Austria Economy – Yahoo! Education

Austria Economy:

Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard of living, is closely tied to other EU economies, especially Germany's. The economy features up-to-date industrial and agricultural sectors. Timber is a key industry, 47% of the land area being forested. Membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European market and proximity to the new EU economies. Slow growth in Europe has held the economy to 0.7% growth in 2001, 1.4% in 2002, 0.8% in 2003, and 1.9% in 2004. To meet increased competition from both EU and Central European countries, particularly the new EU members, Austria will need to emphasize knowledge-based sectors of the economy, continue to deregulate the service sector, and encourage much greater participation in the labor market by its aging population. The aging phenomenon, together with already high health and pension costs, poses fundamental problems in tax and welfare policies.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$255.9 billion (2004 est.)

GDP — real growth rate:
1.9% (2004 est.)

GDP — per capita:
purchasing power parity: $31,300 (2004 est.)

GDP — composition by sector:
agriculture: 2.3%
industry: 30.8%
services: 66.9%
(2004)

Labor force:
3.45 million (2004 est.)

Labor force — by occupation:
agriculture and forestry: 4%, industry and crafts: 29%, services: 67% (2001 est.)

Unemployment rate:
4.4% (2004 est.)

Population below poverty line:
3.9% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 22.5% (1995)

Distribution of family income — Gini index:
31 (1995 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.8% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixex):
22.6% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $142.5 billion (2004 est.)
expenditures: $146.4 billion including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Public debt:
64.2% of GDP (2004 est.)

Agriculture — products:
Grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber

Industries:
construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, metals, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism

Industrial production growth rate:
3.3% (2004 est.)

Electricity — production:
58.49 billion kWh (2002 est.)

Electricity — consumption:
55.09 billion kWh (2002 est.)

Electricity — exports:
14.7 billion kWh (2002 est.)

Electricity — imports:
15.4 billion kWh (2002 est.)

Oil — production:
20,670 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil — consumption:
262,400 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil — exports:
35,470 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil — imports:
262,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil — proved reserves:
85.69 million bbl (1 January 2002 est.)

Natural gas — production:
1.73 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:
6.03 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas — proved reserves:
24.9 billion cu m (1 January 2002 est.)

Current account balance:
$-3.28 billion (2004 est.)

Exports:
$102.7 billion (f.o.b. 2004 est.)

Exports — commodities:
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs

Exports — partners:
Germany 32%, Italy 8.9%, US 6%, Switzerland 4.8%, UK 4.2%, France 4.2% (2004)

Imports:
$101.2 billion (f.o.b. 2004 est.)

Imports — commodities:
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products, foodstuffs

Imports — partners:
Germany 46.3%, Italy 6.8%, Switzerland 4.3%, (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$12.73 billion (2003 est.)

Debt — external:
$15.5 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid — donor:
$520 million ODA (2002 est.)

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; as of 1 January 2002, the euro became the only legal tender in EMU member countries, including Austria

Exchange rates:
euro per US$: 0.81 (2004 est.), 0.89 (2003 est.), 1.06 (2002 est.), 1.12 (2001 est.), 1.09 (2000 est.)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

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Austria Economy: