CIA World Fact Book, 2004/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. Following the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995, some Austrian's have called into question this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the European Monetary Union in 1999.

!| Location: !| Geographic coordinates: !| Map references: !| Area: water: 1,426 sq km land: 82,444 sq km !| Area - comparative: !| Land boundaries: 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: !| Maritime claims: !| Climate: !| Terrain: !| Elevation extremes: highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m !| Natural resources: !| Land use: permanent crops: 0.86% other: 82.23% (2001) !| Irrigated land: !| Natural hazards: !| Environment - current issues: !| Environment - international agreements: signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants !| Geography - note:
 * Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia
 * 47 20 N, 13 20 E
 * Europe
 * total: 83,870 sq km
 * slightly smaller than Maine
 * total: 2,562 km
 * 0 km (landlocked)
 * none (landlocked)
 * temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain and some snow in lowlands and snow in mountains; moderate summers with occasional showers
 * in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping
 * lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
 * oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower
 * arable land: 16.91%
 * 457 sq km (2000 est.)
 * landslides; avalanches; earthquakes
 * 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
 * party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, 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
 * 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: !| Age structure: 15-64 years: 68.1% (male 2,799,411; female 2,764,426) 65 years and over: 16% (male 518,748; female 792,937) (2004 est.) !| Median age: male: 38.8 years female: 41.2 years (2004 est.) !| Population growth rate: !| Birth rate: !| Death rate: !| Net migration rate: !| Sex ratio: under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2004 est.) !| Infant mortality rate: female: 3.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 5.76 deaths/1,000 live births !| Life expectancy at birth: male: 76 years female: 81.89 years (2004 est.) !| Total fertility rate: !| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: !| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: !| HIV/AIDS - deaths: !| Nationality: adjective: Austrian !| Ethnic groups: !| Religions: !| Languages: !| Literacy: total population: 98% male: NA female: NA
 * 8,174,762 (July 2004 est.)
 * 0-14 years: 15.9% (male 665,680; female 633,560)
 * total: 40 years
 * 0.14% (2004 est.)
 * 8.9 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 9.56 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
 * total: 4.68 deaths/1,000 live births
 * total population: 78.87 years
 * 1.35 children born/woman (2004 est.)
 * 0.3% (2003 est.)
 * 10,000 (2003 est.)
 * less than 100 (2003 est.)
 * noun: Austrian(s)
 * German 88.5%, indigenous minorities 1.5% (includes Croatians, Slovenes, Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Roma), recent immigrant groups 10% (includes Turks, Bosnians, Serbians, Croatians) (2001)
 * Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 0.1%, none 17.4%
 * German (official nationwide), Slovene (official in Carinthia), Croatian (official in Burgenland), Hungarian (official in Burgenland)
 * definition: age 15 and over can read and write

!| Country name: conventional short form: Austria local short form: Oesterreich local long form: Republik Oesterreich !| Government type: !| Capital: !| Administrative divisions: !| Independence: !| National holiday: !| Constitution: !| Legal system: !| Suffrage: !| Executive branch: 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 NA 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 note: government coalition - OeVP and FPOe election results: Heinz FISCHER elected president; percent of vote - Heinz FISCHER (SPOe) 52.4%, Benita FERRERO-WALDNER (OeVP) 47.6% !| Legislative branch: 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 elections: National Council - last held 24 November 2002 (next to be held in the fall of 2006) !| Judicial branch: !| Political parties and leaders: !| Political pressure groups and leaders: !| International organization participation: !| Diplomatic representation in the US: chancery: 3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008-3035 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York FAX: [1] (202) 895-6750 telephone: [1] (202) 895-6700 !| Diplomatic representation from the US: embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1090, Vienna mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [43] (1) 31339-0, 31375, 31335 FAX: [43] (1) 3100682 !| Flag description:
 * conventional long form: Republic of Austria
 * federal republic
 * Vienna
 * 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten, Niederoesterreich, Oberoesterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien
 * 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed)
 * 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
 * 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945)
 * 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
 * 18 years of age; universal; compulsory for presidential elections
 * chief of state: President Heinz FISCHER (since 8 July 2004)
 * 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)
 * Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof
 * Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Wolfgang SCHUESSEL]; Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Ursula HAUBNER]; Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Alfred GUSENBAUER]; The Greens [Alexander VAN DER BELLEN]
 * Austrian Trade Union Federation (nominally independent but primarily Socialist) or OeGB; Federal Economic Chamber; OeVP-oriented League of Austrian Industrialists or VOeI; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay organization, Catholic Action; three composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party or OeVP representing business, labor, and farmers and other non-government organizations in the areas of environment and human rights
 * AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
 * chief of mission: Ambassador Eva NOWOTNY
 * chief of mission: Ambassador William Lee LYONS BROWN, Jr.
 * three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red

!| Economy - overview: !| GDP: !| GDP - real growth rate: !| GDP - per capita: !| GDP - composition by sector: industry: 25.7% services: 70.9% (2003 est.) !| Investment (gross fixed): !| Population below poverty line: !| Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: 22.5% (1995) !| Distribution of family income - Gini index: !| Inflation rate (consumer prices): !| Labor force: !| Labor force - by occupation: !| Unemployment rate: !| Budget: expenditures: $70 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) !| Public debt: !| Agriculture - products: !| Industries: !| Industrial production growth rate: !| Electricity - production: !| Electricity - consumption: !| Electricity - exports: !| Electricity - imports: !| Oil - production: !| Oil - consumption: !| Oil - exports: !| Oil - imports: !| Oil - proved reserves: !| Natural gas - production: !| Natural gas - consumption: !| Natural gas - exports: !| Natural gas - imports: !| Natural gas - proved reserves: !| Current account balance: !| Exports: !| Exports - commodities: !| Exports - partners: !| Imports: !| Imports - commodities: !| Imports - partners: !| Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: !| Debt - external: !| Economic aid - donor: !| Currency: 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 !| Currency code: !| Exchange rates: !| Fiscal year:
 * 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. Slow growth in Germany and elsewhere in the world held the economy to 0.7% growth in 2001, 1.4% in 2002, and again less than 1% in 2003. However, recent data signal that the recovery has started. The government estimates economic growth in 2004 of 1.7-2.1% and of 2.5% in 2005. The government is planning a EURO 500 billion income tax cut in 2004, though some economists doubt it will have stimulative effects in 2004, because it will be offset by higher health insurance contributions and higher taxes on energy. For 2005, Austria plans a tax cut of EURO 2.5 billion and harmonization of the various pension schemes. 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 lower its tax burden. A key issue is the encouragement of much greater participation in the labor market by its aging population.
 * purchasing power parity - $245.3 billion (2003 est.)
 * 0.7% (2003 est.)
 * purchasing power parity - $30,000 (2003 est.)
 * agriculture: 3.5%
 * 22.5% of GDP (2003)
 * 3.9% (1999)
 * lowest 10%: 2.5%
 * 31 (1995)
 * 1.4% (2003 est.)
 * 3.425 million (2003)
 * agriculture and forestry 4%, industry and crafts 29%, services 67% (2001 est.)
 * 4.4% (2003 est.)
 * revenues: $67 billion
 * 67.6% of GDP (2003)
 * grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber
 * construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism
 * 1.9% (2003 est.)
 * 58.75 billion kWh (2001)
 * 54.85 billion kWh (2001)
 * 14.25 billion kWh (2001)
 * 14.47 billion kWh (2001)
 * 20,670 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * 262,400 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * 35,470 bbl/day (2001)
 * 262,000 bbl/day (2001)
 * 85.69 million bbl (1 January 2002)
 * 1.731 billion cu m (2001 est.)
 * 7.81 billion cu m (2001 est.)
 * 403 million cu m (2001 est.)
 * 6.033 billion cu m (2001 est.)
 * 24.9 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
 * $-1.353 billion (2003)
 * $83.45 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
 * machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel; textiles, foodstuffs
 * Germany 31.9%, Italy 9.6%, Switzerland 5.2%, US 4.9%, France 4.8%, UK 4.7% (2003)
 * $81.59 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
 * machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs
 * Germany 43.2%, Italy 6.7%, Hungary 5.4%, Switzerland 5%, Netherlands 4.2% (2003)
 * $12.73 billion (2003)
 * $15.5 billion (2003 est.)
 * ODA, $520 million (2002)
 * euro (EUR)
 * EUR
 * euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999)
 * calendar year

!| Telephones - main lines in use: !| Telephones - mobile cellular: !| Telephone system: 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: !| Radios: !| Television broadcast stations: !| Televisions: !| Internet country code: !| Internet hosts: !| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): !| Internet users:
 * 3.881 million (2003)
 * 7,094,500 (2003)
 * general assessment: highly developed and efficient
 * AM 2, FM 65 (plus several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (2001)
 * 6.08 million (1997)
 * 10 (plus more than 1,000 repeaters) (2001)
 * 4.25 million (1997)
 * .at
 * 387,006 (2004)
 * 37 (2000)
 * 3.73 million (2003)

!| Railways: standard gauge: 5,565 km 1.435-m gauge (3,430 km electrified) narrow gauge: 34 km 1.000-m gauge (28 km electrified); 422 km 0.760-m gauge (94 km electrified) (2003) !| Highways: paved: 200,000 km (including 1,633 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000) !| Waterways: !| Pipelines: !| Ports and harbors: !| Merchant marine: by type: cargo 4, container 2 registered in other countries: 34 (2004 est.) foreign-owned: Netherlands 1 !| Airports: !| Airports - with paved runways: over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 14 (2004 est.) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 !| Airports - with unpaved runways: 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 27 (2004 est.) !| Heliports:
 * total: 6,021 km (3,552 km electrified)
 * total: 200,000 km
 * 358 km (2003)
 * gas 2,722 km; oil 663 km; refined products 149 km (2004)
 * Enns, Krems, Linz, Vienna
 * total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 29,624 GRT/37,425 DWT
 * 55 (2003 est.)
 * total: 24
 * total: 31
 * 1 (2003 est.)

!| Military branches: !| Military manpower - military age and obligation: !| Military manpower - availability: !| Military manpower - fit for military service: !| Military manpower - reaching military age annually: !| Military expenditures - dollar figure: !| Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
 * Land Forces (KdoLdSK), Air Forces (KdoLuSK)
 * 18 years of age for compulsory military service; 16 years of age for voluntary service; from 2007, at the earliest, compulsory military service obligation will be reduced from 8 months to 6 (June 2004)
 * males age 15-49: 2,066,467 (2004 est.)
 * males age 15-49: 1,699,384 (2004 est.)
 * males: 48,981 (2004 est.)
 * $1.497 billion (FY01/02)
 * 0.85% (June 2004)
 * }