The withdrawal of the Allied forces as a result of the State
Treaty of 1955 dramatically affected the general strategic
situation in Central Europe. The presence of two neutral
countries--Switzerland and Austria--in effect split the defenses
of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) into northern
and southern tiers. Links between NATO forces in southern Germany
and northern Italy had to be routed through France. Moreover, if
Warsaw Pact forces had chosen to violate Austrian neutrality by
driving westward through the Danube Basin, they would have been
able to outflank strong NATO defenses on the central front and
avoid a contested Danube River crossing in Bavaria. A second line
of potential Warsaw Pact attack ran along the southern flanks of
the main Alpine range from the Hungarian Plain leading into
northern Italy.
The early years of the Bundesheer were directed by military
leaders whose experience reflected their service as mid-level
officers in the German army, the Wehrmacht. The army's structure
resembled that of European NATO powers but on a smaller scale.
Its combat units were filled with permanent cadre and nine-month
conscripts. It lacked sufficient manpower and air cover.
In 1956 the Bundesheer was called on to handle the first of
two border crises. It was in that year that the Hungarian
uprising was crushed by the Soviet Union, and 170,000 Hungarians
fled into Austria. The second was in 1968 when Warsaw Pact troops
invaded Czechoslovakia. Austria's experiences during the
Hungarian and Czechoslovak crises helped clarify the nature of
the potential threat to the nation's neutrality and led to a
reorientation of defense policy and a revised definition of the
military's mission.
After 1970, under the influence of a majority of the
Socialist Party of Austria (Sozialistische Partei Österreichs--
SPÖ) in parliament, military service was deemphasized and
conscription reduced to six months. However, with the system of
refresher training for former conscripts, the basis for a large
militia program was established, and there was more total
manpower available. The example of Switzerland's reliance on
mobilization units to uphold its neutrality provided a useful
lesson. However, strict budgetary limits continued to delay the
acquisition of modern supersonic combat aircraft until the late
1980s.
Austrian military planners concluded that the least likely
threat scenario was one in which Austria would be involved in an
all-out nuclear war, a role that in any event was beyond the
capability of such a small country. Rather, the problem was how
Austria could best use its limited military capacity to deal with
the range of threats with which the country might realistically
be faced. Three levels of threat were identified. The first was a
localized political crisis near Austria's borders, such as the
case of Czechoslovakia in 1968 or the Slovenian assertion of
independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. These situations could be
faced by rapidly shifting armored and mechanized standing forces
to the border area where trouble could break out. Austrian
military leaders stressed that their purpose would be to avoid
hostilities and to give credence to their determination to
prevent, as one former army commander expressed, "wanton or
negligent disregard of Austria's neutrality."
A second level of threat might arise in the case of
hostilities between neighboring states. In such an event, Austria
might have to deny right of passage, prevent Austrian territory
from being used as a base or refuge, or defend the integrity of
its air space. In this situation, reserves would have to be
partially or fully deployed. In the other situation contemplated,
defense against clear aggression threatening the state, the
nation's entire military potential would be deployed.
In the third level of threat, it was assumed that the
aggressor would consider Austrian territory useful only as a base
of operations against a primary enemy. Thus, the purpose of an
Austrian military buildup would be to compel a potential
aggressor to conclude that the advantages of mounting an attack
against Austria were out of proportion to the price that would
have to be paid and the delay encountered.
The breakup of the Warsaw Pact and the subsiding of East-West
tensions in 1990 and 1991 necessitated a fundamental reappraisal
of Austrian security policy. Austrian planners no longer expected
a large-scale invasion requiring defense of the entire territory.
Therefore, changes in the security policy were undertaken in 1993
with the New Army Structure (Heeresgliederung Neu). This policy,
to be completed in 1995 in intended to meet local crises arising
from internal instability in countries on Austria's borders that
would precipitate large refugee flows and spillover violence.
Contemplated structural changes emphasize the immediate
availability of reaction forces that could deal with particular
situations without the need for mobilization.
Commenting in 1992, Defense Minister Werner Fasslabend said
that although the collapse of the Soviet empire had put an end to
East-West confrontation, the dramatic changes had contributed to
new risks in the form of local and ethnic conflicts. Although the
danger of world conflagration had diminished, Austria was in one
of the regions where instability had actually increased.
Austria's miliary leadership saw a continuing mission to
defend the country's border to prevent the Yugoslav civil war
from spilling into Austrian territory. The breakup of
Czechoslovakia into two states in 1993 also raised threats of
instability on the nation's northern flank. Control over refugees
attempting to flee fighting or economic hardship could also
necessitate intervention of the armed forces.
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)
|