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 and Monetary Union in 1999.

Geographic coordinates: 47 20 N 13 20 E

Area
Rank: 114
Comparative: slightly smaller than Maine

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

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

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

Natural resources: oil coal lignite timber iron ore copper zinc antimony magnesite tungsten graphite salt hydropower

Irrigated land: 1170 km² (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 84 km³ (2005)

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: 8,219,743 (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 94
Growth rate: 0.026% (2012 est.)
Growth rate rank: 186
Below poverty line: 6% (2008)

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)

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)

Religions: Roman Catholic 73.6% Protestant 4.7% Muslim 4.2% other 3.5% unspecified 2% none 12% (2001 census)

Population growth rate: 0.026% (2012 est.)
Rank: 186

Birth rate: 8.69 births/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 214

Death rate: 10.23 deaths/1000 population (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 47

Net migration rate: 1.79 migrant(s)/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 41

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

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 195

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 33

Total fertility rate: 1.41 children born/woman (2012 est.)
Rank: 200

Physicians density: 4.749 physicians/1000 population (2009)

Hospital bed density: 7.71 beds/1000 population (2008)

Sanitation facility access:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2009 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 90
People living with hivaids: 15,000 (2009 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 84
Deaths: fewer than 100 (2009 est.)
Deaths rank: 149

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 11% (2008)
Rank: 53

Education expenditures: 5.4% of GDP (2007)
Rank: 47

Government type: federal republic

Administrative divisions: 9 states (Bundeslaender singular - Bundesland); Burgenland Karnten (Carinthia) Niederoesterreich (Lower Austria) Oberoesterreich (Upper Austria) Salzburg Steiermark (Styria) Tirol (Tyrol) Vorarlberg Wien (Vienna)

Independence: 12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed); notable earlier dates: 976 (Margravate of Austria established); 17 September 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 11 August 1804 (Austrian Empire proclaimed)

National holiday: National Day 26 October (1955); note - commemorates the passage of the law on permanent neutrality

Constitution: 1 October 1920; revised 1929; reinstated 1 May 1945; revised many times; note - during the period 1 May 1934-1 May 1945 there was a fascist (corporative) constitution in place

Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts by the Constitutional Court

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Suffrage: 16 years of age; universal; note - reduced from 18 years of age in 2007

Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal Council or Bundesrat (62 seats; delegates appointed by state parliaments with each state receiving 3 to 12 seats in proportion to its population; members serve five- or six-year terms) and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members elected by popular vote for a five-year term under a system of proportional representation with partially-open party lists)

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

Political parties and leaders: Alliance for the Future of Austria or BZOe [Josef BUCHER]; Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Michael SPINDELEGGER]; Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Heinz Christian STRACHE]; Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Werner FAYMANN]; The Greens [Eva GLAWISCHNIG]; Communist Party of Austria of KPOe [Mirko MESSNER]; 'Team Stronach for Austria' [Frank STRONACHI]

International organization participation: ADB (nonregional member) AfDB (nonregional member) Australia Group BIS BSEC (observer) CD CE CEI CERN EAPC EBRD ECB EIB EMU ESA EU FAO FATF G-9 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC (national committees) ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IGAD (partners) ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC (NGOs) MIGA MINURSO NEA NSG OAS (observer) OECD OIF (observer) OPCW OSCE Paris Club PCA PFP Schengen Convention SELEC (observer) UN UNCTAD UNDOF UNESCO UNFICYP UNHCR UNIFIL UNTSO UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top) white and red; the flag design is certainly one of the oldest - if not the oldest - national banners in the world; according to tradition in 1191 following a fierce battle in the Third Crusade Duke Leopold V of Austria's white tunic became completely blood-spattered; upon removal of his wide belt or sash a white band was revealed; the red-white-red color combination was subsequently adopted as his banner

National symbols: black eagle

Economy overview: Austria with its well-developed market economy skilled labor force and high standard of living is closely tied to other EU economies especially Germany's. Its economy features a large service sector a sound industrial sector and a small but highly developed agricultural sector. Following several years of solid foreign demand for Austrian exports and record employment growth the international financial crisis of 2008 and subsequent global economic downturn led to a sharp but brief recession. Austrian GDP contracted 3.8% in 2009 but saw positive growth of about 2% in 2010 and 2.7% in 2011. Growth fell below 1% in 2012. Unemployment did not rise as steeply in Austria as elsewhere in Europe partly because the government subsidized reduced working hour schemes to allow companies to retain employees. Stabilization measures stimulus spending and an income tax reform pushed the budget deficit to 4.5% in 2010 and 2.6% in 2011 from only about 0.9% in 2008. The international financial crisis of 2008 caused difficulties for Austria's largest banks whose extensive operations in central eastern and southeastern Europe faced large losses. The government provided bank support - including in some instances nationalization - to support aggregate demand and stabilize the banking system. Austria's fiscal position compares favorably with other euro-zone countries but it faces considerable external risks such as Austrian banks' continued high exposure to central and eastern Europe as well as political and economic uncertainties caused by the European sovereign debt crisis. In 2011 the government attempted to pass a constitutional amendment limiting public debt to 60% of GDP by 2020 but it was unable to obtain sufficient support in parliament and instead passed the measure as a simple law. In March 2012 the Austrian parliament approved an austerity budget that will bring public finances into balance by 2016. In 2012 the budget deficit rose to 2.9% of GDP.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 38

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 175

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 19

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

Industrial production growth rate: 7.5% (2011 est.)
Rank: 34

Labor force: 3.655 million (2012 est.)
Rank: 96

Unemployment rate: 4.2% (2011 est.)
Rank: 42

Population below poverty line: 6% (2008)

Distribution of family income gini index: 31 (1995)
Rank: 129

Budget
Surplus or deficit: -2.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 100

Taxes and other revenues: 47.8% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 26

Public debt: 72.2% of GDP (2011 est.)
Rank: 34

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 3.5% (2011 est.)
Rank: 43

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 3.3% (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 174

Stock of narrow money: $176.5 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 19

Stock of broad money: $400.8 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 26

Stock of domestic credit: $526.7 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 23

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 41

Current account balance: $7.75 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 29

Exports: $173.6 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 30
Commodities: machinery and equipment motor vehicles and parts paper and paperboard metal goods chemicals iron and steel textiles foodstuffs
Partners: Germany 32.3% Italy 7.8% Switzerland 4.4% France 4.2% (2011)

Imports: $183.3 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 29
Commodities: machinery and equipment motor vehicles chemicals metal goods oil and oil products; foodstuffs
Partners: Germany 42.8% Italy 6.8% Switzerland 5.5% Netherlands 4% (2011)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $22.28 billion (2010 est.)
Rank: 55

Debt external: $755 billion (30 June 2010)
Rank: 18

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $271.3 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 19

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $300.7 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 19

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 59.47 billion kWh (2011 est.)
Production rank: 45
Consumption: 63.8 billion kWh (2011 est.)
Consumption rank: 40
Exports: 16.75 billion kWh (2011 est.)
Exports rank: 11
Imports: 24.98 billion kWh (2011 est.)
Imports rank: 9
Installed generating capacity: 21.11 million kW (2010 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 35
Generation sources fossil fuels: 19.6% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 191
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 43
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 38.7% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 55
Generation sources other renewable sources: 20.4% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 7

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 25,750 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 68
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 76
Crude oil imports: 137,100 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 42
Crude oil proven reserves: 50 million bbl (1 January 2012 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 81

Refined petroleum
Products production: 188,500 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products production rank: 56
Products consumption: 262,900 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 48
Products exports: 46,680 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products exports rank: 62
Products imports: 158,300 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 37

Natural gas
Production: 1.776 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Production rank: 60
Consumption: 9.015 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Consumption rank: 51
Exports: 4.96 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Exports rank: 32
Imports: 14.28 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Imports rank: 21
Proven reserves: 16.14 billion m³ (1 January 2011 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 77

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 69.46 million Mt (2010 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 49

Telephones
Main lines in use: 3.388 million (2011)
Main lines in use rank: 48
Mobile cellular: 13.023 million (2011)
Mobile cellular rank: 60

Broadcast media: Austria's public broadcaster Osterreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) was the main broadcast source until commercial radio and TV service was introduced in the 1990s; cable and satellite TV are available including German TV stations (2008)

Internet
Country code: .at
Hosts: 3.512 million (2012)
Hosts rank: 30
Users: 6.143 million (2009)
Users rank: 43

Military expenditures: 0.8% of GDP (2009)
Rank: 145

Military service age and obligation: registration requirement at age 17; males under the age of 35 must complete basic military training (6 month duration); males 17 to 50 years old in the militia or inactive reserve are subject to compulsory military service (2011)

Airports: 52 (2012)
Rank: 90

Heliports: 1 (2012)

Pipelines: gas 3,028 km; oil 663 km; refined products 157 km (2010)

Railways
Rank: 29

Roadways
Rank: 37

Waterways: 358 km (2011)
Rank: 90

Merchant marine
Rank: 134

Ports and terminals: Enns Krems Linz Vienna

Disputes international: none

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