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Austria |
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| 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. This neutrality, once ingrained
as part of the Austrian cultural identity, has been called into question
since the Soviet collapse of 1991 and Austria's entry into the European
Union in 1995. A prosperous country, Austria entered the European Monetary
Union in 1999. |
| Location: |
Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
47 20 N, 13 20 E |
| Map
references: |
Europe
|
| Area: |
total: 83,858 sq km
water: 1,120 sq km
land: 82,738 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 in lowlands
and snow in mountains; cool 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: |
iron ore, oil, timber, magnesite, lead, coal, lignite, copper, hydropower
|
| Land
use: |
arable land: 16.89%
permanent crops: 0.99%
other: 82.12% (1998 est.) |
| 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-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile
Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed,
but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
| 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
|
| Population: |
8,188,207 (July 2003 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years: 16.2% (male 678,944; female 646,390)
15-64
years: 68.3% (male 2,827,736; female 2,768,480)
65 years
and over: 15.5% (male 490,979; female 775,678) (2003 est.) |
| Median
age: |
total: 39.4 years
male: 38.2 years
female:
40.7 years (2002) |
| Population
growth rate: |
0.22% (2003 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
9.43 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
9.69 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
2.44 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female
total population:
0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
total: 4.33 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
4.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 4.38 deaths/1,000
live births |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population: 78.17 years
male: 75.02 years
female: 81.48 years (2003 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
1.41 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian |
| Ethnic
groups: |
German 88%, non-nationals 9.3% (includes Croatians, Slovenes, Hungarians,
Czechs, Slovaks, Roma), naturalized 2% (includes those who have lived
in Austria at least three generations) |
| Religions: |
Roman Catholic 78%, Protestant 5%, Muslim and other 17% |
| Languages: |
German |
| Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total
population: 98%
male: NA%
female: NA%
|
| Economy
- overview: |
Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard of
living, is closely tied to other EU economies, especially Germany's.
Membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted
by Austria's access to the single European market and proximity to EU
aspirant economies. Slowing growth in Germany and elsewhere in the world
held the economy to only 1.2% growth in 2001 and 0.6% in 2002. To meet
increased competition from both EU and Central European countries, Austria
will need to emphasize knowledge-based sectors of the economy, continue
to deregulate the service sector, and lower its tax burden. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $226 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
0.6% (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $27,700 (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture: 2%
industry: 33%
services:
65% (2002 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| 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% (2002 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
4.3 million (2001) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
services 67%, industry and crafts 29%, agriculture and forestry 4% (2001
est.) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
4.8% (2002 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $53 billion
expenditures: $54 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
| Industries: |
construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, chemicals, lumber
and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment,
tourism |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
3.8% (2001 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
58.75 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel: 29.3%
hydro: 67.2%
other:
3.5% (2001)
nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
54.85 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
14.25 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
14.47 billion kWh (2001) |
| 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 (January 2002 est.) |
| Natural
gas - proved reserves: |
24.9 billion cu m (January 2002 est.) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle,
pigs, poultry; lumber |
| Exports: |
$70 billion f.o.b. (2001) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard,
metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel; textiles, foodstuffs |
| Exports
- partners: |
EU 63% (Germany 35%, Italy 9%, France 5%), Switzerland 5%, US 5%, Hungary
4% (2000) |
| Imports: |
$74 billion c.i.f. (2001) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil
and oil products; foodstuffs |
| Imports
- partners: |
EU 68% (Germany 42%, Italy 7%, France 5%), US 6%, Switzerland 3%, Hungary
2% (2000) |
| Debt
- external: |
$12.1 billion (2001 est.) |
| Economic
aid - donor: |
ODA, $410 million (2000) |
| Currency: |
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; on 1 January 2002, the euro became
the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries
|
| Currency
code: |
EUR |
| Exchange
rates: |
euros per US dollar - 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386
(1999), 12.3791 (1998) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year
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