Austria (2004) | Saint Helena (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten, Niederoesterreich, Oberoesterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien | 1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha* |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 15.9% (male 665,680; female 633,560)
15-64 years: 68.1% (male 2,799,411; female 2,764,426) 65 years and over: 16% (male 518,748; female 792,937) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 18.8% (male 698; female 678)
15-64 years: 71.9% (male 2,727; female 2,531) 65 years and over: 9.3% (male 296; female 387) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber | corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, crawfish (on Tristan da Cunha) |
Airports | 55 (2003 est.) | 1 (2001) |
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 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
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: 83,870 sq km
land: 82,444 sq km water: 1,426 sq km |
total: 410 sq km
land: 410 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes St. Helena Island, Ascension, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha, which consists of Tristan da Cunha Island, Gough Island, Inaccessible Island, and the three Nightingale Islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maine | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC |
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. Following the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995, some Austrian's have called into question this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the European Monetary Union in 1999. | Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, Saint Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE's exile, from 1815 until his death in 1821, but its importance as a port of call declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Ascension Island is the site of a US Air Force auxiliary airfield; Gough Island has a meteorological station. |
Birth rate | 8.9 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 13.26 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $67 billion
expenditures: $70 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $11.2 million
expenditures: $11 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92) |
Capital | Vienna | Jamestown |
Climate | temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain and some snow in lowlands and snow in mountains; moderate summers with occasional showers | Saint Helena - tropical; marine; mild, tempered by trade winds; Tristan da Cunha - temperate; marine, mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 60 km |
Constitution | 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945) | 1 January 1989 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Austria
conventional short form: Austria local long form: Republik Oesterreich local short form: Oesterreich |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Helena |
Currency | euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by the financial institutions of member countries; as of 1 January 2002, the euro became the only legal tender in EMU member countries, including Austria |
Saint Helenian pound (SHP) |
Death rate | 9.56 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 6.29 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $15.5 billion (2003 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | minor disputes with the Czech Republic over the Temelin Nuclear Power Plant | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $520 million (2002) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $12.6 million (1995); note - $5.3 million from UK (1997) |
Economy - overview | Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard of living, is closely tied to other EU economies, especially Germany's. Membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European market and proximity to EU aspirant economies. Slow growth in Germany and elsewhere in the world held the economy to 0.7% growth in 2001, 1.4% in 2002, and again less than 1% in 2003. However, recent data signal that the recovery has started. The government estimates economic growth in 2004 of 1.7-2.1% and of 2.5% in 2005. The government is planning a EURO 500 billion income tax cut in 2004, though some economists doubt it will have stimulative effects in 2004, because it will be offset by higher health insurance contributions and higher taxes on energy. For 2005, Austria plans a tax cut of EURO 2.5 billion and harmonization of the various pension schemes. 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 lower its tax burden. A key issue is the encouragement of much greater participation in the labor market by its aging population. | The economy depends largely on financial assistance from the UK, which amounted to about $5 million in 1997 or almost one-half of annual budgetary revenues. The local population earns income from fishing, the raising of livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there are few jobs, 25% of the work force has left to seek employment on Ascension Island, on the Falklands, and in the UK. |
Electricity - consumption | 54.85 billion kWh (2001) | 4.65 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 14.25 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 14.47 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 58.75 billion kWh (2001) | 5 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,060 m |
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 | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, 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: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
- |
Ethnic groups | German 88.5%, indigenous minorities 1.5% (includes Croatians, Slovenes, Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Roma), recent immigrant groups 10% (includes Turks, Bosnians, Serbians, Croatians) (2001) | African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25% |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999) | Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.6981 (January 2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6047 (1997); note - the Saint Helenian pound is at par with the British pound |
Executive branch | 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 NA 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 |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief David HOLLAMBY (since NA June 1999) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, two ex officio officers, and six elected members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch |
Exports | 35,470 bbl/day (2001) | $704,000 f.o.b. (1995) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel; textiles, foodstuffs | fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Germany 31.9%, Italy 9.6%, Switzerland 5.2%, US 4.9%, France 4.8%, UK 4.7% (2003) | South Africa, UK |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $245.3 billion (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $18 million (1998 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 25.7% services: 70.9% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $30,000 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (1998 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.7% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 47 20 N, 13 20 E | 15 56 S, 5 42 W |
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 | harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns |
Heliports | 1 (2003 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 200,000 km
paved: 200,000 km (including 1,633 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
total: 158 km (Saint Helena 118 km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 0 km)
paved: 138 km (Saint Helena 98km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 0 km) unpaved: 20 km (Saint Helena 20 km, Ascension 0 km, Tristan da Cunha 0 km) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 22.5% (1995) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for Western Europe | - |
Imports | 262,000 bbl/day (2001) | $14.434 million c.i.f. (1995) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs | food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts |
Imports - partners | Germany 43.2%, Italy 6.7%, Hungary 5.4%, Switzerland 5%, Netherlands 4.2% (2003) | UK, South Africa |
Independence | 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.9% (2003 est.) | NA% |
Industries | construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism | construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.68 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
21.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.4% (2003 est.) | 3.2% (1997 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | ICFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 457 sq km (2000 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court; Small Debts Court; Juvenile Court |
Labor force | 3.425 million (2003) | 3,500
note: 1,200 work offshore (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture and forestry 4%, industry and crafts 29%, services 67% (2001 est.) | agriculture and fishing 6%, industry (mainly construction) 48%, services 46% (1987 est.) |
Land boundaries | 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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.91%
permanent crops: 0.86% other: 82.23% (2001) |
arable land: 12.9%
permanent crops: 0% other: 87.1% (1998 est.) |
Languages | German (official nationwide), Slovene (official in Carinthia), Croatian (official in Burgenland), Hungarian (official in Burgenland) | English |
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 | NA |
Legislative branch | 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 |
unicameral Legislative Council (16 seats, including the speaker, 3 ex officio and 12 elected members; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 June 2001 (next to be held NA June 2005) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.87 years
male: 76 years female: 81.89 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 77.2 years
male: 74.31 years female: 80.23 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: NA female: NA |
definition: age 20 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1987 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia | islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 29,624 GRT/37,425 DWT
by type: cargo 4, container 2 foreign-owned: Netherlands 1 registered in other countries: 34 (2004 est.) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Land Forces (KdoLdSK), Air Forces (KdoLuSK) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.497 billion (FY01/02) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.85% (June 2004) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,066,467 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,699,384 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 48,981 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | 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 | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) |
Nationality | noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian |
noun: Saint Helenian(s)
adjective: Saint Helenian |
Natural hazards | landslides; avalanches; earthquakes | active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha |
Natural resources | oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower | fish |
Net migration rate | 2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 2,722 km; oil 663 km; refined products 149 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Wolfgang SCHUESSEL]; Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Ursula HAUBNER]; Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Alfred GUSENBAUER]; The Greens [Alexander VAN DER BELLEN] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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 | none |
Population | 8,174,762 (July 2004 est.) | 7,317 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 3.9% (1999) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.14% (2004 est.) | 0.7% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Enns, Krems, Linz, Vienna | Georgetown (on Ascension), Jamestown |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 65 (plus several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 3,000 (1997) |
Railways | 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) (2003) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 0.1%, none 17.4% | Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic |
Sex ratio | 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: 0.65 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal; compulsory for presidential elections | NA years of age |
Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment: can communicate worldwide
domestic: automatic network international: HF radiotelephone from Saint Helena to Ascension which is a major coaxial submarine cable relay point between South Africa, Portugal, and UK ; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3.881 million (2003) | 2,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,094,500 (2003) | 0 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 10 (plus more than 1,000 repeaters) (2001) | 0
note: television programs are received in St. Helena via satellite and distributed by cable (2002) |
Terrain | in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping | Saint Helena - rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
note: the other islands of the group have a volcanic origin |
Total fertility rate | 1.35 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.53 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.4% (2003 est.) | 14% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | 358 km (2003) | none |