chief of mission: Ambassador Helmut TUERK
chancery: 3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008–3035
telephone: [1] (202) 895–6700
FAX: [1] (202) 895–6750
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Swanee G. HUNT
chancery: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1091, Vienna
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [43] (1) 313–39
FAX: [43] (1) 310–0682
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red
Economy———
Economic overview: Austria has a well-developed market economy with a sizable - but falling - proportion of nationalized industry, an extensive social system, and a high standard of living. Austria's economy is closely integrated with Germany and other EU members - Austria joined the EU on 1 January 1995. Since the early 1980s, the Austrian economy has experienced stable growth. Following a mild recession in 1993, Austria's economy - driven by strong exports, investment, and private consumption - expanded 2.7% in 1994 and about 2.4% in 1995. The slowdown in 1995 was largely due to an appreciation of the Austrian schilling and its negative effect on exports and tourism. EU membership has had a positive impact on foreign investment and has helped to lower inflation. Despite Austria's generally favorable economic prospects, the government faces a number of economic challenges, especially budget consolidation. Smaller than expected revenues and rising welfare payments caused the budget deficit to climb to 7.1% of GDP in 1995. Austria also faces a growing unemployment problem. Although low by European standards, Austria's unemployment rate has risen gradually during the 1990s as companies restructured to meet competition from the EU single market and Eastern Europe.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $152 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate: 2.4% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $19,000 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector: agriculture: 2% industry: 34% services: 64% (1994)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.3% (1995 est.)
Labor force: 3.47 million (1989) by occupation: services 56.4%, industry and crafts 35.4%, agriculture and forestry 8.1% note: an estimated 200,000 Austrians are employed in other European countries; foreign laborers in Austria number 177,840, about 5% of labor force (1988)
Unemployment rate: 4.6% (1995 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $65 billion
expenditures: $75.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1995 est.)
Industries: food, iron and steel, machines, textiles, chemicals,
electrical, paper and pulp, tourism, mining, motor vehicles
Industrial production growth rate: 7.7% (first half 1995)
Electricity: capacity: 17,230,000 kW production: 50.2 billion kWh consumption per capita: 5,824 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: grains, fruit, potatoes, sugar beets; cattle, pigs,
poultry; sawn wood
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin
transiting the Balkan route and Eastern Europe
Exports: $45.2 billion (1994)
commodities: machinery and equipment, iron and steel, lumber,
textiles, paper products, chemicals
partners: EU 64.8% (Germany 38.1%, Italy 8.1%), Eastern Europe
11.8%, Japan 1.6%, US 3.5% (1994)
Imports: $55.3 billion (1994)
commodities: petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment,
vehicles, chemicals, textiles and clothing, pharmaceuticals
partners: EU 68.4% (Germany 40%, Italy 8.8%), Eastern Europe 6.55%,
Japan 4.3%, US 4.4% (1994)
External debt: $28.7 billion (1995 est.)
Economic aid: donor: ODA, $544 million (1993)
Currency: 1 Austrian schilling (S) = 100 groschen
Exchange rates: Austrian schillings (S) per US$1 - 10.314 (January 1996), 10.081 (1995), 11.422 (1994), 11.632 (1993), 10.989 (1992), 11.676 (1991)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation———————
Railways:
total: 5,624 km
standard gauge: 5,269 km 1.435-m gauge (3,263 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 355 km 1.000-m and 0.760-m gauge (86 km electrified)
(1995)
Highways:
total: 108,000 km
paved: 22,000 km (including 1,800 km of expressways)
unpaved: 86,000 km (1992 est.)
Waterways: 446 km
Pipelines: crude oil 554 km; petroleum products 171 km; natural gas 2,611 km
Ports: Linz, Vienna
Merchant marine:
total: 29 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 88,617 GRT/122,475 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 23, combination bulk 2, container 1,
refrigerated cargo 2 (1995 est.)
Airports:
total: 55
with paved runways over 3 047 m: 1
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 5
with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 3
with paved runways under 914 m: 41
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 4 (1995 est.)
Heliports: 1 (1995 est.)
Communications———————
Telephones: 3.47 million (1986 est.)
Telephone system:
domestic: highly developed and efficient
international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic
Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 2 Eutelsat
Radio broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 21 (repeaters 545), shortwave 0
Radios: NA
Television broadcast stations: 47 (repeaters 870)
Televisions: 2,418,584 (1984 est.)
Defense———
Branches: Army (includes Flying Division)
Manpower availability: males age 15–49: 2,084,827 males fit for military service: 1,741,068 males reach military age (19) annually: 45,628 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $2.1 billion, 1.0% of GDP (1995)
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@Azerbaijan—————
Azerbaijan continues to be plagued by an unresolved eight-year-old conflict with Armenian separatists over its Nagorno-Karabakh region. The Karabakh Armenians have declared independence and seized almost 20% of the country's territory, creating almost 1 million Azeri refugees in the process. Both sides have generally observed a Russian-mediated cease-fire in place since May 1994, and support the OSCE-mediated peace process,