chief of mission: Ambassador Kathryn Walt HALL
embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1091, Vienna
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: (1) 313-39
FAX: (1) 310-0682

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white,
and red

@Austria:Economy

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.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $190.6 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 2% (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $23,400 (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 1.3%
industry: 32.4%
services: 66.3% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.5% (1999)

Labor force: 3.7 million (1999)

Labor force - by occupation: services 68%, industry and crafts 29%,
agriculture and forestry 3% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate: 4.4% (1999)

Budget:
revenues: $54 billion
expenditures: $59.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1999 est.)

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)

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)

Agriculture