Country Facts - Austria

The People

Nationality Austrian(s)

Ethnic Composition

German	88%
Non-nationals (Croatians, Slovenes, Czechs, Hungarians, Slovaks, Roma)	9.3%
Naturalized (Includes those who have lived in Austria for three generations)	2%

Religious Composition

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

Languages Spoken

German

Education and Literacy

Austria maintains an excellent and efficient education system. Currently, 98 percent of the population age 15 and over are literate.

Labor Force

Total: 4.3 million (2001)
By occupation:

Services	67%
Industry/Crafts	29%
Agriculture	4%

Geography

Land Mass Total

32,377sq mi (83,858 sq km)

Land

31,945 sq mi (82,738 sq km)

Water

432 sq mi (1,120 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 1,591 mi (2,562 km)

Border countries: Czech Republic 224 mi (362 km), Germany 487 mi (784 km), Hungary 227 mi (366 km), Italy 267 mi (430 km), Liechtenstein 21 mi (35 km), Slovakia 56 mi (91 km), Slovenia 205 mi (330 km), Switzerland 101 mi (164 km)

Coastline

0 mi/km

Maritime claim

None, landlocked

Climate/Weather

Temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain in lowlands and snow in mountains; cool summers with occasional showers.

Terrain

Mountains (Alps) overshadow the south and west; along the eastern and northern margins the geography is mostly flat or gently sloping plains.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Neusiedler See 377 ft (115 m)
Highest: Grossglockner 12,460ft (3,798 m)

Natural Resources

Iron ore, oil, timber, magnesite, lead, coal, lignite, copper, hydropower.

Land use

Arable land	17%
Permanent crops	1%
Other	83%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Landslides; avalanches; earthquakes

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

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.

Demographics

Population

8,169,929 (July 2002)

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

Growth Rate

0.23% (2002)

Life Expectancy

78 years (2002)
female: 81.31 years
male: 74.85 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$27,000 (2001)

Infant Mortality

4.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

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:	0.62 male(s)/female
Total population:	0.95 male(s)/female

Net migration rate

2.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard of living, is closely tied to other E.U. economies, especially Germany's. Membership in the E.U. has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European market and proximity to E.U. aspirant economies. Slowing growth in Germany and elsewhere in the world slowed the economy to only 1.2 percent growth in 2001; the economy is expected to do little better in 2002. To meet increased competition from both E.U. 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.
Cultural and economic policies passed in late 2002 regarding immigration (e.g., mandatory fluency in German for even business visa holders) may prove to limit Austrian growth by discouraging foreign investors. This new regulatory push stems from fears of waves of legal and illegal immigrants washing over Austrian borders from new E.U. members Hungary and the Czech republic. A real flood in the summer of 2002 caused widespread physical damage and prompted the government to postpone reductions in both non-wage labor costs and company taxation originally planned for 2003. Like much of the E.U., Austria is taking a wait-and-see approach to its near-term economic growth..

Unemployment

4.8% (2001)

Inflation Rate

2.6% (2001)

Industries

Construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism.

Exports

US$70 billion (f.o.b., 2001) (2000)

Imports

US$73 billion (c.i.f., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
US$220 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

EU 63% (Germany 35%, Italy 9%, France 5%), Switzerland 5%, US 5%, Hungary 4% (2000)

Top Import Partners

EU 68% (Germany 42%, Italy 7%, France 5%), US 6%, Switzerland 3%, Hungary 2% (2000)

Top Exports

Machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel; textiles, foodstuffs

Top Imports

Machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs

Industries

Construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism

Debt - external

US$12.1 billion (2001)

Economic aid

Donor: ODA, $410 million (2000)

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	Monday to Thursday 8a.m. to 5p.m., shorter hours on Friday.	Closed
Retail	Monday to Friday 8a.m. to 6p.m., with large department stores keeping no lunch hour. Smaller businesses, especially outside Vienna, close for an hour or two around noon.	Half-day on Saturday, except once a month, when they remain open until 5p.m.
Banks	Monday to Wednesday and Friday 8a.m. to 12:30p.m. and 1:30p.m. to 3p.m. Thursday 8a.m. to 12:30p.m. and 1:30p.m. to 5:30p.m. Main branches do not close for lunch. Opening times may vary from city to city.	Closed
Government	9a.m. to 3p.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2002	2003	2004
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Epiphany	January 6	January 6	January 6
Good Friday	March 29	April 18	April 9
Easter¹	March 31	April 20	April 11
Easter Monday	April 1	April 21	April 12
Labor Day	May 1	May1	May 1
Ascension²	May 9	May 29	May 20
Whit Monday³	May 20	June 9	May 31
Corpus Christi*¹	June 19	June 10	May 26
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary	August 15	August 15	August 15
National Day	October 26	October 26	October 26
All Saints Day	November 1	November 1	November 1
Immaculate Conception	December 8	December 8	December 8
Christmas Day*²	December 25	December 25	December 25
Boxing Day	December 26	December 26	December 26

¹	Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21). In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.
²	The feast of Ascension takes place 40 days after Easter in both the Christian and Orthodox faiths and celebrates the ascent of Christ into Heaven.
³	The Christian feast of Pentecost, Whit Sunday or Whit Monday takes place 50 days after Easter, in observation of the day God came to the disciples through the Holy Ghost.
*¹	Western Catholic feast commemorating the Eucharist, takes place 60 days after Easter, and is typically the time when believers take their first communion.
*²	Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Note : Business vacation months are July and August. Avoid traveling to Austria on business during the two weeks before Easter and Christmas and the two weeks after Christmas. Christian observances are calculated using the Gregorian calendar..............

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press