Radio broadcast stations: AM 262, FM 345, shortwave 1 (Australia's only shortwave station, Radio Australia, broadcasts to the world in seven languages, using 23 frequencies) (1998)
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 104 (64 of these stations are government-owned and 40 are commercial) (1997)
Televisions: 9.2 million (1992 est.)
Transportation
Railways:
total: 38,563 km (2,914 km electrified)
broad gauge: 6,083 km 1.600-m gauge
standard gauge: 16,752 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 15,728 km 1.067-m gauge
dual gauge: 172 km NA gauges
Highways:
total: 913,000 km
paved: 353,331 km (including 13,630 km of expressways)
unpaved: 559,669 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: 8,368 km; mainly by small, shallow-draft craft
Pipelines: crude oil 2,500 km; petroleum products 500 km; natural
gas 5,600 km
Ports and harbors: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport
(Tasmania), Fremantle, Geelong, Hobart (Tasmania), Launceston
(Tasmania), Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville
Merchant marine:
total: 57 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,767,387 GRT/2,426,710
DWT
ships by type: bulk 29, cargo 3, chemical tanker 4, container 4,
liquefied gas tanker 4, oil tanker 8, passenger 1, roll-on/roll-off
cargo 4 (1998 est.)
Airports: 408 (1998 est.)
Airports—with paved runways: total: 262 over 3,047 m: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 11 1,524 to 2,437 m: 112 914 to 1,523 m: 120 under 914 m: 8 (1998 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways: total: 146 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 114 under 914 m: 13 (1998 est.)
Military
Military branches: Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy, Royal
Australian Air Force
Military manpower—military age: 17 years of age
Military manpower—availability:
males age 15–49: 4,882,693 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—fit for military service:
males age 15–49: 4,212,272 (1999 est.)
Military manpower—reaching military age annually:
males: 130,570 (1999 est.)
Military expenditures—dollar figure: $6.9 billion (FY97/98)
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 1.9% (FY97/98)
Transnational Issues
Disputes—international: territorial claim in Antarctica
(Australian Antarctic Territory)
Illicit drugs: Tasmania is one of the world's major suppliers of licit opiate products; government maintains strict controls over areas of opium poppy cultivation and output of poppy straw concentrate
======================================================================
@Austria———
Introduction
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. After the annexation to Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent occupation by the victorious Allied powers, Austria's 1955 State Treaty declared the country "permanently neutral" as a condition of the Soviet military withdrawal. The Soviet collapse relieved the external pressure to remain unaligned, but neutrality had evolved into a part of Austrian cultural identity, which has led to an ongoing public debate over whether Vienna legitimately can remain outside of European security structures. A wealthy country, Austria joined the European Union in 1995 and, like many EU members, is adjusting to the new European currency and struggling with high unemployment.
Geography
Location: Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia
Geographic coordinates: 47 20 N, 13 20 E
Map references: Europe
Area:
total: 83,858 sq km
land: 82,738 sq km
water: 1,120 sq km
Area—comparative: slightly smaller than Maine
Land boundaries:
total: 2,562 km
border countries: 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 highest point: Grossglockner 3,797 m
Natural resources: iron ore, oil, timber, magnesite, lead, coal,
lignite, copper, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 17%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 23%
forests and woodland: 39%
other: 20% (1996 est.)
Irrigated land: 40 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
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
Environment—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
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol
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
People
Population: 8,139,299 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 17%