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 of 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.

Geographic coordinates: 47 20 N 13 20 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 83,858 km²
Water: 1,120 km²
Land: 82,738 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Maine

Land boundaries
Total: 2,562 km
Border countries: (8) 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

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: temperate; continental cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain in lowlands and snow in mountains; cool summers with occasional showers

Terrain: in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
Extremes highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m

Natural resources: iron ore oil timber magnesite lead coal lignite copper hydropower

Land use
Arable land: 16.89%
Permanent crops: 0.99%
Other: 82.12% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 457 km² (2000 est.)

Natural hazards: landslides; avalanches; earthquakes

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

Population: 8,169,929 (July 2002 est.)
Growth rate: 0.23% (2002 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Austrian
Adjective: Austrian

Ethnic groups: 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)

Languages: German

Religions: Roman Catholic 78% Protestant 5% Muslim and other 17%

Age structure
0-14 years: 16.4% (male 686,205; female 652,840)
15-64 years: 68.2% (male 2,814,866; female 2,756,777)
65 years and over: 15.4% (male 484,313; female 774,928) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.23% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 9.58 births/1000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 9.73 deaths/1000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.45 migrant(s)/1000 population (2002 est.)

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
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
International agreements signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male/female
65 years and over: 0.62 male/female
Total population: 0.95 male/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 4.39 deaths/1000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 78 years
Female: 81.31 years (2002 est.)
Male: 74.85 years

Total fertility rate: 1.4 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 843 (2001 est.)
Deaths: 8 (2001 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 98%
Male: NA%
Female: NA%

Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Austria
Conventional short form: Austria
Local short form: Oesterreich
Local long form: Republik Oesterreich

Government type: federal republic

Capital: Vienna

Administrative divisions: 9 states (Bundeslaender singular - Bundesland); Burgenland Kaernten Niederoesterreich Oberoesterreich Salzburg Steiermark Tirol Vorarlberg Wien

Independence: 1156 (from Bavaria)

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

Constitution: 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945)

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

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal; compulsory for presidential elections

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Thomas KLESTIL (since 8 July 1992)
Head of government: Chancellor Wolfgang SCHUESSEL (OeVP)(since 4 February 2000); Vice Chancellor Herbert HAUPT (since 28 February 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; in the case of the current coalition, the chancellor was chosen from another party after the plurality party failed to form a government; vice chancellor chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor
Note: government coalition - OeVP and FPOe
Election results: Thomas KLESTIL reelected president; percent of vote - Thomas KLESTIL 63%, Gertraud KNOLL 14%, Heide SCHMIDT 11%, Richard LUGNER 10%, Karl NOWAK 2%

Legislative branch
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
Elections: National Council - last held 24 November 2002 (next to be held in the fall of 2006)

Judicial branch: Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof

Political parties and leaders: Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Wolfgang SCHUESSEL]; Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Susanne RIESS-PASSER]; Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Alfred GUSENBAUER]; The Greens Alternative or GA [Alexander VAN DER BELLEN]

International organization participation: AfDB AsDB Australia Group BIS BSEC (observer) CCC CE CEI CERN EAPC EBRD ECE EIB EMU ESA EU FAO G- 9 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC 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 UNMEE UNMIBH UNMIK UNMOGIP UNMOT UNOMIG UNTSO UPU WCL WEU (observer) WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Peter MOSER
In the us chancery: 3,524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20,008-3,035
In the us consulates general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
In the us fax: [1] (202) 895-6,750
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 895-6,700
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador William Lee LYONS BROWN, Jr.
From the us embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1091, Vienna
From the us mailing address: use embassy street address
From the us telephone: [43] (1) 31,339-0
From the us fax: [43] (1) 3,100,682

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top) white and red

Economy overview: 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 and 0.6% in 2002. 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.

Real gdp growth rate: 0.6% (2002 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $27,700 (2002 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2%
Industry: 33%
Services: 65% (2002 est.)

Agriculture products: grains potatoes sugar beets wine fruit; dairy products cattle pigs poultry; lumber

Industries: construction machinery vehicles and parts food chemicals lumber and wood processing paper and paperboard communications equipment tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 3.8% (2001 est.)

Labor force: 4.3 million (2001)
By occupation services: 67%
By occupation industry and crafts: 29%
By occupation agriculture and forestry: 4% (2001 est.)

Unemployment rate: 4.8% (2002 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 3%
Highest 10: 23% (1995)

Distribution of family income gini index: 31 (1995)

Budget
Revenues: $53 billion
Expenditures: $54 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 1.8% (2002 est.)

Exports: $70 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Commodities: machinery and equipment motor vehicles and parts paper and paperboard metal goods chemicals iron and steel; textiles foodstuffs
Partners: EU 63% (Germany 35% Italy 9% France 5%) Switzerland 5% US 5% Hungary 4% (2000)

Imports: $74 billion c.i.f. (2001)
Commodities: machinery and equipment motor vehicles chemicals metal goods oil and oil products; foodstuffs
Partners: EU 68% (Germany 42% Italy 7% France 5%) US 6% Switzerland 3% Hungary 2% (2000)

Debt external: $12.1 billion (2001 est.)

Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002) 1.1175 (2001) 1.0854 (2000) 0.9386 (1999); Austrian schillings per US dollar - 11.86 (January 1999) 12.91 (1999) 12.379 (1998) 12.204 (1997)

Electricity
Production: 60.285 billion kWh (2000)
Production by source fossil fuel: 28%
Production by source hydro: 69%
Production by source other: 3% (2000)
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Consumption: 54.764 billion kWh (2000)
Exports: 15.11 billion kWh (2000)
Imports: 13.809 billion kWh (2000)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 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)
Mobile cellular: 6 million (2001)

Telephone system
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)

Internet
Country code: .at
Service providers isps: 37 (2000)
Users: 3.7 million (2002)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $1497.1 million (FY01/02)
Percent of gdp: 0.8% (FY01/02)

Airports: 55 (2001)
With paved runways total: 24
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 5
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3
With paved runways under 914 m: 14 (2002)
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways total: 31 31
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 1 27 (2002)

Heliports: 1 (2002)

Pipelines: crude oil 777 km; natural gas 840 km (1999)

Railways
Total: 6,095.2 km (3,643.3 km electrified)
Standard gauge: 5,564.2 km 1.435-m gauge (3,521.2 km electrified)
Narrow gauge: 33.9 km 1.000-m gauge (28.1 km electrified); 497.1 km 0.760-m gauge (94 km electrified) (2001 est.)

Waterways: 358 km (1999)

Merchant marine
Total: 10 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 46,563 GRT/59,278 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 6, combination bulk 1, container 2 (2002 est.)

Disputes international: minor disputes with Czech Republic and Slovenia continue over nuclear power plants and post-World War II treatment of German-speaking minorities

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for Western Europe