Austria (2007) | Svalbard (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten (Carinthia), Niederoesterreich (Lower Austria), Oberoesterreich (Upper Austria), Salzburg, Steiermark (Styria), Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien (Vienna) | - |
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: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
Agriculture - products | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber | - |
Airports | 55 (2007) | 4 (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
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1523 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) |
total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 83,870 sq km
land: 82,444 sq km water: 1,426 sq km |
total: 62,049 sq km
land: 62,049 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island) |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Maine | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
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. | First discovered by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th and 18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was recognized in 1920; five years later it officially took over the territory. |
Birth rate | 8.69 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $154.3 billion
expenditures: $158.3 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $11.5 million
expenditures: $11.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1998 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 |
Longyearbyen |
Climate | temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain and some snow in lowlands and snow in mountains; moderate summers with occasional showers | arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the year |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 3,587 km |
Constitution | 1920; revised 1929; reinstated 1 May 1945 | - |
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: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitzbergen) |
Death rate | 9.84 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $594.3 billion (October 2006 est.) | - |
Dependency status | - | territory of Norway; administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was awarded to Norway |
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 |
- |
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 |
- |
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 | despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $681 million (2004) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $8.2 million from Norway (1998) |
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. | Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The treaty of 9 February 1920 gives the 41 signatories equal rights to exploit mineral deposits, subject to Norwegian regulation. Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal companies have mined in the past, the only companies still mining are Norwegian and Russian. The settlements on Svalbard are essentially company towns. The Norwegian state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the local infrastructure. There is also some hunting of seal, reindeer, and fox. |
Electricity - consumption | 60.25 billion kWh (2005 est.) | - |
Electricity - exports | 17.73 billion kWh (2005 est.) | - |
Electricity - imports | 20.4 billion kWh (2005 est.) | - |
Electricity - production | 61.02 billion kWh (2005 est.) | - |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m |
lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 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) | Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998) |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) | Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 6.7408 (2004), 7.0802 (2003), 7.9838 (2002), 8.9917 (2001), 8.8018 (2000) |
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: King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January 1991)
head of government: Governor Odd Olsen INGERO (since 8 June 2001) and Assistant Governor Rune Baard HANSEN (since NA) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor and assistant governor responsible to the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice |
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 | - |
Exports - partners | Germany 30.2%, Italy 9%, US 5.9%, Switzerland 4.7% (2006) | - |
Fiscal year | calendar year | - |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red | the flag of Norway is used |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.6%
industry: 30.6% services: 67.8% (2006 est.) |
- |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.3% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 47 20 N, 13 20 E | 78 00 N, 20 00 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 | northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area |
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) |
- |
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 | - |
Imports - partners | Germany 45.5%, Italy 7%, Switzerland 4.5%, Netherlands 4.1% (2006) | - |
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 (territory of Norway) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.7% (2006 est.) | - |
Industries | construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, metals, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism | - |
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: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.4% (2006 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 | none |
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 | - |
Labor force | 3.52 million (2006 est.) | NA |
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: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (no trees, and the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (2001) |
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) | Norwegian, Russian |
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 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 |
- |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.21 years
male: 76.32 years female: 82.26 years (2007 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: NA female: NA |
NA |
Location | Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia | Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway |
Map references | Europe | Arctic Region |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 4 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia |
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 | - | demilitarized by treaty on 9 February 1920 |
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 | NA |
Nationality | noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian |
- |
Natural hazards | landslides; avalanches; earthquakes | ice floes often block the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic |
Natural resources | oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower | coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, phosphate, wildlife, fish |
Net migration rate | 1.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
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] | - |
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 | - |
Population | 8,199,783 (July 2007 est.) | 2,701 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 5.9% (2004) | - |
Population growth rate | 0.077% (2007 est.) | -0.02% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Barentsburg, Longyearbyen, Ny-Alesund, Pyramiden |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 65 (plus several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (2001) | AM 1, FM 1 (plus 2 repeaters), 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) | - |
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.) |
NA% |
Suffrage | 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: probably adequate
domestic: local telephone service international: country code - 47-790; satellite earth station - 1 of unknown type (for communication with Norwegian mainland only) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3.564 million (2006) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 9.255 million (2006) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 10 (plus more than 1,000 repeaters) (2001) | NA |
Terrain | in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping | wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered; west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along west and north coasts |
Total fertility rate | 1.37 children born/woman (2007 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | 4.9% (2006 est.) | - |
Waterways | 358 km (2007) | - |