Austria Economy - 2005

Economy - overview:
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 est.)

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)

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% (2004 est.)

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

Budget:
revenues: $142.5 billion
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)

Electricity - consumption:
55.09 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
14.7 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
15.4 billion kWh (2002)

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 (1 January 2002)

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 (1 January 2002)

Current account balance:
$-3.283 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 31.4%, Italy 9%, US 6%, Switzerland 4.8%, UK 4.4%, 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 45.9%, Italy 6.7%, Switzerland 4.3% (2004)

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

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

Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $520 million (2002)

Currency (code):
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:
euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000)