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- Economy
-
- Overview: Austria boasts a prosperous and stable capitalist
- economy with a sizable proportion of nationalized industry
- and extensive welfare benefits. Thanks to an excellent raw
- material endowment, a technically skilled labor force, and
- strong links with West German industrial firms, Austria
- has successfully occupied specialized niches in European
- industry and services (tourism, banking) and produces almost
- enough food to feed itself with only 8% of the labor force
- in agriculture. Living standards are roughly comparable
- with the large industrial countries of Western Europe.
- Problems for the l990s include an aging population and the
- struggle to keep welfare benefits within budget capabilities.
-
- GDP: $103.2 billion, per capita $13,600; real growth rate 4.2%
- (1989 est.).
-
- Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.7% (1989).
-
- Unemployment: 4.8% (1989).
-
- Budget: revenues $34.2 billion; expenditures $39.5 billion,
- including capital expenditures of NA (1988).
-
- Exports: $31.2 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--machinery
- and equipment, iron and steel, lumber, textiles, paper products,
- chemicals; partners--FRG 35%, Italy 10%, Eastern Europe 9%,
- Switzerland 7%, US 4%, OPEC 3%.
-
- Imports: $37.9 billion (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--petroleum,
- foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, vehicles, chemicals,
- textiles and clothing, pharmaceuticals; partners--FRG 44%,
- Italy 9%, Eastern Europe 6%, Switzerland 5%, US 4%, USSR 2%.
-
- External debt: $12.4 billion (December 1987).
-
- Industrial production: growth rate 5.8% (1989 est.).
-
- Electricity: 17,562,000 kW capacity; 49,290 million kWh
- produced, 6,500 kWh per capita (1989).
-
- Industries: foods, iron and steel, machines, textiles, chemicals,
- electrical, paper and pulp, tourism, mining.
-
- Agriculture: accounts for 4% of GDP (including forestry);
- principal crops and animals--grains, fruit, potatoes, sugar
- beets, sawn wood, cattle, pigs poultry; 80-90% self-sufficient
- in food.
-
- Aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-87), $1.7 billion.
-
- Currency: Austrian schilling (plural--schillings); 1 Austrian
- schilling (S) = 100 groschen.
-
- Exchange rates: Austrian schillings (S) per US$1--11.907
- (January 1990), 13.231 (1989), 12.348 (1988), 12.643 (1987),
- 15.267 (1986), 20.690 (1985).
-
- Fiscal year: calendar year.
-