Norfolk Island (2005) | Austria (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten, Niederoesterreich, Oberoesterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2005 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 55 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 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: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 83,870 sq km
land: 82,444 sq km water: 1,426 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maine |
Background | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. | 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. |
Birth rate | NA | 8.9 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
revenues: $67 billion
expenditures: $70 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Kingston | Vienna |
Climate | subtropical; mild, 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 | 32 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945) |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
conventional long form: Republic of Austria
conventional short form: Austria local long form: Republik Oesterreich local short form: Oesterreich |
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 |
Death rate | NA | 9.56 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $15.5 billion (2003 est.) |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | 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 (territory of Australia) | 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 | minor disputes with the Czech Republic over the Temelin Nuclear Power Plant |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $520 million (2002) |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | - |
Economy - overview | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 54.85 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 14.25 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 14.47 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 58.75 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 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-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 | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians | German 88.5%, indigenous minorities 1.5% (includes Croatians, Slovenes, Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Roma), recent immigrant groups 10% (includes Turks, Bosnians, Serbians, Croatians) (2001) |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 20 Ocotber 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2% |
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 |
Exports | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY99/00) | 35,470 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel; textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Germany 31.9%, Italy 9.6%, Switzerland 5.2%, US 4.9%, France 4.8%, UK 4.7% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $245.3 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 25.7% services: 70.9% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | purchasing power parity - $30,000 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 0.7% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 47 20 N, 13 20 E |
Geography - note | most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated | 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 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
total: 200,000 km
paved: 200,000 km (including 1,633 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 22.5% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for Western Europe |
Imports | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | 262,000 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | NA | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Germany 43.2%, Italy 6.7%, Hungary 5.4%, Switzerland 5%, Netherlands 4.2% (2003) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 1.9% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 1.4% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | 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 |
Irrigated land | NA | 457 sq km (2000 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof |
Labor force | 1,345 | 3.425 million (2003) |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10% | 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: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: 16.91%
permanent crops: 0.86% other: 82.23% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | German (official nationwide), Slovene (official in Carinthia), Croatian (official in Burgenland), Hungarian (official in Burgenland) |
Legal system | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law | 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 Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 78.87 years
male: 76 years female: 81.89 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: NA female: NA |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia |
Map references | Oceania | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
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.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | - |
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 | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | 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: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian |
Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | landslides; avalanches; earthquakes |
Natural resources | fish | oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower |
Net migration rate | NA | 2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 2,722 km; oil 663 km; refined products 149 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | none | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | 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 | 1,828 (July 2005 est.) | 8,174,762 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 3.9% (1999) |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2005 est.) | 0.14% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | Enns, Krems, Linz, Vienna |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 2, FM 65 (plus several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (2001) |
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) |
Religions | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census) | Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 0.1%, none 17.4% |
Sex ratio | NA | 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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal; compulsory for presidential elections |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station |
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 | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | 3.881 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) | 7,094,500 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | 10 (plus more than 1,000 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping |
Total fertility rate | NA | 1.35 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0% | 4.4% (2003 est.) |
Waterways | - | 358 km (2003) |