Austria

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

• landslides;
• avalanches;
• earthquakes

noun:

Austrian(s)

adjective:

Austrian

total:

44.8 years (2023 est.)

male:

43.5 years

female:

46.2 years

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.79 male(s)/female

total population:

0.96 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

total:

3.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male:

3.6 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

2.8 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

82.5 years (2023 est.)

male:

79.9 years

female:

85.2 years

total:

11.9 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

6.3 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

3.7 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

1.9 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

26.4% (2020 est.)

male:

27.7% (2020 est.)

female:

25% (2020 est.)

total population:

NA

male:

NA

female:

NA

• 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;
• water pollution;
• the Danube, as well as some of Austria’s other rivers and lakes, are threatened by pollution

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

urban population:

59.5% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

0.68% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

11.51 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

61.45 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

6.34 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

4.836 million tons (2015 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

1,240,918 tons (2015 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

25.7% (2015 est.)

municipal:

720 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

2.7 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

720 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Austria

conventional short form:

Austria

local long form:

Republik Oesterreich

local short form:

Oesterreich

etymology:

• the name Oesterreich means "eastern realm" and dates to the 10th century;
• the designation refers to the fact that Austria was the easternmost extension of Bavaria, and, in fact, of all the Germans;
• the word Austria is a Latinization of the German name

name:

Vienna

geographic coordinates:

48 12 N, 16 22 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

etymology:

• the origin of the name is disputed but may derive from early Celtic settlements of the area;
• a plausible reconstructed Celtic name from several centuries B.C. is Vedunia (meaning "forest stream"), which in Old High German became uuenia ( wenia ), and later w ien (its current German form) in New High German;
• another possibility is that the name stems from the Roman settlement Vindobona, established around 15 B.C., and its Celtic-derived name (likely from the Celtic windo , meaning "white, fair, or bright" and bona meaning "base, fortification, or settlement" to give a connotation of "white settlement" or "white fort");
• archeological remains of the latter survive at many sites in the center of Vienna

• 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland);
• Burgenland, Kaernten (Carinthia), Niederoesterreich (Lower Austria), Oberoesterreich (Upper Austria), Salzburg, Steiermark (Styria), Tirol (Tyrol), Vorarlberg, Wien (Vienna)

no official date of independence:

• 976 (Margravate of Austria established);
• 17 September 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded);
• 6 January 1453 (Archduchy of Austria acknowledged);
• 11 August 1804 (Austrian Empire proclaimed);
• 30 March 1867 (Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy established);
• 12 November 1918 (First Republic proclaimed);
• 27 April 1945 (Second Republic proclaimed)

history:

several previous; latest adopted 1 October 1920, revised 1929, replaced May 1934, replaced by German Weimar constitution in 1938 following German annexation, reinstated 1 May 1945

amendments:

• proposed through laws designated "constitutional laws" or through the constitutional process if the amendment is part of another law;
• approval required by at least a two-thirds majority vote by the National Assembly and the presence of one-half of the members;
• a referendum is required only if requested by one-third of the National Council or Federal Council membership;
• passage by referendum requires absolute majority vote;
• amended many times, last in 2020

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Austria

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

10 years

chief of state:

President Alexander VAN DER BELLEN (since 26 January 2017); note - President Alexander VAN DER BELLEN reelected to a second six-year term on 9 October 2022

head of government:

Chancellor Karl NEHAMMER (since 6 December 2021)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers proposed by the chancellor and appointed by the president

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 6-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 9 October 2022;
• (next election to be held in 2028);
• chancellor appointed by the president but determined by the majority coalition parties in the Federal Assembly;
• vice chancellor appointed by the president on the advice of the chancellor

election results:

• 2022: Alexander VAN DER BELLEN elected in first round;
• percent of vote - Alexander VAN DER BELLEN (the Greens) 56.7%, Walter ROSENKRANZ (FPO) 17.7%, Dominik WLAZNY (Beer) 8.3%, Tassilo WALLENTIN (independent) 8.1%, Gerald GROSZ (independent) 5.6%

;

• 2016: Alexander VAN DER BELLEN elected in second round;
• percent of vote in first round - Norbert HOFER (FPOe) 35.1%, Alexander VAN DER BELLEN (independent, allied with the Greens) 21.3%, Irmgard GRISS (independent) 18.9%, Rudolf HUNDSTORFER (SPOe) 11.3%, Andreas KHOL (OeVP) 11.1%, Richard LUGNER (independent) 2.3%;
• percent of vote in second round - Alexander VAN DER BELLEN 53.8%, Norbert HOFER 46.2%

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court of Justice or Oberster Gerichtshof (consists of 85 judges organized into 17 senates or panels of 5 judges each);
• Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof (consists of 20 judges including 6 substitutes; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof - 2 judges plus other members depending on the importance of the case)

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court judges nominated by executive branch departments and appointed by the president;
• judges serve for life;
• Constitutional Court judges nominated by several executive branch departments and approved by the president;
• judges serve for life;
• Administrative Court judges recommended by executive branch departments and appointed by the president;
• terms of judges and members determined by the president

subordinate courts:

• Courts of Appeal (4);
• Regional Courts (20);
• district courts (120);
• county courts

• Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Karl NEHAMMER]
• Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Herbert KICKL]
• The Greens - The Green Alternative [Werner KOGLER]
• NEOS - The New Austria and Liberal Forum [Beate MEINL-REISINGER]
• Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Pamela RENDI-WAGNER]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Petra SCHNEEBAUER (since 19 APRIL 2023)

chancery:

3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008-3035

telephone:

[1] (202) 895-6700

FAX:

[1] (202) 895-6750

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://www.austria.org/

consulate(s) general:

Los Angeles, New York, Washington

consulate(s):

Chicago

chief of mission:

Ambassador Victoria Reggie KENNEDY (since 12 January 2022)

embassy:

Boltzmanngasse 16, 1090, Vienna

mailing address:

9900 Vienna Place, Washington DC 20521-9900

telephone:

[43] (1) 31339-0

FAX:

[43] (1) 310-06-82

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://at.usembassy.gov/

• three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red;
• the flag design is certainly one of the oldest - if not the oldest - national banners in the world;
• according to tradition, in 1191, following a fierce battle in the Third Crusade, Duke Leopold V of Austria's white tunic became completely blood-spattered;
• upon removal of his wide belt or sash, a white band was revealed;
• the red-white-red color combination was subsequently adopted as his banner

total World Heritage Sites:

12 (11 cultural, 1 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Historic Salzburg (c);
• Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn (c);
• Halstadt–Dachstein/Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape (c);
• Semmering railway (c);
• Historic Graz and Schloss Eggenberg (c);
• Wachau Cultural Landscape (c);
• Historic Vienna (c);
• Fertő/Neusiedlersee Cultural Landscape (c);
• Baden bei Wien (c);
• Primeval Beech Forests - Dürrenstein, Kalkalpen (n)

• one of the strongest EU and euro economies;
• diversified trade portfolios and relations;
• enormous trade economy;
• Russian energy dependence, but investing in alternative energy;
• aging labor force but large refugee population;
• large government debt

Fitch rating:

AA+ (2015)

Moody's rating:

Aa1 (2016)

Standard & Poors rating: AA+ (2012)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

total:

11.4% (2021 est.)

male:

11.5%

female:

11.3%

on food:

9.8% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

3.2% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.8%

highest 10%:

23.5% (2012 est.)

production:

1.327 million metric tons (2020 est.)

consumption:

4.899 million metric tons (2020 est.)

exports:

1,000 metric tons (2020 est.)

imports:

3.667 million metric tons (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

0 metric tons (2019 est.)

total petroleum production:

20,100 bbl/day (2021 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

278,700 bbl/day (2019 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate exports:

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate imports:

168,300 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

35.2 million barrels (2021 est.)

production:

924.5 million cubic meters (2019 est.)

consumption:

9.208 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)

exports:

2.8 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)

imports:

14.11 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)

proven reserves:

5.04 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• mature telecom market;
• the mobile market benefits from a growing number of Mobile Virtual Network Operators;
• the telcos as well as the government and regulator have been focused on delivering improved telecom infrastructure;
• the government has a program to provide a national gigabit service by 2030, delivered by private enterprise though with some state funding;
• this is based on fiber networks supported by 5G, with the Mobile Network Operators able to expand the reach of their 5G services following auctions held in March 2019 and September 2020;
• the fixed-line broadband market is still dominated by the DSL sector, while the cable broadband sector has held a steady share of connections in recent years;
• the fiber sector was slow to develop, and although fiber remains low there are plans to build out the network infrastructure (2021)

domestic:

• developed and efficient;
• 43 per 100 fixed telephone subscriptions;
• 122 per 100 mobile-cellular subscriptions (2021)

international:

country code - 43; earth stations available in the Astra, Intelsat, Eutelsat satellite systems (2019)

• worldwide cable and satellite TV are available;
• the public incumbent ORF competes with three other major, several regional domestic, and up to 400 international TV stations;
• TV coverage is in principle 100%, but only 90% use broadcast media;
• Internet streaming not only complements, but increasingly replaces regular TV stations (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

11 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 130

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

12,935,505 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

373.51 million (2018) mt-km

total:

137,039 km (2018)

paved:

137,039 km (2018) (includes 2,232 km of expressways)

total:

1 (2022)

by type:

other 1