Austria (2007) | Guernsey (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten (Carinthia), Niederoesterreich (Lower Austria), Oberoesterreich (Upper Austria), Salzburg, Steiermark (Styria), Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien (Vienna) | none (British crown dependency); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 10 parishes including Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson, Vale, Castel, Saint Saviour, Saint Pierre du Bois, Torteval, Forest, Saint Martin, Saint Andrew |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 15.1% (male 633,375/female 603,459)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 2,781,291/female 2,749,539) 65 years and over: 17.5% (male 585,747/female 846,372) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 15.4% (male 5,084/female 4,937)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 21,611/female 22,002) 65 years and over: 17.8% (male 4,882/female 6,712) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle |
Airports | 55 (2007) | 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 25
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: 15 (2007) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 30
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 26 (2007) |
- |
Area | total: 83,870 sq km
land: 82,444 sq km water: 1,426 sq km |
total: 78 sq km
land: 78 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maine | about one-half 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. 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 Monetary Union in 1999. | The island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy, which held sway in both France and England. The islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. |
Birth rate | 8.69 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 9.01 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $154.3 billion
expenditures: $158.3 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $539.2 million
expenditures: $448.3 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2002 est.) |
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 |
Saint Peter Port |
Climate | temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain and some snow in lowlands and snow in mountains; moderate summers with occasional showers | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 50 km |
Constitution | 1920; revised 1929; reinstated 1 May 1945 | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Austria
conventional short form: Austria local long form: Republik Oesterreich local short form: Oesterreich |
conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
Death rate | 9.84 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 9.95 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $594.3 billion (October 2006 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | British crown dependency |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Susan R. McCAW
embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1090, Vienna mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [43] (1) 31339-0 FAX: [43] (1) 3100682 |
none (British crown dependency) |
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, New York |
none (British crown dependency) |
Disputes - international | in 2006, Austrian public protests for the Czech Republic to close the Temelin nuclear power plant resulted in a parliamentary motion threatening international legal action | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $681 million (2004) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | NA |
Economy - overview | Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard of living, is closely tied to other EU economies, especially Germany's. The Austrian economy also benefits greatly from strong commercial relations, especially in the banking and insurance sectors, with central, eastern, and southeastern Europe. The economy features a large service sector, a sound industrial sector, and a small, but highly developed agricultural sector. 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. The outgoing government has successfully pursued a comprehensive economic reform program, aimed at streamlining government and creating a more competitive business environment, further strengthening Austria's attractiveness as an investment location. It has implemented effective pension reforms; however, lower taxes in 2005-06 led to a small budget deficit in 2006. Weak domestic consumption and slow growth in Europe held the economy to growth rates below 3% in 2002-05. Due to higher growth across Europe, Austria grew 3.3 percent in 2006. To meet increased competition - especially from new EU members and Central European countries - Austria will need to continue restructuring, emphasizing knowledge-based sectors of the economy, and encouraging greater labor flexibility and greater labor participation by its aging population. | Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance - account for about 55% of total income in this tiny, prosperous Channel Island economy. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes and cut flowers, have been declining. Light tax and death duties make Guernsey a popular tax haven. The evolving economic integration of the EU nations is changing the environment under which Guernsey operates. |
Electricity - consumption | 60.25 billion kWh (2005 est.) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 17.73 billion kWh (2005 est.) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 20.4 billion kWh (2005 est.) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 61.02 billion kWh (2005 est.) | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 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-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 | 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) | UK and Norman-French descent with small percentages from other European countries |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) | Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003), 0.6672 (2002), 0.6947 (2001), 0.6609 (2000)
note: the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Heinz FISCHER (since 8 July 2004)
head of government: Chancellor Alfred GUSENBAUER (SPOe) (since 11 January 2007); Vice Chancellor Wilhelm MOLTERER (OeVP) (since 11 January 2007) 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 |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief Lt. Gen. Sir John FOLEY (since NA 2000)
head of government: Chief Minister Laurie MORGAN (since 1 May 2004) cabinet: Policy Council elected by the States of Deliberation elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch; chief minister is elected by States of Delibertion election results: Laurie MORGAN elected chief minister, percent of vote of the States of Deliberation NA% |
Exports | 34,680 bbl/day (2004) | $NA |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables |
Exports - partners | Germany 30.2%, Italy 9%, US 5.9%, Switzerland 4.7% (2006) | UK (regarded as internal trade) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red | white with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) extending to the edges of the flag and a yellow equal-armed cross of William the Conqueror superimposed on the Saint George cross |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.6%
industry: 30.6% services: 67.8% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $40,000 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.3% (2006 est.) | 3% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 47 20 N, 13 20 E | 49 28 N, 2 35 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 | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port |
Heliports | 1 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.3%
highest 10%: 22.5% (2004) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for Western Europe; increasing consumption of European-produced synthetic drugs | - |
Imports | 157,500 bbl/day (2005) | $NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment |
Imports - partners | Germany 45.5%, Italy 7%, Switzerland 4.5%, Netherlands 4.1% (2006) | UK (regarded as internal trade) |
Independence | 976 (Margravate of Austria established); 17 September 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 11 August 1804 (Austrian Empire proclaimed); 12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed) | none (British crown dependency) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.7% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Industries | construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, metals, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism | tourism, banking |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.54 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.56 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 4.71 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.26 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.4% (2006 est.) | 4.9% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT (observer), 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, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, Schengen Convention, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | UPU |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof | Royal Court |
Labor force | 3.52 million (2006 est.) | 32,290 (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 3%
industry: 27% services: 70% (2005 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: 16.59%
permanent crops: 0.85% other: 82.56% (2005) |
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
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) | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts |
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 | English law and local statutes; justice is administered by the Royal Court |
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 according to its population; to 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 1 October 2006 (next scheduled for the fall of 2010) election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - SPOe 35.3%, OeVP 34.3%, Greens 11.1%, FPOe 11.0%, BZOe 4.1%, other 4.2%; seats by party - SPOe 68, OeVP 66, Greens 21, FPOe 21, BZOe 7 |
unicameral States of Deliberation (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote for 4 years); note - Alderney and Sark have their own parliaments
elections: last held 21 April 2004 (next to be held NA 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - all independents |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.21 years
male: 76.32 years female: 82.26 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 80.3 years
male: 77.3 years female: 83.41 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: NA female: NA |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France |
Map references | Europe | Europe |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 7 ships (1000 GRT or over) 31,705 GRT/40,627 DWT
by type: cargo 5, container 2 foreign-owned: 2 (Netherlands 2) registered in other countries: 4 (Cyprus 1, Malta 1, St Vincent and The Grenadines 2) (2007) |
- |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Land Forces (KdoLdSK), Air Forces (KdoLuSK) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (2005 est.) | - |
National holiday | National Day, 26 October (1955); note - commemorates the passage of the law on permanent neutrality | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) |
Nationality | noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian |
noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
Natural hazards | landslides; avalanches; earthquakes | NA |
Natural resources | oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower | cropland |
Net migration rate | 1.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 3.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 2,722 km; oil 663 km; refined products 149 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for the Future of Austria or BZOe [Peter WESTENTHALER]; Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Wilhelm MOLTERER]; Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Heinz Christian STRACHE]; Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Alfred GUSENBAUER]; The Greens [Alexander VAN DER BELLEN] | none; all independents |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Austrian Trade Union Federation (nominally independent but primarily Social Democratic) or OeGB; Federal Economic Chamber; OeVP-oriented Association of Austrian Industrialists or IV; 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 | 8,199,783 (July 2007 est.) | 65,228 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 5.9% (2004) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.077% (2007 est.) | 0.29% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 65 (plus several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 6,383 km
standard gauge: 5,924 km 1.435-m gauge (3,772 km electrified) narrow gauge: 371 km 1.000-m gauge; 88 km 0.760-m gauge (25 km electrified) (2006) |
- |
Religions | Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 2%, none 12% (2001 census) | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.012 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.692 male(s)/female total population: 0.953 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: highly developed and efficient
domestic: fixed-line subscribership has been in decline since the mid-1990s with mobile-cellular subscribership elipsing 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) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3.564 million (2006) | 55,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 9.255 million (2006) | 31,500 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 10 (plus more than 1,000 repeaters) (2001) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping | mostly level with low hills in southwest |
Total fertility rate | 1.37 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.38 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.9% (2006 est.) | 0.5% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | 358 km (2007) | - |