate: 1.36 children born/woman (2005 est.)

 

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2003 est.)

 

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 10,000 (2003 est.)

 

HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (2003 est.)

 

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), Slovene (official in Carinthia), Croatian (official in Burgenland), Hungarian (official in Burgenland)

 

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write; total population: 98%;male: NA%; female: NA%

 

Government

 

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: Vienna

 

Administrative divisions: 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten, Niederoesterreich, Oberoesterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien (Vienna)

 

Independence: 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed)

 

National holiday: National Day, 26 October (1955); note - commemorates the State Treaty restoring national sovereignty and the end of occupation and the passage of the law on permanent neutrality

 

Constitution: 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945)

 

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: 18 years of age; universal; compulsory for presidential elections

 

Executive branch: chief of state: President Heinz FISCHER (since 8 July 2004)

head of government: Chancellor Wolfgang SCHUESSEL (OeVP)(since 4 February 2000); Vice Chancellor Hubert GORBACH (since 21 October 2003)

cabinet: Council of Ministers chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor

elections: president elected by direct popular vote for a six-year term; presidential election last held 25 April 2004 (next to be held April 2010); chancellor traditionally chosen by the president from the plurality party in the National Council; vice chancellor chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor

election results: Heinz FISCHER elected president; percent of vote - Heinz FISCHER (SPOe) 52.4%, Benita FERRERO-WALDNER (OeVP) 47.6%

note: government coalition - OeVP and FPOe

 

Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal Council or Bundesrat (62 members; members represent each of the states on the basis of population, but with each state having at least three representatives; members serve a five- or six-year term) and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)

elections: National Council - last held 24 November 2002 (next to be held in the fall of 2006)

election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - OeVP 42.3%, SPOe 36.5%, FPOe 10.0%, Greens 9.5%; seats by party - OeVP 79, SPOe 69, FPOe 18, Greens 17; seating as of May 2005 after split within the Freedom Party: OeVP 79, SPOe 69, Greens 17, BZOe 11, FPOe 7

 

Judicial branch: Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof

 

Economy

 

Economy - overview: Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard of living, is closely tied to other EU economies, especially Germany's. The economy features up-to-date industrial and agricultural sectors. Timber is a key industry, 47% of the land area being forested. Membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European market and proximity to the new EU economies. Slow growth in Europe has held the economy to 0.7% growth in 2001, 1.4% in 2002, 0.8% in 2003, and 1.9% in 2004. To meet increased competition from both EU and Central European countries, particularly the new EU members, Austria will need to emphasize knowledge-based sectors of the economy, continue to deregulate the service sector, and encourage much greater participation in the labor market by its aging population. The aging phenomenon, together with already high health and pension costs, poses fundamental problems in tax and welfare policies.

 

GDP: purchasing power parity - $255.9 billion (2004 est.)

 

GDP - real growth rate: 1.9% (2004 est.)

 

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $31,300 (2004 est.)

 

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 2.3%;industry: 30.8%;services: 66.9% (2004 est.)

 

Labor force: 3.45 million (2004 est.)

 

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture and forestry 4%, industry and crafts 29%, services 67% (2001 est.)

 

Unemployment rate: 4.4% (2004 est.)

 

Population below poverty line: 3.9% (1999)

 

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.5%;highest 10%: 22.5% (1995)

 

Distribution of family income - Gini index: 31 (1995)

 

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.8% (2004 est.)

 

Investment (gross fixed): 22.6% of GDP (2004 est.)

 

Budget: revenues: $142.5 billion; expenditures: $146.4 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

 

Public debt: 64.2% of GDP (2004 est.)

 

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: 3.3% (2004 est.)

 

Electricity - production: 58.49 billion kWh (2002)

 

Electricity - consumption: 55.09 billion kWh (2002)

 

Electricity - exports: 14.7 billion kWh (2002)

 

Electricity - imports: 15.4 billion kWh (2002)

 

Oil - production: 20,670 bbl/day (2001 est.)

 

Oil - consumption: 262,400 bbl/day (2001 est.)

 

Oil - exports: 35,470 bbl/day (2001)

 

Oil - imports: 262,000 bbl/day (2001)

 

Oil - proved reserves: 85.69 million bbl (1 January 2002)

 

Natural gas - production: 1.731 billion cu m (2001 est.)

 

Natural gas - consumption: 7.81 billion cu m (2001 est.)
 

Natural gas - exports: 403 million cu m (2001 est.)

 

Natural gas - imports: 6.033 billion cu m (2001 est.)

 

Natural gas - proved reserves: 24.9 billion cu m (1 January 2002)

 

Current account balance: $-3.283 billion (2004 est.)

 

Exports: $102.7 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

 

Exports - commodities: machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel; textiles, foodstuffs

 

Exports - partners: Germany 31.4%, Italy 9%, US 6%, Switzerland 4.8%, UK 4.4%, France 4.2% (2004)

 

Imports: $101.2 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

 

Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs

 

Imports - partners: Germany 45.9%, Italy 6.7%, Switzerland 4.3% (2004)

 

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $12.73 billion (2003)

 

Debt - external: $15.5 billion (2003 est.)

 

Economic aid - donor: ODA, $520 million (2002)

 

Currency (code): euro (EUR)

note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by the financial institutions of member countries; as of 1 January 2002, the euro became the only legal tender in EMU member countries, including Austria

 

Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000)

 

Fiscal year: calendar year

 

Communications

 

Telephones - main lines in use: 3.881 million (2003)

 

Telephones - mobile cellular: 7,094,500 (2003)

 

Telephone system: general assessment: highly developed and efficient;

domestic: there are 48 main lines for every 100 persons; the fiber optic net is very extensive; all telephone applications and Internet services are available

international: country code - 43; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Eutelsat; in addition, there are about 600 VSAT (very small aperture terminals) (2002)

 

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 65 (plus several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (2001)

 

Television broadcast stations: 10 (plus more than 1,000 repeaters) (2001)

 

Internet country code: .at

 

Internet hosts: 387,006 (2004)