Austria

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

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

natural hazards:

NA

international agreements:

• party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling;
• signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol

• 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

0-14 years:

18% (male 720,696; female 685,179)

15-64 years:

67% (male 2,726,122; female 2,659,162)

65 years and over:

15% (male 451,231; female 780,854) (July 1996 est.)

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:

0.58 male(s)/female

all ages:

0.94 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

total population:

76.53 years

male:

73.38 years

female:

79.84 years (1996 est.)

noun:

Austrian(s)

adjective:

Austrian

conventional long form:

Republic of Austria

conventional short form:

Austria

local long form:

Republik Oesterreich

local short form:

Oesterreich

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

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

chief of state:

• President Thomas KLESTIL (since 8 July 1992) was elected for a six-year term by popular vote;
• election last held 24 May 1992 (next to be held 1998);
• results of second ballot - Thomas KLESTIL 57%, Rudolf STREICHER 43%

head of government:

• Chancellor Franz VRANITZKY (since 16 June 1986) was chosen by the president from the majority party in the National Council;
• Vice Chancellor Wolfgang SCHUESSEL (since 22 April 1995) was chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor

cabinet:

Council of Ministers was chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor

• elections last held 17 December 1995 (next to be held Fall 1999);
• results - SPOE 38.3%, OEVP 28.3%, FPOE 22.1%, Greens 4.6%, LF 5.3%, other 1.4%;
• seats - (183 total) SPOE 71, OEVP 53, FPOE 40, Greens 9, LF 10

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

• Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPOE), Franz VRANITZKY, chairman;
• Austrian People's Party (OEVP), Wolfgang SCHUESSEL, chairman;
• Freedom Movement (F, formerly the Freedom Party of Austria or FPOE), Joerg HAIDER, chairman;
• Communist Party (KPOE), Walter SILBERMAYER, chairman;
• The Greens, Madeleine PETROVIC;
• Liberal Forum (LF), Heide SCHMIDT

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

AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMIR, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIH, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

chief of mission:

Ambassador Helmut TUERK

chancery:

3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008-3035

telephone:

[1] (202) 895-6700

chief of mission:

Ambassador Swanee G. HUNT

chancery:

Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1091, Vienna

mailing address:

use embassy street address

telephone:

[43] (1) 313-39

• grains, fruit, potatoes, sugar beets;
• cattle, pigs, poultry;
• sawn wood

total:

5,624 km

standard gauge:

5,269 km 1.435-m gauge (3,263 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

355 km 1.000-m and 0.760-m gauge (86 km electrified) (1995)

total:

108,000 km

paved:

22,000 km (including 1,800 km of expressways)

unpaved:

86,000 km (1992 est.)

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

total:

29 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 88,617 GRT/122,475 DWT

ships by type:

bulk 1, cargo 23, combination bulk 2, container 1, refrigerated cargo 2 (1995 est.)

domestic:

highly developed and efficient

international:

satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 2 Eutelsat

males age 15-49:

2,084,827

males fit for military service:

1,741,068

males reach military age (19) annually:

45,628 (1996 est.)