Economy - overview:
Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard
of living, is closely tied to other EU economies, especially
Germany's. Membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign
investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European
market and proximity to EU aspirant economies. Slowing growth in
Germany and elsewhere in the world held the economy to only 1.2%
growth in 2001, 0.6% in 2002, and 0.8% in 2003.. To meet increased
competition from both EU 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.
A key issue is the encouragement of much greater participation in
the labor market by its ageing population.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $227.7 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
1.1% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $27,900 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2%
industry: 33%
services: 65% (2002 est.)
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 22.5% (1995)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
31 (1995)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.8% (2002 est.)
Labor force:
4.3 million (2001)
Labor force - by occupation:
services 67%, industry and crafts 29%, agriculture and forestry 4%
(2001 est.)
Unemployment rate:
4.8% (2002 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $53 billion
expenditures: $54 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(2001 est.)
Industries:
construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, chemicals,
lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications
equipment, tourism
Industrial production growth rate:
3.8% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production:
58.75 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 29.3%
hydro: 67.2%
other: 3.5% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
54.85 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
14.25 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
14.47 billion kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
20,670 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
262,400 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
35,470 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - imports:
262,000 bbl/day (2001)
Oil - proved reserves:
85.69 million bbl (37257)
Natural gas - production:
1.731 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
7.81 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
403 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
6.033 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
24.9 billion cu m (37257)
Agriculture - products:
grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle,
pigs, poultry; lumber
Exports:
$70 billion f.o.b. (2001)
Exports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and
paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel; textiles,
foodstuffs
Exports - partners:
Germany 31.5%, Italy 9.3%, Switzerland 5.4%, US 4.9%, UK 4.9%,
France 4.7%, Hungary 4.3% (2002)
Imports:
$74 billion c.i.f. (2001)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods,
oil and oil products; foodstuffs
Imports - partners:
Germany 42.6%, Italy 6.6%, Hungary 5.1%, Switzerland 4.8%,
Netherlands 4.4% (2002)
Debt - external:
$12.1 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $410 million (2000)
Currency:
euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the
euro as a common currency to be used by the financial institutions
of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole
currency for everyday transactions within the member countries
Currency code:
EUR
Exchange rates:
euros per US dollar - 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94
(1999), 12.38 (1998)
Fiscal year:
calendar year