Aruba (2001) | Austria (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) | 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten, Niederoesterreich, Oberoesterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien (Vienna) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
21.29% (male 7,709; female 7,193) 15-64 years: 68.52% (male 23,111; female 24,859) 65 years and over: 10.19% (male 2,954; female 4,181) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 15.6% (male 656,058/female 624,574)
15-64 years: 67.8% (male 2,790,673/female 2,756,612) 65 years and over: 16.6% (male 543,626/female 813,148) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | aloes; livestock; fish | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 55 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 27 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
193 sq km land: 193 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 83,870 sq km
land: 82,444 sq km water: 1,426 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maine |
Background | Discovered and claimed for Spain in 1499, Aruba was acquired by the Dutch in 1636. The island's economy has been dominated by three main industries. A 19th century gold rush was followed by prosperity brought on by the opening in 1924 of an oil refinery. The last decades of the 20th century saw a boom in the tourism industry. Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 and became a separate, autonomous member of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Movement toward full independence was halted at Aruba's request in 1990. | 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. Following the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995, some Austrians have called into question this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. |
Birth rate | 12.64 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.81 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $541 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $142.5 billion
expenditures: $146.4 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Oranjestad | Vienna |
Climate | tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation | temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain and some snow in lowlands and snow in mountains; moderate summers with occasional showers |
Coastline | 68.5 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1 January 1986 | 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945) |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Aruba |
conventional long form: Republic of Austria
conventional short form: Austria local long form: Republik Oesterreich local short form: Oesterreich |
Currency | Aruban guilder/florin (AWG) | - |
Death rate | 6.21 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.7 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $285 million (1996) | $15.5 billion (2003 est.) |
Dependency status | part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs obtained in 1986 upon separation from the Netherlands Antilles; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Consul General Barbara J. STEPHENSON embassy: J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Curacao mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao telephone: [599] (9) 461-3066 FAX: [599] (9) 461-6489 |
chief of mission: Ambassador William Lee LYONS BROWN, Jr.
embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1090, Vienna mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [43] (1) 31339-0, 31375, 31335 FAX: [43] (1) 3100682 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands) | chief of mission: Ambassador Eva NOWOTNY
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 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $520 million (2002) |
Economic aid - recipient | $26 million (1995); note - the Netherlands provided a $127 million aid package to Aruba and Suriname in 1996 | - |
Economy - overview | Tourism is the mainstay of the Aruban economy, although offshore banking and oil refining and storage are also important. The rapid growth of the tourism sector over the last decade has resulted in a substantial expansion of other activities. Construction has boomed, with hotel capacity five times the 1985 level. In addition, the reopening of the country's oil refinery in 1993, a major source of employment and foreign exchange earnings, has further spurred growth. Aruba's small labor force and less than 1% unemployment rate have led to a large number of unfilled job vacancies, despite sharp rises in wage rates in recent years. | Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard of living, is closely tied to other EU economies, especially Germany's. The economy features up-to-date industrial and agricultural sectors. Timber is a key industry, 47% of the land area being forested. Membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European market and proximity to the new EU economies. Slow growth in Europe has held the economy to 0.7% growth in 2001, 1.4% in 2002, 0.8% in 2003, and 1.9% in 2004. To meet increased competition from both EU and Central European countries, particularly the new EU members, Austria will need to emphasize knowledge-based sectors of the economy, continue to deregulate the service sector, and encourage much greater participation in the labor market by its aging population. The aging phenomenon, together with already high health and pension costs, poses fundamental problems in tax and welfare policies. |
Electricity - consumption | 418.5 million kWh (1999) | 55.09 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 14.7 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 15.4 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 450 million kWh (1999) | 58.49 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Jamanota 188 m |
lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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-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 |
Ethnic groups | mixed white/Caribbean Amerindian 80% | 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) |
Exchange rates | Aruban guilders/florins per US dollar - 1.7900 (fixed rate since 1986) | euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen BEATRIX Wilhelmina Armgard of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Olindo KOOLMAN (since 1 January 1992) head of government: Prime Minister Jan (Henny) H. EMAN (since 29 July 1994) and Deputy Prime Minister Lili BEKE-MARTINEZ cabinet: Council of Ministers (elected by the Staten) elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed for a six-year term by the monarch; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by the Staten for four-year terms; election last held 12 July 1997 (next to be held by December 2001) election results: Jan (Henny) H. EMAN elected prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA%; Lili BEKE-MARTINEZ elected deputy prime minister; percent of legislative vote - NA% |
chief of state: President Heinz FISCHER (since 8 July 2004)
head of government: Chancellor Wolfgang SCHUESSEL (OeVP)(since 4 February 2000); Vice Chancellor Hubert GORBACH (since 21 October 2003) 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 25 April 2004 (next to be held April 2010); chancellor traditionally chosen by the president from the plurality party in the National Council; vice chancellor chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor election results: Heinz FISCHER elected president; percent of vote - Heinz FISCHER (SPOe) 52.4%, Benita FERRERO-WALDNER (OeVP) 47.6% note: government coalition - OeVP and FPOe |
Exports | $2.2 billion (including oil reexports) (2000 est.) | 35,470 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | live animals and animal products, art and collectibles, machinery and electrical equipment, transport equipment | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel; textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | US 42%, Colombia 20%, Netherlands 12% (1999) | Germany 32%, Italy 8.9%, US 6%, Switzerland 4.8%, France 4.2%, UK 4.2% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with two narrow, horizontal, yellow stripes across the lower portion and a red, four-pointed star outlined in white in the upper hoist-side corner | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 2.3%
industry: 30.8% services: 66.9% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $28,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $31,300 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2000 est.) | 1.9% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 30 N, 69 58 W | 47 20 N, 13 20 E |
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 |
Heliports | - | 1 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total:
800 km paved: 513 km unpaved: 287 km note: most coastal roads are paved, while unpaved roads serve large tracts of the interior (1995) |
total: 200,000 km
paved: 200,000 km (including 1,645 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 22.5% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | drug-money-laundering center and transit point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for Western Europe |
Imports | $2.5 billion (2000 est.) | 262,000 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and electrical equipment, crude oil for refining and reexport, chemicals; foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US 63%, Netherlands 11%, Netherlands Antilles 3%, Japan (1999) | Germany 46.3%, Italy 6.8%, Switzerland 4.3% (2004) |
Independence | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) | 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3.3% (2004 est.) |
Industries | tourism, transshipment facilities, oil refining | construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, metals, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 6.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 4.66 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.74 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.2% (2000 est.) | 1.8% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom (observer), ECLAC (associate), Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), WCL, WToO (associate) | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | - |
Irrigated land | 0.01 sq km | 457 sq km (2000 est.) |
Judicial branch | Joint High Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the monarch) | Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof |
Labor force | 41,501 (1997 est.) | 3.45 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | most employment is in wholesale and retail trade and repair, followed by hotels and restaurants; oil refining | agriculture and forestry 4%, industry and crafts 29%, services 67% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 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 |
Land use | arable land:
7% (including aloe 0.01%) permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 93% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 16.91%
permanent crops: 0.86% other: 82.23% (2001) |
Languages | Dutch (official), Papiamento (a Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, English dialect), English (widely spoken), Spanish | German (official nationwide), Slovene (official in Carinthia), Croatian (official in Burgenland), Hungarian (official in Burgenland) |
Legal system | based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law influence | 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 |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislature or Staten (21 seats; members elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 12 December 1997 (next to be held by NA December 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - AVP 43%, MEP 39%, OLA 9% PPA 4%, ADN 2%, PARA 1%, MAS 0.5%; seats by party - AVP 10, MEP 9, OLA 2 |
bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal Council or Bundesrat (62 members; members represent each of the states on the basis of population, but with each state having at least three representatives; members serve a five- or six-year term) and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: National Council - last held 24 November 2002 (next to be held in the fall of 2006) election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - OeVP 42.3%, SPOe 36.5%, FPOe 10.0%, Greens 9.5%; seats by party - OeVP 79, SPOe 69, FPOe 18, Greens 17; seating as of May 2005 after split within the Freedom Party: OeVP 79, SPOe 69, Greens 17, BZOe 11, FPOe 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
78.52 years male: 75.16 years female: 82.04 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 78.92 years
male: 76.03 years female: 81.96 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
NA total population: 97% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Venezuela | Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,120 GRT/3,635 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 29,624 GRT/37,425 DWT
by type: cargo 6, container 2 foreign-owned: 2 (Netherlands 2) registered in other countries: 19 (2005) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands | - |
Military branches | Royal Dutch Navy and Marines, Coast Guard | Land Forces (KdoLdSK), Air Forces (KdoLuSK) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $1.497 billion (FY01/02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.9% (2004) |
National holiday | Flag Day, 18 March | National Day, 26 October (1955); note - commemorates the State Treaty restoring national sovereignty and the end of occupation and the passage of the law on permanent neutrality |
Nationality | noun:
Aruban(s) adjective: Aruban; Dutch |
noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian |
Natural hazards | lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt | landslides; avalanches; earthquakes |
Natural resources | NEGL; white sandy beaches | oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower |
Net migration rate | NEGL | 1.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 2,722 km; oil 663 km; refined products 149 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Aruba Solidarity Movement or MAS [leader NA]; Aruban Democratic Party or PDA [Leo BERLINSKI]; Aruban Liberal Party or OLA [Glenbert CROES]; Aruban Patriotic Party or PPA [Benny NISBET]; Aruban People's Party or AVP [Tico CROES]; Electoral Movement Party or MEP [Nelson ODUBER]; For a Restructured Aruba Now or PARA [leader NA]; National Democratic Action or ADN [Pedro Charro KELLY] | Alliance for the Future of Austria or BZOe [Joerg HAIDER]; Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Wolfgang SCHUESSEL]; Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Heinz Christian STRACHE]; Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Alfred GUSENBAUER]; The Greens [Alexander VAN DER BELLEN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Austrian Trade Union Federation (nominally independent but primarily Socialist) or OeGB; Federal Economic Chamber; OeVP-oriented League of Austrian Industrialists or VOeI; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay organization, Catholic Action; three composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party or OeVP representing business, labor, and farmers and other non-government organizations in the areas of environment and human rights |
Population | 70,007 (July 2001 est.) | 8,184,691 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 3.9% (1999) |
Population growth rate | 0.64% (2001 est.) | 0.11% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Barcadera, Oranjestad, Sint Nicolaas | Enns, Krems, Linz, Vienna |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 6, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 65 (plus several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (2001) |
Radios | 50,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 6,021 km (3,552 km electrified)
standard gauge: 5,565 km 1.435-m gauge (3,430 km electrified) narrow gauge: 34 km 1.000-m gauge (28 km electrified); 422 km 0.760-m gauge (94 km electrified) (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 82%, Protestant 8%, Hindu, Muslim, Confucian, Jewish | Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 2%, none 12% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal; compulsory for presidential elections |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: more than adequate international: 1 submarine cable to Sint Maarten (Netherlands Antilles); extensive interisland microwave radio relay links |
general assessment: highly developed and efficient
domestic: there are 48 main lines for every 100 persons; the fiber optic net is very extensive; all telephone applications and Internet services are available international: country code - 43; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Eutelsat; in addition, there are about 600 VSAT (very small aperture terminals) (2002) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 33,000 (1997) | 3.881 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3,402 (1997) | 7,094,500 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 10 (plus more than 1,000 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | flat with a few hills; scant vegetation | in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping |
Total fertility rate | 1.8 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.36 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0.6% (1999 est.) | 4.4% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | 358 km (2003) |