After World War II, the government, as well as industry and
the trade unions, realized that the country could not afford to
repeat the continuous social, political, and economic conflict
that marked the 1920s and 1930s, when the country moved from one
crisis to another until Adolf Hitler's Anschluss in 1938. They
wanted to avoid ruinous social and industrial conflict, strikes,
lock-outs, and the kind of persistent social battles that had
contributed to the paralysis of the Austrian economy and its body
politic during the interwar years.
To find a solution, the government and its political and
economic institutions reached back to earlier concepts that also
had an influence on Austrian thinking and Austrian history. One
was the papal encyclical Rerum Novarum of 1891, which had
envisaged a working class that would be gradually absorbed into a
property-owning class, not through social conflict but through
constructive social cooperation. Another was the Austrian
tradition of the Labor Advisory Council (Arbeitsbeirat), which
had functioned as a section of the Ministry of Commerce from 1898
to the outbreak World War I and which offered a model for the
pragmatic participation of the labor movement in the functions of
the state and the general direction of the economy.
After World War II, these concepts coincided with the
practical exigencies of the moment to force representatives of
social groups to work together to cope with the combination of
unemployment, inflation, and widespread poverty and misery. The
ÖGB and the reestablished business organizations of the three
main economic chambers played central roles in working out a
series of wage-price agreements between 1947 and 1951. Those
agreements, and the negotiations that led to them, were based on
a mutual recognition that no social group could benefit if it
imposed its demands at the expense of the collapse of the state
and its economy--a collapse that often seemed all too near in the
immediate postwar years.
The social partnership system works on the basis of a mutual
recognition of three principles. The first is that the three main
economic groups--industry, agriculture, and labor--will be
properly represented through four mutually recognized
organizations--the chambers of commerce, agriculture, and labor,
and the ÖGB--that represent their interests and that can take the
responsibility for decisions. The second is that economic
decisions can be legitimately made outside the ideologically
competitive political atmosphere of parliament, thus in effect
depoliticizing crucial matters related to the Austrian standard
of living. Third, the principle of consensus will function in
such a manner that no social group is ignored, and no social
group will prolong the struggle once an agreement has been
reached.
The core consultative instrument of the social partnership is
the Parity Commission. The commission consists of seven members
of the government--the chancellor, three ministers, and three
state secretaries--and two representatives each from the Federal
Chamber of the Economy, the Presidential Conference of the
Austrian Chambers of Agriculture, the Council of the Austrian
Chambers of Labor, and the ÖGB. This distribution of seats on the
commission gives the interest organizations a majority. Experts
in various areas attend the meetings in an advisory capacity. The
Party Commission's decisions must be unanimous, because the
commission is not based on law, and participation is completely
voluntary.
The Parity Commission began its work in 1957 on the basis of
an exchange of letters between the president of the Federal
Chamber of the Economy and the president of the ÖGB. Its original
purpose was to slow down a troubling wage-price spiral, but it
later expanded into much broader discussions on the general
trends of the European and Austrian economies and what would be
the best response to these trends. The commission has
subcommittees on wages and prices. In addition, the commission
includes the Advisory Committee for Economic and Social
Questions, which was established in 1963 to provide the basis for
an objective approach to economic policy and to conduct studies
required by the Parity Commission.
The Parity Commission, however, only deals with the central
questions of the economy. It establishes the general principles
for solving economic problems and disagreements. Below it, at the
industry level, the interest-group associations of the various
chambers or the trade unions negotiate the separate and legally
binding agreements governing employers or employees. The
agreements are reached on the basis of the broad principles and
criteria set by the Parity Commission.
Some forms of social partnership involve little or no
participation of government organs. The so-called selfadministration associations require the cooperation of interest
associations in such structures as social insurance institutions,
agricultural boards, labor-market bodies and tribunals, and in
other institutions where agreements between potentially
conflicting interest groups must be reached. Those institutions
more often deal with social than with economic questions, but the
participants in the negotiations usually evaluate the broad
economic situation and the policies agreed on in the Parity
Commission as they negotiate.
Beyond the mechanics of the Parity Commission and the bitter
memories of futile class conflict, however, other elements also
work to produce an atmosphere of cooperative consciousness. One
of these elements is the virtually universal recognition by all
Austrians that theirs is a small state and a small economy in a
world full of larger and potentially more competitive actors.
Austria cannot afford self-indulgence because it would
immediately risk its survival.
Another cause for cooperation rather than unbridled
competition is the large public and foreign ownership of Austrian
firms. At the beginning of the 1990s, state-owned firms
constituted a total of 32.8 percent of all Austrian companies,
and foreign-owned firms constituted an additional 25.1 percent,
leaving only about 35 percent in private hands, with an
additional 7 percent in scattered holdings.
The Austrian trade union movement is forced to moderate its
demands for wage increases because of the close affiliation
between the Austrian schilling and the German deutsche mark. The
stability policy of the German Bundesbank thus also has an effect
in Austria. Given this fact, the trade unions cannot usually
argue that runaway inflation threatens the standard of living of
the Austrian worker.
The social partnership has been successful in maintaining a
cooperative spirit and in avoiding industrial strife. After World
War II, for example, Austria had fewer strike-minutes lost per
worker than any major economy. In many years, there were no
strikes at all. However, there has been debate about whether the
social partnership and the work of the Parity Commission and
other bodies have impeded progress and if stability could become
stagnation. The danger exists that new production and
communications systems, as well as progressive organizational
structures, will not be introduced quickly and that the social
partners will find it convenient to protect established jobs and
processes rather than to revise or even revolutionize them.
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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