Austria's position in Central Europe after World War II--by
1948 about 1,225 kilometers, or 46 percent, of its frontiers were
with communist states--and the proclamation of Austrian
neutrality in October 1955 made Austria Europe's most important
country of east-west transit, transmigration, and the claiming of
refugee status. Between 1945 and 1990, approximately 2.6 million
people came to Austria as immigrants, transmigrants or refugees.
The great majority of them stayed in Austria only for short
periods, and some 550,000 used Austria exclusively as a land of
transit. Approximately 1.4 million people were transmigrants who
lived in Austria before emigrating to other countries or
returning to their countries of origin. About 650,000 people,
over half of whom were not ethnic Germans or native German
speakers, settled permanently in Austria, the great majority of
whom became citizens.
Although Austrians traditionally viewed their country as a
neutral land of transit and political asylum, they did not see
Austria as a land of immigration like the United States, Canada,
or Australia. This perception, however, does not correspond to
the fact that more than 10 percent of the country's citizens in
1990 had not been born in Austria and that in the early 1990s
more than 500,000 legal foreigners, predominantly guest workers,
lived in the country.
Waves of immigration were caused by political events in
neighboring countries. After the Hungarian Revolution of 1956,
for example, over 250,000 Hungarians fled to Austria, 180,000 of
whom eventually applied for asylum. In August 1968, after the
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia ended the "Prague Spring,"
162,000 Czechs and Slovaks fled to Austria. Although the majority
of them eventually returned to Czechoslovakia, 12,000 applied for
asylum. In Poland the banning of the Solidarity Movement in
December 1981 caused between 120,000 and 150,000 Poles to go to
Austria, and 33,000 of them applied for asylum. The opening of
Hungary's borders during the summer of 1989 breached the Iron
Curtain, and 40,000 East Germans used Austria as a land of
transit to emigrate to West Germany.
In addition to European immigrants, since 1972 Austria has
accepted contingents of asylum seekers from a number of
countries--Chile, Argentina, Uganda, Iran, and Afghanistan--under
the auspices of international agreements. Austria was also the
main land of transit for 250,000 Jewish emigrants from the Soviet
Union beginning in 1976 until the advent of direct Soviet
immigration to Israel in 1990.
The number of individuals seeking political asylum in Austria
rose from fewer than 5,000 in 1982 to more than 27,000 in 1991.
Before the Iron Curtain fell at the end of 1989, the granting of
political asylum in Austria to refugees was relatively liberal.
Once democratic governments were established in the former
communist states of Eastern Europe and borders were opened,
however, Austria began to pursue a more restrictive asylum
policy. A distinction came to be made between political refugees
and so-called economic refugees, who sought more lucrative
employment or better living conditions. As a result, the number
of those seeking asylum fell to 16,200 in 1992.
The number of people seeking to immigrate to Austria had
increased so greatly by the early 1990s that the nation's army,
the Bundesheer (Federal Army), was called in to assist customs
and border authorities in patrolling the country's borders. After
the fall of communism, these borders were virtually open for a
time. By 1992 as many as 100,000 illegal immigrants were in
Austria. In addition, for humanitarian reasons, Austria had
accepted well over 50,000 refugees from the former Yugoslavia,
who had either fled or were expelled from their homes in the
course of hostilities that began in 1991. Most of these refugees
were Bosnians.
The presence of a large number of foreign workers in Austria
also affected population trends. The size of this group
fluctuated according to the state of the country's economy. From
the mid-1960s through the early 1970s, a period of rapid domestic
economic growth, Austria's domestic labor force was not large
enough to satisfy the demands of its growing economy, and foreign
workers were brought in to meet the labor shortage. Most were
unskilled Yugoslavs and Turks who assumed menial jobs with low
salaries. As a result of this influx, the number of foreign
workers in Austria increased from fewer than 50,000 in 1965 to
some 220,000 in 1974. The recession of the second half of the
1970s and early 1980s had reduced their number to 140,000 by
1984. Periods of growth later in the decade raised it to 264,000
by 1991.
Despite these fluctuations, guest workers and their
dependents had become a permanent feature of Austria's population
and accounted for 80 percent of the 550,000 legally registered
foreign inhabitants in Austria in 1991. The remaining 20 percent
consisted of asylum seekers and refugees who had fled from the
conflict in the former Yugoslavia.
A shrinking population caused by lower birth rates was
Austria's greatest demographic concern in the 1970s and early
1980s. Although the low birth rate among Austria's indigenous
German-speaking population continues to be an issue, many
Austrians are also concerned about the growing number of
foreigners in Austria. To offset the low birth rate, Austria
needs a projected net annual growth of approximately 25,000
people per year in order to maintain population at a stable
level. Most of this growth will come from foreigners living in
Austria or from immigrants.
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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. The Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995 have altered the meaning of this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the EU Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. In January 2009, Austria assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2009-10 term.
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Location | | Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia
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Area(sq km) | | total: 83,871 sq km
land: 82,445 sq km
water: 1,426 sq km
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Geographic coordinates | | 47 20 N, 13 20 E
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Land boundaries(km) | | 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
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Coastline(km) | | 0 km (landlocked)
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Climate | | temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain and some snow in lowlands and snow in mountains; moderate summers with occasional showers
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Elevation extremes(m) | | lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m
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Natural resources | | oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower
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Land use(%) | | arable land: 16.59%
permanent crops: 0.85%
other: 82.56% (2005)
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Irrigated land(sq km) | | 40 sq km (2003)
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Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 84 cu km (2005)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) | | total: 3.67 cu km/yr (35%/64%/1%)
per capita: 448 cu m/yr (1999)
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Natural hazards | | landslides; avalanches; earthquakes
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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
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Environment - international agreements | | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, 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
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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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
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Population | | 8,210,281 (July 2009 est.)
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Age structure(%) | | 0-14 years: 14.5% (male 609,748/female 581,144)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 2,785,091/female 2,756,402)
65 years and over: 18% (male 612,613/female 865,283) (2009 est.)
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Median age(years) | | total: 42.2 years
male: 41.1 years
female: 43.2 years (2009 est.)
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Population growth rate(%) | | 0.052% (2009 est.)
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Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 8.65 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 9.98 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
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Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | 1.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Urbanization(%) | | urban population: 67% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 0.7% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio(male(s)/female) | | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
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Infant mortality rate(deaths/1,000 live births) | | total: 4.42 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.39 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth(years) | | total population: 79.5 years
male: 76.6 years
female: 82.56 years (2009 est.)
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Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 1.39 children born/woman (2009 est.)
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Nationality | | noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian
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Ethnic groups(%) | | Austrians 91.1%, former Yugoslavs 4% (includes Croatians, Slovenes, Serbs, and Bosniaks), Turks 1.6%, German 0.9%, other or unspecified 2.4% (2001 census)
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Religions(%) | | Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 2%, none 12% (2001 census)
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Languages(%) | | German (official nationwide) 88.6%, Turkish 2.3%, Serbian 2.2%, Croatian (official in Burgenland) 1.6%, other (includes Slovene, official in Carinthia, and Hungarian, official in Burgenland) 5.3% (2001 census)
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Country name | | conventional long form: Republic of Austria
conventional short form: Austria
local long form: Republik Oesterreich
local short form: Oesterreich
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Government type | | federal republic
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Capital | | 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
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Administrative divisions | | 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten (Carinthia), Niederoesterreich (Lower Austria), Oberoesterreich (Upper Austria), Salzburg, Steiermark (Styria), Tirol (Tyrol), Vorarlberg, Wien (Vienna)
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Constitution | | 1920; revised 1929; reinstated 1 May 1945; note - during the period 1 May 1934-1 May 1945 there was a fascist (corporative) constitution in place
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Legal system | | 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
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Suffrage | | 16 years of age; universal; note - reduced from 18 years of age in 2007
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Executive branch | | chief of state: President Heinz FISCHER (SPOe) (since 8 July 2004)
head of government: Chancellor Werner FAYMANN (SPOe) (since 2 December 2008); Vice Chancellor Josef PROELL (OeVP) (since 2 December 2008)
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 (eligible for a second term); presidential election last held 25 April 2004 (next to be held in April 2010); chancellor formally chosen by the president but determined by the coalition parties forming a parliamentary majority; vice chancellor chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor
election results: Heinz FISCHER elected president; percent of vote - Heinz FISCHER 52.4%, Benita FERRERO-WALDNER 47.6%
note: government coalition - SPOe and OeVP
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Legislative branch | | bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal Council or Bundesrat (62 seats; members chosen by state parliaments with each state receiving 3 to 12 members in proportion to its population; members serve five- or six-year terms) and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: National Council - last held 28 September 2008 (next to be held by September 2013)
election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - SPOe 29.3%, OeVP 26%, FPOe 17.5%, BZOe 10.7%, Greens 10.4%, other 6.1%; seats by party - SPOe 57, OeVP 51, FPOe 34, BZOe 21, Greens 20
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Judicial branch | | Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof
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Political pressure groups and leaders | | Austrian Trade Union Federation or OeGB (nominally independent but primarily Social Democratic); Federal Economic Chamber; OeVP-oriented Association of Austrian Industrialists or IV; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay organization, Catholic Action
other: three composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party or OeVP representing business, labor, farmers, and other nongovernment organizations in the areas of environment and human rights
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International organization participation | | ACCT (observer), ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G-9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, MINURSO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
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Flag description | | 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, 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
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Economy - overview | | Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard of living, is closely tied to other EU economies, especially Germany's. Its economy features a large service sector, a sound industrial sector, and a small, but highly developed agricultural sector. Following several years of solid foreign demand for Austrian exports and record employment growth, the global economic downturn in 2008 led to a recession that is likely to persist through 2009. The government's stabilization measures could increase the budget deficit to about 2.8% of GDP in 2009 and above 3% in 2010, from about 0.6% in 2008. The Austrian economy has benefited greatly in the past from strong commercial relations, especially in the banking and insurance sectors, with central, eastern, and southeastern Europe, but these sectors have been vulnerable to recent international financial instabilities, and some of Austria's largest banks have required government support. Even after the global economic outlook improves, Austria will need to continue restructuring, emphasizing knowledge-based sectors of the economy, and encouraging greater labor flexibility and greater labor participation to offset its aging population and exceedingly low fertility rate.
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GDP (purchasing power parity) | | $331.2 billion (2008 est.)
$324.7 billion (2007 est.)
$313.7 billion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP (official exchange rate) | | $414.8 billion (2008 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate(%) | | 2% (2008 est.)
3.5% (2007 est.)
3.5% (2006 est.)
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GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $40,400 (2008 est.)
$39,600 (2007 est.)
$38,300 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP - composition by sector(%) | | agriculture: 1.9%
industry: 30.7%
services: 67.4% (2008 est.)
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Labor force | | 3.633 million (2008 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation(%) | | agriculture: 5.5%
industry: 27.5%
services: 67% (2005 est.)
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Unemployment rate(%) | | 3.9% (2008 est.)
4.4% (2007 est.)
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Population below poverty line(%) | | 5.9% (2004)
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Household income or consumption by percentage share(%) | | lowest 10%: 3.3%
highest 10%: 22.5% (2004)
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Distribution of family income - Gini index | | 26 (2007)
31 (1995)
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Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 22.4% of GDP (2008 est.)
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Budget | | revenues: $196.4 billion
expenditures: $200.7 billion (2008 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | 3.2% (2008 est.)
2.2% (2007 est.)
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Stock of domestic credit | | $606.2 billion (31 December 2008)
$504.8 billion (31 December 2007)
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Market value of publicly traded shares | | $NA (31 December 2008)
$228.7 billion (31 December 2007)
$191.3 billion (31 December 2006)
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Public debt(% of GDP) | | 62.6% of GDP (2008 est.)
64.2% of GDP (2004 est.)
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Agriculture - products | | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber
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Industries | | construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, metals, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism
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Industrial production growth rate(%) | | 2.4% (2008 est.)
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Current account balance | | $14.27 billion (2008 est.)
$12.03 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports | | $179.1 billion (2008 est.)
$162.1 billion (2007 est.)
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Exports - commodities(%) | | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs
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Exports - partners(%) | | Germany 29.5%, Italy 8.6%, US 4.3%, Switzerland 4.2% (2008)
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Imports | | $179.2 billion (2008 est.)
$160.3 billion (2007 est.)
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Imports - commodities(%) | | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs
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Imports - partners(%) | | Germany 44.5%, Italy 7.1%, Switzerland 5.2%, Netherlands 4.1% (2008)
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $16.7 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$18.22 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Debt - external | | $832.8 billion (31 December 2008)
$801.4 billion (31 December 2007)
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Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | | $261.9 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$247.9 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | | $270 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$240.9 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Exchange rates | | euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6827 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
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Currency (code) | | euro (EUR)
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Telephones - main lines in use | | 3.285 million (2008)
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Telephones - mobile cellular | | 10.816 million (2008)
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Telephone system | | general assessment: highly developed and efficient
domestic: fixed-line subscribership has been in decline since the mid-1990s with mobile-cellular subscribership eclipsing it by the late 1990s; the fiber-optic net is very extensive; all telephone applications and Internet services are available
international: country code - 43; satellite earth stations - 15; in addition, there are about 600 VSATs (very small aperture terminals) (2007)
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Internet country code | | .at
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Internet users | | 5.937 million (2008)
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Airports | | 55 (2009)
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Pipelines(km) | | gas 2,721 km; oil 663 km; refined products 157 km (2008)
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Roadways(km) | | total: 107,262 km
paved: 107,262 km (includes 1,677 km of expressways) (2006)
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Ports and terminals | | Enns, Krems, Linz, Vienna
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Military branches | | Land Forces (KdoLdSK), Air Forces (KdoLuSK)
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Military service age and obligation(years of age) | | 18-35 years of age for compulsory military service; 16 years of age for male or female voluntary service; service obligation 6 months of training, followed by an 8-year reserve obligation; conscripts cannot be deployed in military operations outside Austria (2009)
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Manpower available for military service | | males age 16-49: 1,986,411
females age 16-49: 1,944,834 (2008 est.)
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Manpower fit for military service | | males age 16-49: 1,607,456
females age 16-49: 1,576,335 (2009 est.)
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Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 50,540
female: 48,042 (2009 est.)
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Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | 0.9% of GDP (2005 est.)
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Disputes - international | | while threats of international legal action never materialized in 2007, 915,220 Austrians, with the support of the newly elected Freedom Party, signed a petition in January 2008, demanding that Austria block the Czech Republic's accession to the EU unless Prague closed its nuclear power plant in Temelin, bordering Austria
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Electricity - production(kWh) | | 58.64 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - production by source(%) | | fossil fuel: 29.3%
hydro: 67.2%
nuclear: 0%
other: 3.5% (2001)
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Electricity - consumption(kWh) | | 61.89 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - exports(kWh) | | 14.93 billion kWh (2008 est.)
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Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 19.8 billion kWh (2008 est.)
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Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 24,850 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
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Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 285,400 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
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Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 45,580 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
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Oil - imports(bbl/day) | | 305,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Economic aid - donor | | ODA, $1.498 billion (2006)
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Oil - proved reserves(bbl) | | 50 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
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Natural gas - production(cu m) | | 1.532 billion cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - consumption(cu m) | | 8.65 billion cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 2.788 billion cu m (2008)
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Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m) | | 16.14 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%) | | 0.2% (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | | 9,800 (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths | | fewer than 100 (2003 est.)
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Literacy(%) | | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: NA
female: NA
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)(years) | | total: 15 years
male: 15 years
female: 16 years (2006)
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Education expenditures(% of GDP) | | 5.4% of GDP (2005)
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