Western Sahara (2008) | Austria (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | none (under de facto control of Morocco) | 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten, Niederoesterreich, Oberoesterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien (Vienna) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 45.4% (male 88,176/female 85,421)
15-64 years: 52.3% (male 98,345/female 101,895) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 3,705/female 5,075) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 15.6% (male 656,058/female 624,574)
15-64 years: 67.8% (male 2,790,673/female 2,756,612) 65 years and over: 16.6% (male 543,626/female 813,148) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber |
Airports | 9 (2007) | 55 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2007) |
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: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 27 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 83,870 sq km
land: 82,444 sq km water: 1,426 sq km |
Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | slightly smaller than Maine |
Background | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. In April 2007, Morocco presented an autonomy plan for the territory to the UN, which the U.S. considers serious and credible. The Polisario also presented a plan to the UN in 2007. Since August 2007, representatives from the Government of Morocco and the Polisario Front have met three times to negotiate the status of Western Sahara, with a fourth round of negotiations planned for March 2008. | 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 Austrians have called into question this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. |
Birth rate | NA 39.95 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.81 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues: $142.5 billion
expenditures: $146.4 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | none
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Vienna |
Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew | temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain and some snow in lowlands and snow in mountains; moderate summers with occasional showers |
Coastline | 1,110 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | - | 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945) |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
conventional long form: Republic of Austria
conventional short form: Austria local long form: Republik Oesterreich local short form: Oesterreich |
Death rate | NA | 9.7 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $15.5 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none | 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 | 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 | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals; several states have extended diplomatic relations to the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" represented by the Polisario Front in exile in Algeria, while others recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; most of the approximately 102,000 Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria | none |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $520 million (2002) |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | - |
Economy - overview | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. Incomes in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. The Moroccan Government controls all trade and other economic activities in Western Sahara. Morocco and the EU signed a four-year agreement in July 2006 allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco, including the disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. However, in 2006 the Polisario awarded similar exploration licenses in the disputed territory, which would come into force if Morocco and the Polisario resolve their dispute over Western Sahara. | Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard of living, is closely tied to other EU economies, especially Germany's. The economy features up-to-date industrial and agricultural sectors. Timber is a key industry, 47% of the land area being forested. 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. Slow growth in Europe has held the economy to 0.7% growth in 2001, 1.4% in 2002, 0.8% in 2003, and 1.9% in 2004. 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 encourage much greater participation in the labor market by its aging population. The aging phenomenon, together with already high health and pension costs, poses fundamental problems in tax and welfare policies. |
Electricity - consumption | 79.05 million kWh (2005) | 55.09 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 14.7 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 15.4 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 85 million kWh (2005) | 58.49 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m |
Environment - current issues | sparse water and lack of arable land | 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: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | Arab, Berber | 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) |
Exchange rates | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.2827 (2007), 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003) | euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) |
Executive branch | none | 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 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 | 0 bbl/day (2004) | 35,470 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates 62% | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel; textiles, foodstuffs |
Exports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006) | Germany 32%, Italy 8.9%, US 6%, Switzerland 4.8%, France 4.2%, UK 4.2% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | - | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 40% |
agriculture: 2.3%
industry: 30.8% services: 66.9% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $31,300 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 1.9% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 47 20 N, 13 20 E |
Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | 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 (2004 est.) |
Highways | - | total: 200,000 km
paved: 200,000 km (including 1,645 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2002) |
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 | 1,698 bbl/day (2004) | 262,000 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006) | Germany 46.3%, Italy 6.8%, Switzerland 4.3% (2004) |
Independence | - | 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3.3% (2004 est.) |
Industries | phosphate mining, handicrafts | construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, metals, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 4.66 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.74 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 1.8% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | none | 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 Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof |
Labor force | 12,000 | 3.45 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 50%
industry and services: 50% |
agriculture and forestry 4%, industry and crafts 29%, services 67% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 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: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2005) |
arable land: 16.91%
permanent crops: 0.86% other: 82.23% (2001) |
Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | German (official nationwide), Slovene (official in Carinthia), Croatian (official in Burgenland), Hungarian (official in Burgenland) |
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 |
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; seating as of May 2005 after split within the Freedom Party: OeVP 79, SPOe 69, Greens 17, BZOe 11, FPOe 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 78.92 years
male: 76.03 years female: 81.96 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | - | total: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 29,624 GRT/37,425 DWT
by type: cargo 6, container 2 foreign-owned: 2 (Netherlands 2) registered in other countries: 19 (2005) |
Military branches | - | Land Forces (KdoLdSK), Air Forces (KdoLuSK) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $1.497 billion (FY01/02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.9% (2004) |
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 |
Nationality | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility | landslides; avalanches; earthquakes |
Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower |
Net migration rate | - | 1.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 2,722 km; oil 663 km; refined products 149 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Alliance for the Future of Austria or BZOe [Joerg HAIDER]; Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Wolfgang SCHUESSEL]; 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 | 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 | 382,617
note: estimate is based on projections by age, sex, fertility, mortality, and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring countries (July 2007 est.) |
8,184,691 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 3.9% (1999) |
Population growth rate | NA | 0.11% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Enns, Krems, Linz, Vienna |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | 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) (2004) |
Religions | Muslim | Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 2%, none 12% (2001 census) |
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: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed | 18 years of age; universal; compulsory for presidential elections |
Telephone system | general assessment: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
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 | about 2,000 (1999 est.) | 3.881 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1999) | 7,094,500 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 10 (plus more than 1,000 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping |
Total fertility rate | NA | 1.36 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 4.4% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | - | 358 km (2003) |