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Background Note: Austria
PROFILE
OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of
Austria
Geography
Area: 83,857 sq. km. (32,377 sq. mi.); slightly smaller than
Maine.
Cities: Capital--Vienna (2005 pop. 1.63 million).
Other cities--Graz, Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt.
Terrain: Alpine (64%), northern highlands that form part of the
Bohemian Massif (10%), lowlands to the east (26%).
Climate: Continental temperate.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Austrian(s).
Population (2006): 8,192,880.
Annual growth rate (2006): 0.09%.
Ethnic groups: Germans 98%, Turks, Croats, Slovenes, Bosniaks;
other recognized minorities include Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks,
and Roma.
Religions: Roman Catholic 73.6%, Lutheran 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%,
other 5.5, no confession 12.0%.
Language: German 92%.
Education: Years compulsory--9. Attendance--99%.
Literacy--98%.
Health (2006): Infant mortality rate--4.6 deaths/1,000.
Life expectancy--men 76.17 years, women 82.11 years.
Work force (2005, 3.49 million): Services--70%;
agriculture and forestry--3%, industry--27%.
Government
Type: Federal Parliamentary democracy.
Constitution: 1920; revised 1929 (reinstated May 1, 1945).
Branches: Executive--federal president (chief of state),
chancellor (head of government), cabinet. Legislative--bicameral
Federal Assembly (Parliament). Judicial--Constitutional
Court, Administrative Court, Supreme Court.
Political parties: Social Democratic Party, People's Party,
Freedom Party, Greens, Alliance--Future-Austria.
Suffrage: Universal over 18.
Administrative subdivisions: Nine Bundeslaender (federal
states).
Defense (2004): 0.9% of GDP.
Economy
GDP (2005): $297.7 billion (at exchange rate of 1.21:1).
Real GDP growth rate (2005): 1.9%.
Per capita income (2005): $32,700.
Natural resources: Iron ore, crude oil, natural gas, timber,
tungsten, magnesite, lignite, cement.
Agriculture (1.8% of 2003 GDP): Products--livestock,
forest products, grains, sugarbeets, potatoes, wine, fruits.
Industry (30.4% of 2004 GDP): Types--iron and steel,
chemicals, capital equipment, consumer goods.
Services: 68% of 2003 GDP.
Trade (2005): Exports--$114.59 billion: iron and steel
products, timber, paper, textiles, electrotechnical machinery,
chemical products, foodstuffs. Imports--$116.88 billion:
machinery, vehicles, chemicals, iron and steel, metal goods,
fuels, raw materials, foodstuffs. Principal trade partners--European
Union, Switzerland, U.S., and China.
PEOPLE AND HISTORY
Austrians are a homogeneous people; 92% are native German
speakers. Only two numerically significant minority groups
exist--18,000 Slovenes in Carinthia (south central Austria) and
about 19,400 Croats in Burgenland (on the Hungarian border). The
Slovenes form a closely-knit community. Their rights as well as
those of the Croats are protected by law and generally respected
in practice. The present boundaries of Austria, once the center
of the Habsburg Empire that constituted the second-largest state
in Europe, formed in accordance with the Treaty of St. Germain
in 1919. Some Austrians, particularly near Vienna, still have
relatives in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. About
74% of all Austrians are Roman Catholic. The church abstains
from political activity. Small Lutheran minorities are located
mainly in Vienna, Carinthia, and Burgenland. |