Northern Mariana Islands (2002) | Austria (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (commonwealth in political union with the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are four municipalities at the second order; Northern Islands, Rota, Saipan, Tinian | 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten, Niederoesterreich, Oberoesterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.4% (male 9,208; female 8,902)
15-64 years: 74.8% (male 27,041; female 30,781) 65 years and over: 1.8% (male 690; female 689) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 16.2% (male 678,944; female 646,390)
15-64 years: 68.3% (male 2,827,736; female 2,768,480) 65 years and over: 15.5% (male 490,979; female 775,678) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, fruits, vegetables; cattle | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber |
Airports | 6 (2001) | 55 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2002) |
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 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total: 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 27 (2002) |
Area | total: 477 sq km
land: 477 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes 14 islands including Saipan, Rota, and Tinian |
total: 83,858 sq km
land: 82,738 sq km water: 1,120 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maine |
Background | Under US administration as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided in the 1970s not to seek independence but instead to forge closer links with the US. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the US was approved in 1975. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978. | 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. This neutrality, once ingrained as part of the Austrian cultural identity, has been called into question since the Soviet collapse of 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995. A prosperous country, Austria entered the European Monetary Union in 1999. |
Birth rate | 20.29 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.43 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $193 million
expenditures: $223 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY 2001/02 est.) |
revenues: $53 billion
expenditures: $54 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Saipan | Vienna |
Climate | tropical marine; moderated by northeast trade winds, little seasonal temperature variation; dry season December to June, rainy season July to October | temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain in lowlands and snow in mountains; cool summers with occasional showers |
Coastline | 1,482 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | Covenant Agreement effective 4 November 1986 and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands effective 1 January 1978 | 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945) |
Country name | conventional long form: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
conventional short form: Northern Mariana Islands former: Mariana Islands District (Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) |
conventional long form: Republic of Austria
conventional short form: Austria local long form: Republik Oesterreich local short form: Oesterreich |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | 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; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
Death rate | 2.42 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.69 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $12.1 billion (2001 est.) |
Dependency status | commonwealth in political union with the US; federal funds to the Commonwealth administered by the US Department of the Interior, Office of Insular Affairs | - |
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, 31375, 31335 FAX: [43] (1) 5125835 |
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 |
Disputes - international | none | minor disputes with Czech Republic and Slovenia continue over nuclear power plants and post-World War II treatment of German-speaking minorities |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $410 million (2000) |
Economic aid - recipient | extensive funding from US | - |
Economy - overview | The economy benefits substantially from financial assistance from the US. The rate of funding has declined as locally generated government revenues have grown. The key tourist industry employs about 50% of the work force and accounts for roughly one-fourth of GDP. Japanese tourists predominate. Annual tourist entries have exceeded one-half million in recent years, but financial difficulties in Japan have caused a temporary slowdown. The agricultural sector is made up of cattle ranches and small farms producing coconuts, breadfruit, tomatoes, and melons. Garment production is by far the most important industry with employment of 17,500 mostly Chinese workers and sizable shipments to the US under duty and quota exemptions. | 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. Slowing growth in Germany and elsewhere in the world held the economy to only 1.2% growth in 2001, 0.6% in 2002, and 0.8% in 2003.. To meet increased competition from both EU and Central European countries, 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 ageing 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) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 29.3%
hydro: 67.2% nuclear: 0% other: 3.5% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Agrihan 965 m |
lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m |
Environment - current issues | contamination of groundwater on Saipan may contribute to disease; clean-up of landfill; protection of endangered species conflicts with development | 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-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | Chamorro, Carolinians and other Micronesians, Caucasian, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Korean | German 88%, non-nationals 9.3% (includes Croatians, Slovenes, Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Roma), naturalized 2% (includes those who have lived in Austria at least three generations) |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | euros per US dollar - 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999), 12.38 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001)
head of government: Governor Juan N. BABAUTA (since NA January 2002); Lieutenant Governor Diego T. BENEVENTE (since NA January 2002) cabinet: NA elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held NA November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2005) election results: Juan N. BABAUTA elected governor in a four-way race; percent of vote - Juan N. BABAUTA (Republican Party) 49% |
chief of state: President Thomas KLESTIL (since 8 July 1992)
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 19 April 1998 (next to be held in the spring of 2004); 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: Thomas KLESTIL reelected president; percent of vote - Thomas KLESTIL 63%, Gertraud KNOLL 14%, Heide SCHMIDT 11%, Richard LUGNER 10%, Karl NOWAK 2% note: government coalition - OeVP and FPOe |
Exports | $NA | 35,470 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | garments | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel; textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | US | Germany 31.5%, Italy 9.3%, Switzerland 5.4%, US 4.9%, UK 4.9%, France 4.7%, Hungary 4.3% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with a white, five-pointed star superimposed on the gray silhouette of a latte stone (a traditional foundation stone used in building) in the center, surrounded by a wreath | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $900 million
note: GDP numbers reflect US spending (2000 est.) |
purchasing power parity - $227.7 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 2%
industry: 33% services: 65% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $12,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $27,900 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 1.1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 12 N, 145 45 E | 47 20 N, 13 20 E |
Geography - note | strategic location in the North Pacific Ocean | 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 (2002) | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 362 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km (1991) |
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 | $NA | 262,000 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, construction equipment and materials, petroleum products | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | US, Japan | Germany 42.6%, Italy 6.6%, Hungary 5.1%, Switzerland 4.8%, Netherlands 4.4% (2002) |
Independence | none (commonwealth in political union with the US) | 1156 (from Bavaria) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3.8% (2001 est.) |
Industries | tourism, construction, garments, handicrafts | construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 5.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 4.33 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.38 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.2% (1997 est.) | 1.8% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), SPC | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, 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, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOGIP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2001) | 37 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 457 sq km (2000 est.) |
Judicial branch | Commonwealth Supreme Court; Superior Court; Federal District Court | Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof |
Labor force | 6,006 total indigenous labor force; 2,699 unemployed; 28,717 foreign workers (1995) | 4.3 million (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | NA | services 67%, industry and crafts 29%, agriculture and forestry 4% (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: 15.22%
permanent crops: 6.52% other: 78.26% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 16.89%
permanent crops: 0.99% other: 82.12% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English, Chamorro, Carolinian
note: 86% of population speaks a language other than English at home |
German |
Legal system | based on US system, except for customs, wages, immigration laws, and taxation | 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 | bicameral Legislature consists of the Senate (9 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year staggered terms) and the House of Representatives (18 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 5 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2003); House of Representatives - last held 5 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2003) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 4, Democratic Party 3, Reform Party 1, independent 1; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 16, Democratic Party 1, Covenant Party 1 note: the Northern Mariana Islands does not have a nonvoting delegate in the US Congress; instead, it has an elected official or "resident representative" located in Washington, DC; seats by party - Republican Party 1 (Pedro A. TENORIO) |
bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal Council or Bundesrat (64 members; members represent each of the states on the basis of population, but with each state having at least three representatives; members serve a four- 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 36.9%, FPOe 10.2%, Greens 9%; seats by party - OeVP 79, SPOe 69, FPOe 19, Greens 16 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.95 years
male: 72.85 years female: 79.23 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 78.17 years
male: 75.02 years female: 81.48 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 96% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Oceania, islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines | Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia |
Map references | Oceania | Europe |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 27,551 GRT/34,225 DWT
ships by type: cargo 4, container 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the US | - |
Military branches | - | Land Forces (KdoLdSK), Air Forces (KdoLuSK) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $1.497 billion (FY01/02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.8% (FY01/02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 2,093,821 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,725,123 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 49,090 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Commonwealth Day, 8 January (1978) | 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: NA
adjective: NA |
noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian |
Natural hazards | active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons (especially August to November) | landslides; avalanches; earthquakes |
Natural resources | arable land, fish | iron ore, oil, timber, magnesite, lead, coal, lignite, copper, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 17.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 2.44 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 2,722 km; oil 687 km; refined products 149 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [Dr. Carlos S. CAMACHO]; Republican Party [Benigno R. FITIAL] | Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Wolfgang SCHUESSEL]; Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Herbert HAUPT]; Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Alfred GUSENBAUER]; The Greens Alternative or GA [Alexander VAN DER BELLEN] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Austrian Trade Union Federation (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 |
Population | 77,311 (July 2002 est.) | 8,188,207 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.49% (2002 est.) | 0.22% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Saipan, Tinian | Enns, Krems, Linz, Vienna |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 160 (plus several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (2001) |
Radios | NA | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 6,024 km (3,641 km electrified)
standard gauge: 5,566 km 1.435-m gauge (3,524 km electrified) narrow gauge: 34 km 1.000-m gauge (28 km electrified); 424 km 0.760-m gauge (89 km electrified) (2002) |
Religions | Christian (Roman Catholic majority, although traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found) | Roman Catholic 78%, Protestant 5%, Muslim and other 17% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.88 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal; indigenous inhabitants are US citizens but do not vote in US presidential elections | 18 years of age; universal; compulsory for presidential elections |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
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: 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 | 21,000 (1996) | 4 million (consisting of 3,600,000 analog main lines plus 400,000 Integrated Services Digital Network connections); in addition, there are 100,000 Asymmetric Digital Services lines (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,200 (1995) | 6 million (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (on Saipan and one station planned for Rota; in addition, two cable services on Saipan provide varied programming from satellite networks) (1997) | 45 (plus more than 1,000 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | southern islands are limestone with level terraces and fringing coral reefs; northern islands are volcanic | in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping |
Total fertility rate | 1.76 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.41 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 4.8% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | none | 358 km (1999) |