Austria

federal republicIndependence 12 November 1918 (from Austro-Hungarian Empire)

Austria as the 1992 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 75 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalVienna

Area83,850 km2

Populationas each edition published it

7.87 million July 1992 · 7.64m in 1990

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 0.55% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 39.4 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 76.4 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

1.5 children per woman 1992 · 1.5 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

8 deaths per 1,000 live births 1992 · 6 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $18,000 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 1.8% in 1993

Geography

13 fields

Total area

83,850km2

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Maine

Land boundaries

2,591km total

Czechoslovakia 548 km, Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 37 km, Slovenia 262 km, Switzerland 164 km

Climate

temperate;
continental, cloudy;
cold winters with frequent rain in lowlands and snow in mountains;
cool summers with occasional showers

Terrain

mostly mountains with Alps in west and south; mostly flat, with gentle slopes along eastern and northern margins

Natural resources

iron ore, crude oil, timber, magnesite, aluminum, lead, coal, lignite, copper, hydropower

Land use

arable land 17%;
permanent crops 1%;
meadows and pastures 24%;
forest and woodland 39%;
other 19%;
includes irrigated NEGL%

Environment

because of steep slopes, poor soils, and cold temperatures, population is concentrated on eastern lowlands

Note

landlocked;
strategic location at the crossroads of central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys;
major river is the Danube

People

14 fields

Population

7,867,541

(July 1992), growth rate 0.7% (1992)

Per 1,000 population(1992)

Birth

12Death

11Net migration

Ethnic divisions

German 99.4%Croatian 0.3%Slovene 0.2%other 0.1%

Religions

Roman Catholic 85%Protestant 6%other 9%

Literacy

99%

(male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1974 est.)

Nationality

noun - Austrian(s); adjective - Austrian

Labor force

3,470,000 (1989);
services 56.4%, industry and crafts 35.4%, agriculture and forestry 8.1%;
an estimated 200,000 Austrians are employed in other European countries;
foreign laborers in Austria number 177,840, about 6% of labor force (1988)

Organized labor

60.1% of work force; the Austrian Trade Union Federation has 1,644,408 members (1989)

Government

Federal republic

20 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

43%

SPO 43%OVP 32.1%FPO 16.6%GAL 4.5%KPO 0.7%other 0.32%

Administrative divisions

9 states (bundeslander, singular - bundesland); Burgenland, Karnten, Niederosterreich, Oberosterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien

Independence

12 November 1918 (from Austro-Hungarian Empire)

Legal system

civil law system with Roman law origin;
judicial review of legislative acts by a Constitutional Court;
separate administrative and civil/penal supreme courts;
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Executive branch

president, chancellor, vice chancellor, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Legislative branch

bicameral Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung) consists of an upper council or Federal Council (Bundesrat) and a lower council or National Council (Nationalrat)

Supreme Judicial Court (Oberster Gerichtshof) for civil and criminal cases, Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof) for bureaucratic cases, Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof) for constitutional cases

Leaders

Chief of State:: President Thomas KLESTIL (since 8 July 1992)
Head of Government:: Chancellor Franz VRANITZKY (since 16 June 1986); Vice Chancellor Erhard BUSEK (since 2 July 1991)

Political parties and leaders

Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPO), Franz VRANITZKY, chairman;
Austrian People's Party (OVP), Erhard BUSEK, chairman;
Freedom Party of Austria (FPO), Jorg HAIDER, chairman;
Communist Party (KPO), Walter SILBERMAYER, chairman;
Green Alternative List (GAL), Johannes VOGGENHUBER, chairman

Suffrage

universal at age 19; compulsory for presidential elections

Elections

National Council:: last held 7 October 1990 (next to be held October 1994);
results - SPO 43%, OVP 32.1%, FPO 16.6%, GAL 4.5%, KPO 0.7%, other 0.32%;
seats - (183 total) SPO 80, OVP 60, FPO 33, GAL 10
President:: last held 24 May 1992 (next to be held 1996); results of Second Ballot - Thomas KLESTIL 57%, Rudolf STREICHER 43%

Communists

membership 15,000 est.; activists 7,000-8,000

Other political or pressure groups

Federal Chamber of Commerce and Industry;
Austrian Trade Union Federation (primarily Socialist);
three composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party (OVP) representing business, labor, and farmers;
OVP-oriented League of Austrian Industrialists;
Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay organization, Catholic Action

Member of

AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, G-9, GATT, HG, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MTRC, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNDOF, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Friedrich HOESS;
Embassy at 3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008;
telephone (202) 895-6700;
there are Austrian Consulates General in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York

US:: Ambassador Roy Michael HUFFINGTON;
Embassy at Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1091, Vienna (mailing address is APO AE 09108-0001);
telephone [43] (1) 31-55-11;
FAX [43] (1) 310-0682;
there is a US Consulate General in Salzburg

Flag

three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red

Economy

Austria boasts a prosperous and stable capitalist economy with a sizable | proportion of nationalized industry and extensive welfare benefits.

16 fields

Inflation, consumer prices

3.3%

(1991, annual rate)

Unemployment rate

5.8%

(1991)

External debt

$11.8billion

(1990 est.)

Budget

Revenues

$47.7 billionExpenditures

$53.0 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $NA (1990)

Overview

Austria boasts a prosperous and stable capitalist economy with a sizable proportion of nationalized industry and extensive welfare benefits. Thanks to an excellent raw material endowment, a technically skilled labor force, and strong links to German industrial firms, Austria occupies specialized niches in European industry and services (tourism, banking) and produces almost enough food to feed itself with only 8% of the labor force in agriculture.

Improved export prospects resulting from German unification and the opening of Eastern Europe, boosted the economy during 1990 and to a lesser extent in 1991. GDP growth slowed from 4.9% in 1990 to 3% in 1991 - mainly due to the weaker world economy - and is expected to drop to around 2% in 1992.

Inflation is forecasted at about 4%, while unemployment probably will increase moderately through 1992 before declining in 1993. Living standards are comparable with the large industrial countries of Western Europe. Problems for the l990s include an aging population, the high level of subsidies, and the struggle to keep welfare benefits within budget capabilities.

Austria, which has applied for EC membership, was involved in EC and European Free Trade Association negotiations for a European Economic Area and will have to adapt its economy to achieve freer interchange of goods, services, capital, and labor within the EC.

GDP

purchasing power equivalent - $164.1 billion, per capita $20,985; real growth rate 3% (1991)

Exports

$40 billion (1991)

commodities:: machinery and equipment, iron and steel, lumber, textiles, paper products, chemicals
partners:: EC 65.8%, (Germany 39%), EFTA 9.1%, Eastern Europe/former USSR 9.0%, Japan 1.7%, US 2.8%

Imports

$50.2 billion (1991)

commodities:: petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, vehicles, chemicals, textiles and clothing, pharmaceuticals
partners:: EC 67.8% (Germany is 43.0%), EFTA 6.9%, Eastern Europe/former USSR 6.0%, Japan 4.8%, US 3.9%

Industrial production

2.0% (1991)

Electricity

17,600,000 kW capacity; 49,500 million kWh produced, 6,500 kWh per capita (1991)

Industries

foods, iron and steel, machines, textiles, chemicals, electrical, paper and pulp, tourism, mining

Agriculture

accounts for 3.2% of GDP (including forestry);
principal crops and animals - grains, fruit, potatoes, sugar beets, sawn wood, cattle, pigs, poultry;
80-90% self-sufficient in food

Communications

9 fields

Merchant marine, 31 ships by typeone square, one ship

cargo 26container 1bulk 431 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 130,966 GRT/219,130 DWT

Airports, 55 total, 55 usable

permanent-surface runways

20runways | over 3,659 m

nonerunways 2,440-3,659 m

6runways 1,220-2,439 m

Railroads

6,028 km total;
5,388 km government owned and 640 km privately owned (1.435- and 1.000-meter gauge);
5,403 km 1.435-meter standard gauge of which 3,051 km is electrified and 1,520 km is double tracked;
363 km 0.760-meter narrow gauge of which 91 km is electrified

Highways

95,412 km total;
34,612 km are the primary network (including 1,012 km of autobahn, 10,400 km of federal, and 23,200 km of provincial roads);
of this number, 21,812 km are paved and 12,800 km are unpaved;
in addition, there are 60,800 km of communal roads (mostly gravel, crushed stone, earth)

Inland waterways

446 km

Pipelines

crude oil 554 km;
natural gas 2,611 km;
petroleum products 171 km

highly developed and efficient;
4,014,000 telephones;
broadcast stations - 6 AM, 21 (545 repeaters) FM, 47 (870 repeaters) TV;
satellite ground stations for Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, Indian Ocean INTELSAT, and EUTELSAT systems