economy and communications in Austria
Republic of Austria
National name: Republik Österreich
President: Heinz Fischer (2004)
Chancellor: Alfred Gusenbauer (2007)
Current government officials
Land area: 31,942 sq mi (82,730 sq km); total area: 32,382 sq mi (83,870 sq
km)
Population (2008 est.): 8,205,533 (growth rate: 0.1%); birth rate 8.6/1000;
infant mortality rate: 4.4/1000; life expectancy: 79.3; density per sq mi:
257
Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Vienna, 2,041,300 (metro area),
1,523,600 (city proper)
Other large cities: Graz, 219,500; Linz, 185,300; Salzburg, 145,500;
Innsbruck, 115,600
Monetary units: Euro (formerly schilling)
Languages: German (official nationwide); Slovene, Croatian, Hungarian (each
official in one region)
Ethnicity/race: Austrians 91.1%, former Yugoslavs 4% (includes Croatians,
Slovenes, Serbs, Bosniaks), Turks 1.6%, German 0.9%, other or unspecified
2.4% (2001)
Religions: Roman Catholic 74%, Protestant 5%, Islam 4%, none 12% (2001)
National Holiday: National Day, October 26
Literacy rate: 98%
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $319.7 billion; per capita $39,000.
Real growth rate: 3.3%. Inflation: 1.9%. Unemployment: 4.3%. Arable land:
16.59%. Agriculture: grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy
products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber. Labor force: 3.56 million (2007
est.); agriculture and forestry 3%, industry and crafts 27%, services 70%.
Industries: construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, metals,
chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications
equipment, tourism. Natural resources: oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore,
copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower.
Exports: $158.3 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): machinery and equipment, motor
vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and
steel, textiles, foodstuffs. Imports: $157.4 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.):
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil
products; foodstuffs. Major trading partners: Germany, Italy, Switzerland,
Netherlands (2006).
Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 3.564 million (2006); mobile
cellular: 9.255 million (2006). Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 65 (plus
several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (2001). Television broadcast
stations: 10 (plus more than 1,000 repeaters) (2001). Internet hosts: 2.427
million (2007). Internet users: 4.2 million (2006).
Transportation: Railways: total: 6,021 km (3,552 km electrified) (2004).
Highways: 133,718 km; paved: 133,718 km (including 1,677 km of expressways)
(2003). Waterways: 358 km (2007). Ports and harbors: Enns, Krems, Linz,
Vienna. Airports: 55 (2007).
International disputes: In 2006, Austrian public protests for the Czech
Republic to close the Temelin nuclear power plant resulted in a
parliamentary motion threatening international legal action.
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