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Austria-Internal Developments in Austria





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Austria Index

The Czech boycott of the Austrian parliament enabled the German Austrian Liberals to dominate the government of Austria until the late 1870s. They used their position to block concessions to Czechs and Poles in the early days of the Dual Monarchy, and they further protected their interests in 1873 by altering the franchise law to increase the representation in parliament of their constituency--the urban, ethnically German population and assimilated Jews. The Liberals' legislative program focused on anticlerical measures, but conflict over foreign policy issues, not religious ones, caused the Liberals' fall from power in 1879. The Liberals opposed the annexation of Bosnia and Hercegovina--which was favored by the emperor--and claimed certain powers in the conduct of foreign policy that Franz Joseph saw as an infringement on his sovereign authority.

After the fall of the Liberals, a nonparty government known as the Iron Ring was formed under Eduard Taaffe. Intended to encircle and limit the influence of the Liberals, the Iron Ring represented court interests and enjoyed broad support from clerical parties, German Austrian conservatives, Poles, and Czech representatives, who had decided to end their boycott. Backed by this comfortable parliamentary majority, the executive branch was able to operate smoothly. Although the concessions given the Czechs in return for their support were linguistic and cultural rather than political, the concessions raised sensitive issues because the expanded use of the Czech language in Bohemian public life weighed heavily on the ethnic German minority.

The major legislative initiative of the Taaffe government was the 1883 franchise reform. This measure broadened the ocioeconomic base of the electorate and thus weakened the support of the Liberals while strengthening the conservatives. An even broader franchise reform was proposed in 1893 after the election of 1891, which had been conducted in an atmosphere of heightened ethnic tensions in Bohemia. The proposed reform would have given the vote to all male citizens over the age of twenty-five and thus diluted still further the middle-class urban vote that the court associated with fervid nationalism. The bill, however, was widely rejected by the conservative backers of the Iron Ring, and Taaffe resigned.

Ethnic tensions, however, did not subside, even though a modified version of the franchise legislation proposed in 1893 was ultimately enacted. With the parliament highly fragmented both nationally and politically, Minister-President Count Kasimir Badeni offered new concessions to the Czechs in 1897 to forge the majority coalition he needed to conduct customs and trade policy negotiations with the Hungarians. These concessions, which dealt with the use of the Czech language by the bureaucracy, inflamed German-speaking Austrians. Violent rioting on a nearrevolutionary scale erupted not only in Bohemia but also in Vienna and Graz. The Badeni government fell. Because no effective majority could be assembled in the polarized parliament, the government increasingly used emergency provisions that allowed the emperor to enact laws when parliament was not in session.

The political stalemate in parliament was a reflection of socioeconomic changes in the empire that were heightening tensions among social classes and nationalities. Although the economic and psychological impact of the economic crash of 1873 endured for some time, Austria experienced steady industrialization and urbanization in the late nineteenth century. By 1890 Austria stood midway between the rural societies that bordered it on the east and south and the industrially advanced societies of Western Europe.

The German-speaking middle class, including assimilated Jews, had been the first group to translate growing numerical and economic power into political leverage. Even after the 1879 fall of the Liberal government, which had represented this group's interests, the government had to consider the concerns of the German-speaking middle class in order to maintain political stability.

In contrast to that of the middle class, the positions of the aristocracy and the Roman Catholic Church weakened. Individual aristocrats played prominent roles in the government, but the bureaucracy was assuming many functions once played by the aristocracy as a whole. For the church, the 1855 concordat between the empire and the Vatican had been a high-water mark for its formal role in political life. The Liberals' anticlerical legislation and abrogation of the concordat in 1870 curtailed the church's public presence and influence. Nonetheless, popular support for the church remained strong, and a new form of Catholic political participation was beginning to take shape based on a socially progressive platform endorsed by the 1891 papal encycylical Rerum Novarum. This largely urban movement coalesced into the Christian Social Party (Christlichsoziale Partei--CSP). Papal support was not sufficient to win the new party the approval of the conservative Austrian bishops, who continued to work through the older clerical-oriented parties.

Initially, the CSP found strong support in Vienna and controlled the city administration at the turn of the century. Nonetheless, the party was unable to hold its desired base among industrial workers in the face of competition from the Social Democratic Workers' Party (Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei-- SDAP). Founded in 1889 at a unity conference of moderate and radical socialists, the SDAP adhered to a revisionist Marxist program. The SDAP became a political home for many Austrian Jews uncomfortable with the growing anti-Semitism of the German nationalist movement, the other major political current of the time.

Rising ethnic tensions made it difficult for political parties to ignore the influence of German nationalism in the closing decades of the nineteenth century. The Liberal movement faded, largely because of its resistance to becoming a specifically German party, and dissatisfied Liberals were key figures in the formation of new nationalist movements and parties. Even though the CSP and SDAP were based on political ideologies that transcended national identity, they too were obliged to make concessions in their program to German nationalism. In the late 1890s, all German-oriented parties, with the exceptions of the SDAP and the Catholic People's Party, united in the German Front. The specific demands of the German Front were modest, but by calling for recognition of a special position for Germans in light of their historic role in the empire, German Austrians were on a collision course with other national groups.

Data as of December 1993



BackgroundOnce 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.
LocationCentral Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia
Area(sq km)total: 83,871 sq km
land: 82,445 sq km
water: 1,426 sq km
Geographic coordinates47 20 N, 13 20 E
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

Coastline(km)0 km (landlocked)

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

Elevation extremes(m)lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m
Natural resourcesoil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower
Land use(%)arable land: 16.59%
permanent crops: 0.85%
other: 82.56% (2005)

Irrigated land(sq km)40 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources(cu km)84 cu km (2005)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)total: 3.67 cu km/yr (35%/64%/1%)
per capita: 448 cu m/yr (1999)
Natural hazardslandslides; avalanches; earthquakes
Environment - current issuessome 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
Environment - international agreementsparty 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
Geography - notelandlocked; 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
Population8,210,281 (July 2009 est.)
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.)
Median age(years)total: 42.2 years
male: 41.1 years
female: 43.2 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate(%)0.052% (2009 est.)
Birth rate(births/1,000 population)8.65 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Death rate(deaths/1,000 population)9.98 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)

Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population)1.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Urbanization(%)urban population: 67% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 0.7% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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.)
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.)

Life expectancy at birth(years)total population: 79.5 years
male: 76.6 years
female: 82.56 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate(children born/woman)1.39 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian
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)

Religions(%)Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 2%, none 12% (2001 census)
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)

Country nameconventional long form: Republic of Austria
conventional short form: Austria
local long form: Republik Oesterreich
local short form: Oesterreich
Government typefederal republic
Capitalname: 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
Administrative divisions9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten (Carinthia), Niederoesterreich (Lower Austria), Oberoesterreich (Upper Austria), Salzburg, Steiermark (Styria), Tirol (Tyrol), Vorarlberg, Wien (Vienna)
Constitution1920; revised 1929; reinstated 1 May 1945; note - during the period 1 May 1934-1 May 1945 there was a fascist (corporative) constitution in place

Legal systemcivil 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

Suffrage16 years of age; universal; note - reduced from 18 years of age in 2007
Executive branchchief 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
Legislative branchbicameral 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

Judicial branchSupreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof

Political pressure groups and leadersAustrian 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
International organization participationACCT (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
Flag descriptionthree 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

Economy - overviewAustria, 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.
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
GDP (official exchange rate)$414.8 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate(%)2% (2008 est.)
3.5% (2007 est.)
3.5% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)$40,400 (2008 est.)
$39,600 (2007 est.)
$38,300 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector(%)agriculture: 1.9%
industry: 30.7%
services: 67.4% (2008 est.)
Labor force3.633 million (2008 est.)

Labor force - by occupation(%)agriculture: 5.5%
industry: 27.5%
services: 67% (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate(%)3.9% (2008 est.)
4.4% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line(%)5.9% (2004)
Household income or consumption by percentage share(%)lowest 10%: 3.3%
highest 10%: 22.5% (2004)
Distribution of family income - Gini index26 (2007)
31 (1995)
Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP)22.4% of GDP (2008 est.)
Budgetrevenues: $196.4 billion
expenditures: $200.7 billion (2008 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%)3.2% (2008 est.)
2.2% (2007 est.)

Stock of domestic credit$606.2 billion (31 December 2008)
$504.8 billion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares$NA (31 December 2008)
$228.7 billion (31 December 2007)
$191.3 billion (31 December 2006)
Public debt(% of GDP)62.6% of GDP (2008 est.)
64.2% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - productsgrains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber
Industriesconstruction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, metals, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism

Industrial production growth rate(%)2.4% (2008 est.)

Current account balance$14.27 billion (2008 est.)
$12.03 billion (2007 est.)
Exports$179.1 billion (2008 est.)
$162.1 billion (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities(%)machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs
Exports - partners(%)Germany 29.5%, Italy 8.6%, US 4.3%, Switzerland 4.2% (2008)
Imports$179.2 billion (2008 est.)
$160.3 billion (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities(%)machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs
Imports - partners(%)Germany 44.5%, Italy 7.1%, Switzerland 5.2%, Netherlands 4.1% (2008)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold$16.7 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$18.22 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external$832.8 billion (31 December 2008)
$801.4 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home$261.9 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$247.9 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad$270 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$240.9 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Exchange rateseuros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6827 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)

Currency (code)euro (EUR)

Telephones - main lines in use3.285 million (2008)
Telephones - mobile cellular10.816 million (2008)
Telephone systemgeneral 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)
Internet country code.at
Internet users5.937 million (2008)
Airports55 (2009)
Pipelines(km)gas 2,721 km; oil 663 km; refined products 157 km (2008)
Roadways(km)total: 107,262 km
paved: 107,262 km (includes 1,677 km of expressways) (2006)

Ports and terminalsEnns, Krems, Linz, Vienna
Military branchesLand Forces (KdoLdSK), Air Forces (KdoLuSK)
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)
Manpower available for military servicemales age 16-49: 1,986,411
females age 16-49: 1,944,834 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military servicemales age 16-49: 1,607,456
females age 16-49: 1,576,335 (2009 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annuallymale: 50,540
female: 48,042 (2009 est.)
Military expenditures(% of GDP)0.9% of GDP (2005 est.)
Disputes - internationalwhile 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

Electricity - production(kWh)58.64 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - production by source(%)fossil fuel: 29.3%
hydro: 67.2%
nuclear: 0%
other: 3.5% (2001)
Electricity - consumption(kWh)61.89 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - exports(kWh)14.93 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports(kWh)19.8 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production(bbl/day)24,850 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - consumption(bbl/day)285,400 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - exports(bbl/day)45,580 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - imports(bbl/day)305,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Economic aid - donorODA, $1.498 billion (2006)

Oil - proved reserves(bbl)50 million bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
Natural gas - production(cu m)1.532 billion cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - consumption(cu m)8.65 billion cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - exports(cu m)2.788 billion cu m (2008)
Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m)16.14 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%)0.2% (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS9,800 (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deathsfewer than 100 (2003 est.)
Literacy(%)definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: NA
female: NA

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)(years)total: 15 years
male: 15 years
female: 16 years (2006)
Education expenditures(% of GDP)5.4% of GDP (2005)








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