Location: Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia

Geographic coordinates: 47 20 N, 13 20 E

Map references: Europe

Area:
total : 83,850 sq km
land: 82,730 sq km
water : 1,120 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Maine

Land boundaries:
total: 2,564 km
border countries: Czech Republic 362 km, Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 37 km, Slovakia 91 km, Slovenia 330 km, Switzerland 164 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain in lowlands and snow in mountains; cool summers with occasional showers

Terrain: in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping

Elevation extremes:
lowest point : Neusiedler See 115 m
highest point: Grossglockner 3,797 m

Natural resources: iron ore, oil, timber, magnesite, lead, coal, lignite, copper, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 17%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 24%
forests and woodland: 39%
other : 19% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 40 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

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

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Tropical Timber 94

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

Population: 8,150,835 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 16.57% (male 691,925; female 658,375)
15-64 years: 68.05% (male 2,802,019; female 2,744,536)
65 years and over : 15.38% (male 478,498; female 775,482) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.24% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 9.74 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 9.8 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: - 2.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth : 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female
total population:0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.84 years
male :74.68 years
female: 81.15 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.39 children born/woman (2001 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian

Ethnic groups: German 99.4%, Croatian 0.3%, Slovene 0.2%, other 0.1%

Religions: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 6%, other 9%

Languages: German

Literacy:
definition : age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% (1974 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA%

Country name:
conventional long form : Republic of Austria
conventional short form: Austria
local long form: Republik Oesterreich
local short form: Oesterreich

Data code: AU

Government type: federal republic

National capital: Vienna

Administrative divisions: 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten, Niederoesterreich, Oberoesterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien

Independence: 1156 (from Bavaria)

National holiday: National Day, 26 October (1955)

Constitution: 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945)

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; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal; compulsory for presidential elections

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Thomas KLESTIL (since 8 July 1992)
head of government: Chancellor Wolfgang SCHUESSEL (OeVP)(since 4 February 2000); Vice Chancellor Susanne RIESS-PASSER (FPOe) (since 4 February 2000)
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; presidential election last held 19 April 1998 (next to be held in the spring of 2004); chancellor traditionally chosen by the president from the plurality party in the National Council; in the case of the current coalition, the chancellor was chosen from another party after the plurality party failed to form a government; vice chancellor chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor
election results: Thomas KLESTIL reelected president; percent of vote - Thomas KLESTIL 63%, Gertraud KNOLL 14%, Heide SCHMIDT 11%, Richard LUGNER 10%, Karl NOWAK 2%

Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal Council or Bundesrat (63 members; members represent each of the provinces on the basis of population, but with each province having at least three representatives) and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections:National Council - last held 3 October 1999 (next to be held in the fall of 2003)
election results :National Council - percent of vote by party - SPOe 33.2%, OeVP 26.9%, FPOe 26.9%, Greens 7.4%; seats by party - SPOe 65, OeVP 52, FPOe 52, Greens 14

Judicial branch: Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof

Political parties and leaders: Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Wolfgang SCHUESSEL]; Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Susanne RIESS-PASSER]; Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Alfred GUSENBAUER]; The Greens Alternative or GA [Alexander VAN DER BELLEN]

Political pressure groups and leaders: Federal Chamber of Trade and Commerce; Austrian Trade Union Federation (primarily Socialist) or OeGB; three composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party or OeVP representing business, labor, and farmers; OeVP-oriented League of Austrian Industrialists or VOeI; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay organization, Catholic Action

International organization participation: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC (observer), NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Peter MOSER
chancery : 3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008-3035
telephone: [1] (202) 895-6700
FAX: [1] (202) 895-6750
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Lyons BROWN, Jr
embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1091, Vienna
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone : [43] (1) 313-39
FAX: [43] (1) 310-0682

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red

Economy - overview: Austria has a well-developed market economy with a sizable - but falling - proportion of nationalized industry, an extensive social safety net, and a high standard of living. Austria's economy is closely integrated with Germany and other EU members - Austria joined the EU on 1 January 1995. Since the early 1980s, the Austrian economy has experienced stable growth. EU membership has had a positive impact on foreign investment and has helped to lower inflation. In April 1996, the government passed a two-year austerity budget - including cuts in social allowances, a freeze on civil servants' wages, and new energy and capital gains taxes - designed to bring the economy in line with the Maastricht criteria for membership in the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). EMU convergence has become a top priority for Austria. Despite Austria's generally favorable prospects, the economy faces a number of medium-term challenges; for example, fiscal tightening is constraining expected growth, and unemployment is expected to increase.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $203 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3.1% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $25,000 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture:2.2%
industry: 30.4%
services :67.4% (1999 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 2% (2000 est.)

Labor force:
total: 3.7 million (1999)
by occupation: services 68%, industry and crafts 29%, agriculture and forestry 3% (1999 est.)
note : an estimated 200,000 Austrians are employed in other European countries; foreign laborers in Austria number 177,840, about 5% of labor force (1988)

Unemployment rate: 5.4% (2000 est.)

Budget:
revenues:$56.3 billion
expenditures: $60.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Industries: construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 4.2% (2000)

Electricity - capacity: 17.43 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production: 59.283 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 53.231 billion kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: grains, fruit, potatoes, sugar beets; cattle, pigs, poultry; sawn wood

Exports:
total value: $63.2 billion (2000 est.)
commodities: machinery and equipment, iron and steel, lumber, textiles, paper products, chemicals
partners: EU 64.2% (Germany 35.7%, Italy 8.7%, France 4.5%), Switzerland 5.9%, US 4.5%, Hungary 3.9% (1999)

Imports:
total value : $65.6 billion (2000 est.)
commodities: petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, vehicles, chemicals, textiles and clothing, pharmaceuticals
partners: EU 70.3% (Germany 42.5%, Italy 7.9%, France 5.3%), US 5.4%, Switzerland 3.0%, Hungary 2.8% (1999)

Debt - external: $16 billion (1999)

Economic aid:
donor:ODA, $472 million (1999)

Currency: 1 Austrian schilling (AS) = 100 groschen

Exchange rates: Austrian schillings (AS) per US$1 - 11.302 (January 1997), 10.587 (1996), 10.081 (1995), 11.422 (1994), 11.632 (1993), 10.989 (1992)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Telephones:4 million (3,600,000 analog main lines plus 400,000 ISDN or Integrated Services Digital Network connections) (1999)

Telephone system:
domestic: highly developed and efficient there are 48 main lines for every 100 persons and the system is nearly 100% digital; the fiber optic net is very extensive; all telephone applications and Internet services are available
international : satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 2 Eutelsat (1999)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 61 (plus several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios:6.08 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 45 (plus 960 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions:4.25 million (1997)

Railways:
total : 6,095.2 km (3,643.3 km electrified)
standard gauge:5,564.2 km 1.435-m gauge (3,521.2 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 531 km (33.9 km 1.000-m gauge - 28.1 km electrified, 497.1 km 0.760-m gauge - 94 km electrified) (2001)

Highways: 133,361 km
paved: 133,361 km (including 1,613 km of expressways)
unpaved: 0 km(1998)

Waterways: 358 km (1999)

Pipelines: crude oil 777 km; natural gas 840 km (1999)

Ports and harbors: Linz, Vienna, Enns, Krems

Merchant marine:
total: 23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 86,905 GRT/117,417 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 18, combination bulk 2, container 2 (2000 est.)

Airports: 55 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 24
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m : 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m:14 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m : 3
under 914 m: 27 (2000 est.)

Heliports: 1 (1996 est.)

Military branches: Army (includes Flying Division)

Military manpower - military age: 19 years of age

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 2,091,263 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males: 1,731,383 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 50,580 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $1.7 billion (FY98)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.2% (FY98)

Disputes - international: none

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for Western Europe