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. Through privatization efforts, the 1996-98 budget consolidation programs, and austerity measures, Austria has brought its total public sector deficit down to 2.1% of GDP in 1999 and public debt - at 63.1% of GDP in 1998 - more or less in line with the 60% of GDP required by the EMU's Maastricht criteria. Cuts mainly have affected the civil service and Austria's generous social benefit system, the two major causes of the government's deficit. To meet increased competition from both EU and Central European countries, Austria will need to emphasize knowledge-based sectors of the economy and deregulate the service sector. Growth, which slowed to 2.0% in 1999, probably will rebound to 2.8% in both 2000 and 2001.
Agriculture Products
grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber
Industries
construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism (1997)
Industrial Production Growth Rate
2.3% (1999)
Labor Force
3.7 million (1999)
Electricity production
56.066 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity production by source
Fossil fuel: 31.46%
Hydro: 65.92%
Nuclear: 0%
Other: 2.62% (1998)
Electricity Consumption
51.891 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity Exports
10.5 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity Imports
10.25 billion kWh (1998)
Economic Aid - Donor
ODA, $452 million (1998)
Currency
1 Austrian schilling (AS) = 100 groschen
Unemployment Rate
4.4% (1999)
Population Below Poverty Line
NA%
Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share
Budget
Revenues: $54 billion
Expenditures: $59.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)
Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate
Market Value of Publicly Traded Shares
Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold
Debt External
$31.7 billion (1998)
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment at Home
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment Abroad
Exchange Rates
Note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in some member countries at a fixed rate of 13.7603 Austrian shillings per euro; the euro will replace the local currency in consenting countries for all transactions in 2002
