Another clear sign that the Austrian party system is
loosening up was the emergence during the early 1980s of
organized environmental, or Green, parties. A major catalyst in
the birth of the Green movement in Austria was the narrow defeat
of the November 5, 1978, national referendum on nuclear energy.
The Kreisky government, seeking to build a nuclear power plant in
Zwentendorf near Vienna, decided to let the people decide on the
question of nuclear energy
(see Domestic Issues
, ch. 1).
The victory of the antinuclear forces encouraged
environmental activists to run in local elections, and in 1982
two national Green parties were formed. The more moderate of the
two, the United Greens of Austria (Vereinigte Grüne Österreichs--
VGÖ), had a strong commitment to working within the existing
political system to change environmental policies. The
Alternative List of Austria (Alternative Liste Österreichs--ALÖ),
founded in 1982 on the fourth anniversary of the Zwentendorf
referendum, was more willing to challenge the political status
quo. In addition to championing radical changes in environmental
policy, the ALÖ also advocated a guaranteed national income, a
thirty-five-hour workweek, and greater government ownership in
certain areas of the economy.
The prospects of the Green parties are limited by their
frequent inability to form alliances for the purpose of
contesting elections. When the ALÖ and VGÖ have campaigned on a
common ticket, they usually have won seats in parliament. In
1983, the first national election in which the Green parties
participated, the two groups ran on separate lists, and both
failed to gain representation in the Nationalrat. The Green cause
received a strong boost in 1984 from the confrontation between
the SPÖ-FPÖ government and environmental activists opposed to the
plan to build a hydroelectric plant in a wetland forest at
Hainburg in eastern Austria. The government backed down from its
plan, and the incident led to an increase in support for the
Green parties from disillusioned SPÖ voters, intellectuals, and
others with strong views on the environment.
Green activist Freda Meissner-Blau ran in the May 1986
presidential election, taking a surprising 5.5 percent of the
vote, which necessitated a run off between the ÖVP and SPÖ
candidates. Encouraged by this showing, the ALÖ and VGÖ, after
long negotiations, agreed to participate in the November 1986
national election on a single list, named the Green Alternative--
Freda Meissner-Blau List. The Green Alternative took 4.8 percent
of the vote and won eight seats in parliament. This marked only
the second time in the history of the Second Republic that a
fourth party had entered the Nationalrat. (The KPÖ had been in
the parliament between 1945 and 1959.) The harmony between the
two groups was short-lived, however, as they clashed over how to
divide the federal financing that became available to the Green
movement. In the 1990 national election, the VGÖ put up its own
list of candidates, and the ALÖ ran as the Green
Alternative/Greens in Parliament (Grüne Alternative/Grüne in
Parliament--GAL). The VGÖ polled only 1.9 percent of the vote and
failed to win any seats. The GAL took 4.5 percent of the vote and
increased the number of Green deputies to ten.
As of the early 1990s, the future of Green politics in
Austria remained uncertain because of the strong differences
between the GAL and VGÖ over political strategy. The VGÖ was
committed to developing a centralized party structure along the
lines of the ÖVP and SPÖ, while the ALÖ preferred to allow
complete autonomy for its affiliated organizations in the
provinces. There were also questions about the longevity of the
Greens' appeal to voters. Studies indicated that only 50 percent
of Green voters had close ties to a Green party, and roughly 35
percent of Green votes came from floating voters who had
abandoned the two major parties. However, many Austrians felt a
lack of confidence in the abilities of the ÖVP and SPÖ to fashion
constructive policies, and as long as this doubt persists, the
Green parties will have opportunities to elect deputies to
parliament.
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)
|
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
|
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.)
|
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.)
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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.)
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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.)
|
Nationality | | noun: 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)
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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 name | | conventional long form: Republic of Austria conventional short form: Austria local long form: Republik Oesterreich local short form: Oesterreich
|
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
|
Administrative divisions | | 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten (Carinthia), Niederoesterreich (Lower Austria), Oberoesterreich (Upper Austria), Salzburg, Steiermark (Styria), Tirol (Tyrol), Vorarlberg, Wien (Vienna)
|
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
|
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
|
Suffrage | | 16 years of age; universal; note - reduced from 18 years of age in 2007
|
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
|
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
|
Judicial branch | | Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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.
|
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 force | | 3.633 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 index | | 26 (2007) 31 (1995)
|
Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 22.4% of GDP (2008 est.)
|
Budget | | revenues: $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 - products | | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber
|
Industries | | construction, 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 rates | | euros (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 use | | 3.285 million (2008)
|
Telephones - mobile cellular | | 10.816 million (2008)
|
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)
|
Internet country code | | .at
|
Internet users | | 5.937 million (2008)
|
Airports | | 55 (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 terminals | | Enns, Krems, Linz, Vienna
|
Military branches | | Land 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 service | | males age 16-49: 1,986,411 females age 16-49: 1,944,834 (2008 est.)
|
Manpower fit for military service | | males age 16-49: 1,607,456 females age 16-49: 1,576,335 (2009 est.)
|
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 50,540 female: 48,042 (2009 est.)
|
Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | 0.9% of GDP (2005 est.)
|
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
|
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 - donor | | ODA, $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/AIDS | | 9,800 (2007 est.)
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths | | fewer 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)
|