Austria Country Report

8/6/2019 Austria Country Report

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Management of International Projects

International Business Environment

COUNTRY REPORT

-AUSTRIA

Team :

Iulia-Claudia Bugean

Sergiu Dragan

Alexandru Busca

Mihai-Alexandru Sirbu

Bucharest, 2011


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Austria Country report

Chapter 1

Presentation of the country. demographic trends, Human Development Index, transport and

telecommunication network

Austria is a small country located in Central Europe with a population of 8.3 million. It bordersboth Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italyto the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due tothe presence of the Alps. Therefore the country is influenced by a temperate and alpine climate. Theterritory of Austria covers 83,871 sq km (8,4 million ha). According to the Austrian forest inventory(1986/90) 3,9 million ha, nearly 50 percent of Austria, is forest. Famous for its spectacular mountainscenery, Austria is no longer the dominant political force it was in Central Europe under the Habsburgdynasty which ruled until the first world war. However, its position at the geographical heart of Europe onthe key Danube trade route enhances its strategic importance.

Austria is divided into 9 states,wich are divided into districts and statutory cities. Districts are

subdivided into municipalities . Statutory Cities have the competencies otherwise granted to both districtsand municipalities. The states are not mere administrative divisions but have some legislative authoritydistinct from the federal government, e.g. in matters of culture, social care, youth and nature protection,hunting, building, and zoning ordinances. In recent years, it has been discussed whether today it isappropriate for a small country to maintain ten parliaments.

States

Burgenland : capital - Eisenstadt, area - 3,966 km, population - 280,350;Vorarlberg : capital - Bregenz , area - 2,601 km, population - 364,611;Salzburg : capital - Salzburg, area - 7,154 km, population - 529,085;Carinthia : capital - Klagenfurt, area - 9,536 km, population - 560,753;

Tyrol : capital - Innsbruck, area - 12,648 km, population - 698,472;Styria : capital - Graz, area - 16,392 km, population - 1,203,986;Upper Austria : capital - Linz, area - 11,980 km, population - 1,405,986;Lower Austria : capital - St.Polten, area - 19,174 km, population - 1,588,545;Vienna : capital- Vienna, area - 414.90 km, population - 1,660,534.

The capital, Vienna, is home to key international organisations, including the Organisation forSecurity and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Opec,the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Vienna has a population of about 1.7 million and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th-largest city by population in the European Union. The currency in Austria is Euro that was introduced asan accounting currency on 1 January 1999, and euro coins and banknotes entered circulation on 1 January

2002. As a preparation for this date, the minting of the new euro coins started as early as 1999, howeverall Austrian euro coins introduced in 2002 have this year on it; unlike other countries of the Eurozonewhere mint year is minted in the coin.The Central Bank is Austrian National Bank and its InternationalReserves are US$ 21.244 billion (Source: IMF; Data updated: November 2010). Before adopting the Euroin 2002 Austria had maintained use of the Austrian schilling which was first established in December1924. The Schilling was abolished in the wake of the Anschluss in 1938 and was reintroduced after theend of the World War II in November 1945.


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Politics

Austria is a Federal Republic that is run by The Head of State(the Federal President) and theGovernment(the federal parliament).

The Federal President is elected by direct popular vote for a term of six years, renewable once.The current incumbent, President Heinz Fischer, former SP Speaker of Parliament, was electedpresident on 25 April 2004 and sworn in on 8 July 2004. He succeeded the late Thomas Klestil, who hadserved as president since 1992. Fischer was re-elected in April 2010 with 79.3% of the vote in a largelyone-sided competition against the FP candidate Barbara Rosenkranz. Fischers election was sworn in forhis second term on 8 July 2010.

The Federal Parliament consists of two chambers: the Nationalrat and the Bundesrat.Members are directly elected to the Nationalrat for a five-year term. This follows electoral reform, whichextended the term from four years, with effect from the last general election (28 September 2008). Thereforms also lowered the voting age from 18 to 16 years. Members of the Bundesrat are elected by the

provincial assemblies for a five-year term (with the exception of the province of Upper Austria, wherethey are elected for a six-year term).Austrias government is a so-called Grand Coalition, between the Social Democratic Party

(Sozialdemokratische Partei sterreichs, SP) and the conservative Peoples Party (sterreichischeVolkspartei, VP). Werner Faymann (SP) is the Chancellor, and Josef Prll (VP) the Vice Chancellor(and Finance Minister).

Languages&Religions

The official language in Austria is german, is spoken by 88.6% followed by Turkish 2.3%,Serbian 2.2%, Croatian (official in Burgenland) 1.6%, other (includes Slovene, official in Carinthia, andHungarian, official in Burgenland) 5.3% . According to census information published by Statistik Austria

there were a total of 710,926 foreign nationals living in Austria. Of these, 124,392 speak German as theirmother tongue (mainly immigrants from Germany, some from Switzerland and South Tyrol, Italy). Thenext largest populations of linguistic and ethnic groups are 283,334 foreign nationals from the formerYugoslavia (of whom 135,376 speak Serbian; 105,487 Croatian; 31.551 Bosnian; 6,902 Slovenian and4,018 Macedonian); 123,417 speak Turkish; 25,155 English; 24,446 Albanian; 17,899 Polish; 14,699Hungarian; 12,216 Romanian; 7,982 Arabic; 6,891 Slovak; 6,707 Czech; 5,916 Persian; 5,677 Italian;5,466 Russian; 5,213 French; 4,938 Chinese; 4,264 Spanish; 3,503 Bulgarian.

Because it has a large number of immigrants ,religion is varied the majority are Roman Catholic(5,662,782 members, or 68.5% of the total Austrian population,according to the Austrian Roman CatholicChurch),the rest are Lutherans,Muslim,Jewish and about 12% of the population declared that they haveno religion.

YEAR POPULATION CATHOLICS PERCENTAGE LUTHERANS PERCENTAGE

2001 8,032,926 5,915,421 73.6% 376,150 4.7%

2005 8,250,000 5,662,782 68.5% - -

2008 8,350,000 5,579,493 66.8% 328,346 3.9%


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Demographic indicators 2005-2008

INDICATOR 2005 2008

Birth rate(number of live births per 1,000 total Population) 9.5 9.3

Total fertility rate (births per woman) 1.41 1.41 Net reproduction rate 0.68 0.68Mean age of fertility

all births 29.0 29.5first births 27.3 27.8Death rate (number of deaths per 1,000 total population) 9.1 9.0Life expectancy at birth (years)

males 76.6 77.6females 82.2 83.0Infant mortality rate (number of infant deathsper 1,000 live births)

4.2 3.7

Perinatal mortality rate (number of still birthsand infant deaths in the first week of life per1,000 live births)

5.9 5.4

Marriage rate (number of marriages per 1,000total population)

4.8 4.2

Median age at first marriage

males 30.9 31.7females 28.1 28.9Total divorce rate (%) 46.4 47.8

Transport

Austria is a country extremely developed in transportation;it has various ways to travel thru thecountry or across it.

Ways of transportationRoad :

The Austrians are known to be a car-loving nation. As a result, Austria boasts an excellent roadnetwork. However, almost all of the bigger cities suffer from severe parking availability problems. Spacesare scarce and prohibitively expensive.

Austria has 26 motorways with a total of 200.000km (100% paved, including 1700 km ofexpressways). Austria has 17 Autobahnen(expressways) with a total length of 1,699 km, built and

maintained by the ASFINAG Company held by the Republic. Each route bears a number as well as anofficial name with local reference not displayed on road signs. Unusually for European countries,interchanges are numbered by distance in kilometres starting from where the route begins; thisarrangement is also used in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Spain, and most provinces of Canada (and inmost American states, albeit in miles). The system is going to be expanded; one Autobahn is currentlyunder construction, and two more are planned. In spite of Austria's relatively low population density, themotorway density per capita is the highest in Europe, possibly due to its location in the centre of thecontinent. The West Autobahn or A1 was the first motorway to be built in Austria originating from plans


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drawn up for the so-called Reichsautobahn system. Today it runs from Vienna via Linz to Salzburg.

Rail:

The deregulation measures implemented within the European Union and the resulting statutoryand organisational changes in the rail sector strongly influence the development of rail transport inAustria. The railway network consists of 6,123 km, its gauge is 1,435 mm (Standard gauge) and 3,523 kmare electrified and is mainly owned by the national rail company BB. Austrian network, out of the principal rail system, also counts some funiculars, rack railways and lot of heritage railways mainlyderived from part of disused lines. Some secodary lines have a narrow gauge.The principal rail system inAustria is divided in two:rail freight transport and rail passenger transport. In rail freight transport, a total

of 98.9 million tons of freight was transported on Austrias railway network in 2008 by all domestic andforeign railway operating companies.

The breakdown by modes of transport was as follows: inland transport, 35.0 million tons;international goods receipt, 27.5 million tons; international goods dispatch, 16.5 million tons and transit,20.0 million tons. In passenger transport a total of 239.7 (2008: 238.9) million passengers weretransported on the rail network on Austrias federal territory by domestic and foreign railway companiesin the year 2009. This represents a rise of 0.3% compared to the preceding year. The share of all foreignrailway operating companies, which transported a total of 1.9 million passengers (2008: 1.7million),cumulated to 0.8% (2008: 0.7%). The transport performance in passenger transport decreased by0.2 billion passenger kilometres or 1.7% to 10.7 billion passenger kilometres whereof 0.5% (2008: 0.6%)was conducted by foreign rail operating companies.

Aviation:

The survey scope of civil aviation in Austria covers commercial aviation (scheduled and non-scheduled transport) and general aviation. The results provide an insight into the developments in civilaviation in Austria, which represents an important economic factor. If one takes into account all theenterprises involved in providing civil aviation services, including all the upstream and downstreamstages, the relevant driving forces for employment and local value added can be determined. The stock ofcivil aircraft in 2009 with a total number of 1 597 (2008: 1 559) represented a rise of 2.4% compared to


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the previous year. With the exception of microlights and motor gliders a constant or increasing stock in allsections of general aviation was noted. In commercial air transport (scheduled and non-scheduledservices) there was an overall increase.

Weight category A: single-engine up to 2 000 kg.Weight category B: single-engine from 2 000 kg to 5 700 kg; from 2007: single-engine with more than 2

000 kg to 5 700 kg.Weight category C: multi-engine up to 5 700 kg.Weight category D: single- and multi-engine from 5 700 kg to 14 000 kg; from 2007: single- and multi-engine with more than 5 700 kg to 14 000 kg.Weight category E: multi-engine from 14 000 kg to 20 000 kg; from 2007: multi-engine with more than14 000 kg to 20 000 kg.Weight category F: multi-engine with more than 20 000 kg.S: AUSTRO CONTROL; as of 2005 for microlights AUSTRIAN AEROCLUB. Compiled on 18 Mai2010.

Freight and postal transport

Within 317 534 flight movements in commercial aviation (scheduled and non-scheduledtransport), which were reported in 2009, a decrease of 9.1% compared to the preceding year, a total of209 200 tons (t) (-2.6%) of freight and 12 707 t (-11.2%) of mail were transported via the six Austrianinternational airports (including transit).

Air passenger transport: In commercial aviation (scheduled and non-scheduled transport) in 2009,almost 22.7 million air passengers (including transit), which was a decrease of about 2.1 million passengers or 8.5% compared with 2008, were transported by a total of 317 534 (-8.3%) flightmovements at Austrias six airports. Scheduled airline services accounted for 20.7 million or 91.2% of air passengers, which was a decline of 7.8%, while non-scheduled airline services recorded around2.0 million passengers (a share of 8.8%), which was a drop of 15% compared with the previous year.

Austria has 55 airports and two heliport. Most airports in the country have short, unpavedrunways and only one airport has paved runways longer than 10,000 feet.

Inland waterway

Inland waterway transport is widely regarded as an eco-friendly mode of transporting especiallylarge volumes of freight. The inland waterway survey covers the transport performance of domestic and

earsAircraft Weight categories

Hydroplanes Gyroplanes MicrolightsMotor

gliders

Powered aircraft

owned by the

Austrian federation

A B C D E F Aircraft Helicopters

005 598 7 74 56 24 122 - 124 96 220 2 17008 621 9 144 91 37 180 1 147 107 199 2 21


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foreign vessels transporting freight on the Danube waterway, which links Austria with the Europeanwaterway network.Austria has 4 ports(Enns,Krems,Linz,Vienna) and all access the Danube.

Telecommunications

Austria has a highly developed and efficient telephone network, and has a number of radio andtelevision broadcast stations. Telekom Austria dominates the fixed-line, mobile and broadband sectorsthrough ownership of the countrys most extensive last-mile infrastructure (which has allowed it toprogressively roll out double-, triple- and quadruple-play services); its highly-visible brand; and its abilityto compete aggressively for new customers through attractive price promotions and retail marketingoffers. The mobile and broadband sectors exhibit the strongest potential for growth, despite the fact that,at 121% at the end of 2007, mobile penetration was among the highest in Western Europe. In addition,delays in getting operators to agree interconnection and access agreements may have historicallydampened growth potential in the broadband sector. There were 9.948mn mobile subscribers at the end ofMarch 2008, served by four network operators and four service providers/resellers. This represented ayear-on-year (yo- y) increase of 5.1% and a quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) improvement of 1.6%.The 3Gmobile services demand is strong, and there were 2.465mn active 3G SIM cards at the end of 2007.Internet in Austria is typically received over DSL and cable. However, mobile services employing

UMTS/HSDPA are rapidly gaining ground due to fierce market competition. SDSL and mobile phoneaccess is also available. The uptake of mobile broadband services is reflected by the high penetration of broadband in general.There were 2.208mn fixed and mobile broadband users in Austria at the end of2007, yielding a penetration rate of almost 27%.Clearly, the market is being driven by the use of mobilebroadband services but is being held back by problems in getting alternative operators to quickly agreenetwork interconnection and access agreements with the incumbent. The main ISP's in Austria are:Telekom Austria(internet,voice telephony,data communications)UPC(cable access and DSL)andKabelsignal(cable services). Austrias telecommunications market is characterised by intensecompetition, which in recent years has caused a substantial decrease in prices for voice and data traffic,the declining wireline sector and the ever-growing mobile sector. The mobile market is witnessing acombination of increased subscribers and lower tariffs; the proportion of data services is rising and theintroduction of flat tariffs is proving to be catalyst for sector development. The broadband sector is

rapidly growing in comparison, with narrowband having a lower rate of penetration and becoming lessrelevant. Increased use of mobile broadband is demonstrating good prospects for further development ofthis sector.


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Chapter 2

The macroeconomic environment andthe results of the economic development of Austria

General description of the Austrian economic environmentAustria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard of living, is closely tied to other EUeconomies, especially Germany's. Its economy features a large service sector, a sound industrial sector,

and a small, but highly developed agricultural sector. Following several years of solid foreign demand forAustrian exports and record employment growth, the international financial crisis and global economic

downturn in 2008 led to a sharp but brief recession. Austrian GDP contracted 3.9% in 2009 but sawpositive growth of about 2% in 2010. Unemployment has not risen as steeply in Austria as elsewhere inEurope, partly because its government has subsidized reduced working hour schemes to allow companiesto retain employees. Stabilization measures, stimulus spending, and an income tax reform pushed the

budget deficit to 3.5% of GDP in 2009 and 4.7% in 2010, from only about 1.3% in 2008. Theinternational financial crisis caused difficulties for Austria's largest banks whose extensive operations in

central, eastern, and southeastern Europe faced large losses. The government provided bank support -including in some instances, nationalization - to prevent insolvency and possible contagion. In the

medium-term all large Austrian banks will need additional capital. Even after the global economic

outlook improves, Austria will need to continue restructuring, emphasize knowledge-based sectors of theeconomy, and encourage greater labor flexibility and labor participation to offset growing unemployment

and Austria's aging population and low fertility rate. (Source:http://www.indexmundi.com/austria/economy_overview.html)

Economic growth indicators

1. GDP at constant prices (billions of US dollars)

year GDP

2005 243.585

2006 252.350

2007 261.762

2008 267.465

Gross domestic product (GDP)at constant prices refers to thevolume level of GDP. Constantprice estimates of GDP are obtained by expressing values in terms of a base period. During the studiedperiod, we can notice an increase in Austrias GDP.


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2. GDP/capita (US dollars)

Year GDP/capitaPercentchange

2005 33897.444 4.98 %

2006 36073.984 6.42 %2007 38367.54 6.36 %

2008 39889.113 3.97 %

We can use the values of GDP/capita in order to compare Austria to the other countries:

3. Real growth rate of GDP (percent changes)

Year GDPPercentchange

2005 2.46 -3.34 %

2006 3.599 46.30 %

2007 3.729 3.61 %

2008 2.179 -41.57 %

Using the real growth rate of the GDP, we can analyze the economic development of a country. Studyingthe data above, we notice that between 2005 and 2008 there was a constant increase in the GDP, while in2008 it dropped.


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Even if this analysis is focused on 2005 and 2008, we must notice the sudden drop in GDP from2009, when the Austrian Economy was seriously affected by the financial crisis.

4. Gross fixed capital formation as % of GDP or investment ratio.

YearGross capital formation (% ofGDP)

2005 22,54305864

2006 22,31801914

2007 23,16122708

2008 23,17850144

This indicator is defined as total gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) expressed as a

percentage of GDP, for the private sector. GFCF consists of resident producers' acquisitions, less

disposals, of fixed tangible or intangible assets, such as buildings, machinery and equipment, vehicles, or

software. It also includes certain additions to the value of non-produced assets realized by productive

activity, such as improvements to land. The ratio gives the share of GDP that is used by the private

sector for investment (rather than being used for e.g. consumption). Analyzing the data provided above,

we notice that the share of GDP used for investments has increased between 2005 and 2008.


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5. GDP by origin

Studying the GDP by origin, we can see that

69% comes from the tertiary sector, which is

a characteristic of the developed countries.


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6. Expenditures on GDP

7. Ten Economic Freedoms of Austria

BusinessFreedom 72.8

InvestmentFreedom 80.0

TradeFreedom 87.6

FinancialFreedom 70.0

FiscalFreedom 50.3

PropertyRights 90.0

GovernmentSpending 28.0

Fdm. fromCorruption 79.0

MonetaryFreedom 82.9

LaborFreedom 78.2

Austrias economic freedom score is 71.9, making its economy the 21st freest in the 2011Index. Its score is 0.3 point better than last year. Austria is ranked 10th out of 43 countries in theEurope region, and its overall score is well above the regional and world averages.


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Austrias international orientation and tradition of strong property rights are the backboneof its economic growth. The government has streamlined time-consuming regulations, and acomprehensive legal framework promotes competition. Foreign investment requirements are notparticularly stringent, and the financial market facilitates entrepreneurial activity. The corporatetax regime is competitive, although individuals still face high tax rates and an onerous overall tax

burden.

Business Freedom 72.8

Austrias overall regulatory framework encourages business innovation and productivitygrowth. Lingering barriers to market entry have been eased in wholesale and retail trade. Theadministrative cost of launching a business remains burdensome.

Trade Freedom 87.6

Austrias trade policy is the same as that of other members of the European Union. The

common EU weighted average tariff rate was 1.2 percent in 2009. However, the EU has high orescalating tariffs for agricultural and manufacturing products, and its MFN tariff code iscomplex. EU-wide non-tariff barriers include agricultural and manufacturing subsidies, quotas,import restrictions and bans on some goods and services, market access restrictions in someservices sectors, non-transparent and restrictive regulations and standards, and inconsistentregulatory and customs administration. There are additional restrictions on biotechnology andcertain service sectors. Ten points were deducted from Austrias trade freedom score to accountfor non-tariff barriers.

Fiscal Freedom50.3

Austria has a high income tax rate and a moderate corporate tax rate. The top income taxrate is 50 percent, and the top corporate tax rate is 25 percent. Other taxes include a value-addedtax (VAT), a tax on insurance contracts, and a tax on real estate transfers. In the most recentyear, overall tax revenue as a percentage of GDP was 42.9 percent.

Government Spending28.0

is high even in comparison to other European countries. In the most recent year, totalgovernment expenditures, including consumption and transfer payments, equaled 49 percent ofGDP. Stimulus spending drove public-sector debt to nearly 67 percent of GDP. Sustainability ofthe pension program and other social schemes is in jeopardy.

Monetary Freedom 82.9

Austria is a member of the euro zone. Inflation has been roughly in line with the euro areasaverage and is forecast to be 1.6 percent1.7 percent for 20102011. As a participant in the EUsCommon Agricultural Policy, the government subsidizes agricultural production, distorting the prices ofagricultural products. It also subsidizes rail transportation and operates some state-owned firms, utilities,and services. Ten points were deducted from Austrias monetary freedom score to account for measuresthat distort domestic prices.


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Investment Freedom80.0

For foreign investments, at least one manager must meet residency and other legalqualifications, and non-residents must appoint a representative in Austria. Foreign and domesticprivate enterprises may establish, acquire, and dispose of business interests, except in some

infrastructure areas, utilities, and a few state monopolies. Environmental restrictions are strict,and many industries fall under a greenhouse-gas emissions trading system. There are no controlsor requirements on current transfers, access to foreign exchange, or repatriation of profits. Realestate transactions are subject to approval by local authorities. Legal, regulatory, and accountingsystems are transparent, but bureaucracy can be cumbersome and unpredictable. Expropriation israre and requires special legal authorization.

Financial Freedom70.0

Austria has one of the worlds most competitive banking systems. Banks provide a widerange of credit and financial services, credit is allocated at market terms, and domestic and

foreign investors enjoy unrestricted access to capital markets. The five largest banking groupsaccount for around 60 percent of total assets. Financial regulations are consistent withinternational norms. Foreign exchange is fully liberalized, and there are no limitations on cross-border transactions. The government has responded to banks exposure to troubled assets inCentral and Eastern Europe with a deposit guarantee and capital injections. In December 2009,the government nationalized the Hypo Group Alpe Adria.

Property Rights90.0

Private property is very secure. Contractual agreements are enforced, and the protectionof intellectual property is well established. The rule of law is respected, and the judiciary is

independent.

Freedom From Corruption79.0

Corruption is perceived as minimal. Austria ranks 16th out of 180 countries inTransparency Internationals Corruption Perceptions Index for 2009. Bribery of an Austrian orforeign government official is subject to criminal penalties. In September 2009, the governmentamended and defined more precisely its criminal regulations against corruption to alleviate somemeasures viewed as too strict.

Labor Freedom78.2

Relatively flexible labor regulations facilitate employment and productivity growth.However, the non-salary cost of employing a worker remains high, and the cost of fringe benefitsper employee is among the EUs highest. There is no nationally mandated minimum wage.

(Source: The Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal)


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Chapter 3

The Austrian inflation rate during 2005-2008, the use of human resources and the social harmony

Austrian Inflation Rate

The inflation rate in Austria was last reported at 3 percent in February of 2011. From 1990 until 2010, theaverage inflation rate in Austria was 1.99 percent reaching an historical high of 4.00 percent in June of

2008 and a record low of -0.40 percent in July of 2009. Inflation rate refers to a general rise in pricesmeasured against a standard level of purchasing power. The most well known measures of Inflation are

the CPI which measures consumer prices, and the GDP deflator, which measures inflation in the whole of

the domestic economy. This page includes: Austria Inflation Rate chart, historical data and news.


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Austrian UnemploymentRate

The unemployment rate in Austria was last reported at 4.3 percent in January of 2011. From 1993

until 2010, Austria's Unemployment Rate averaged 4.26 percent reaching an historical high of 5.40 percent in May of 2005 and a record low of 3.40 percent in September of 2000. The labour force is

defined as the number of people employed plus the number unemployed but seeking work. The nonlabourforce includes those who are not looking for work, those who are institutionalised and those serving in themilitary. This page includes: Austria Unemployment Rate chart, historical data and news.

Statistics on the labour market initially provide information about labour force supply and demand.

Statistics on the labour force supply subdivide the population according to activity status (economically

actives, not economically actives). Results on employment and unemployment are for the most part

available according to two different definitions: the Labour Force Concept (ILO definition), which can be

used for international comparisons, and national definitions (employment that is subject to socialinsurance contributions and which is registered at the main social insurance organisation, or unemployed

persons who are registered at the Austrian Public Employment Service).


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-1) Employed persons according ILO-Definition (Labour-Force-Concept), without employed peopleliving in institutions and without conscripts and people oncommunity service. People on parental leave included as regards data on part-time (situation beforeparental leave), otherwise excluded. Data refer to mainjob unless otherwise stated.

- 2) Part-time rate: part-time employment as a proportion of total employment. Part-time accordinganswers to question on parttime.- 3) Volume of work in main and second job. - 4) Change in absolute numbers respecitvely in percentagepoints.

During the studied period, we can notice a decrease in the number of working hours, combinedwith an increase of the volume of work. This directly influences the economic results of the country, as it

is translated into a bigger added value.


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Average gross annual earnings in industry and services

Gross earnings are remuneration (wages and salaries) in cash paid directly to the employee,before any deductions for income tax and social security contributions paid by the employee. Data ispresented for full-time employees in "industry and services". We can notice an increase of the averagegross annual earnings during 2005-2008, as it follows:

The GINI index

Social stability (harmony) indicators:

1. Gini Coefficient or GiniIndex (the percentage expression of the respective coefficient)measuring the inequality of income distribution in a country;

The Gini index is a measure of income inequality. Zero means perfect equality (everyone has thesame income) and 100 means perfect inequality (one person has all the income, everyone else hasnothing).

By interpreting the GINI index for Austria, we can notice that the income is imperfectly

distributed. However, the values under 30 indicate a large dispersion of incomes and, therefore, alower social risk.

34500

35000

35500

36000

36500

37000

37500

38000

38500

39000

39500

2005 2006 2007 2008

EUR

24.5

25.0

25.5

26.0

26.5

2005 2006 2007 2008

GINI

GINI


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2005 2006 2007 2008

credit debit net credit debit net credit debit net credit debit

EUR million

Current account154313 149004 5309 170792 163534 7258 193124 183504 9620 199051 185294

goods96260 97306

-1047 106504 106173 331 118724 117426 1298 121511 122082

merchandise Exports and

Imports as Recorded in theForeign Trade Statistics

95086 96499

-

1413 103742 104201 -459 114680 114255 425 117525 119568 Cif/Fob-adjustment

0 -815 815 0 -797 797 0 -953 953 0 -996 other gap estimates

-2223 -1934 -289 137 104 34 210 157 53 588 170 repairs on goods

3398 3557 -159 2624 2665 -41 3834 3968 -134 3398 3341

services34012 24627 9385 36377 26658 9719 39640 28477 11163 43397 29148

transportation services 7347 6975 372 8184 8115 69 8804 8844 -40 10226 9320 by service of transport

international passengertransport 1796 1417 380 1889 1667 222 1845 1652 193 1835 1735 freight transport

4830 5017 -187 5447 5740 -293 6047 6553 -506 7433 6888

supporting and auxiliaryservices 721 541 180 848 708 140 912 638 273 958 697 by means of transport, of

which:sea transport

384 842 -458 464 966 -502 504 1011 -508 534 1095 air transport

2216 2068 148 2323 2421 -98 2330 2345 -15 2369 2476

rail transport859 1171 -312 967 1326 -359 1042 1403 -361 1035 1371

road transport3294 2565 729 3945 3009 936 4478 3597 881 5767 3825

inland waterway transport67 103 -36 60 154 -94 65 192 -127 82 231

travel12904 7506 5399 13255 7641 5614 13641 7699 5942 14677 7721

business travel2314 1564 750 2433 1564 868 2638 1642 995 2570 1593

expenditure by seasonaland border workers

295 92 203 295 93 202 359 116 243 400 106 other business travel

2019 1472 547 2138 1472 666 2279 1526 752 2170 1487

personal travel10590 5942 4648 10822 6077 4745 11003 6057 4946 12107 6128

health-related expenditure8 111 -104 8 110 -102 8 125 -116 10 89

education relatedexpenditure 282 77 205 282 74 207 308 83 224 384 93

other personal travel10301 5754 4547 10533 5893 4640 10687 5849 4838 11713 5946

communication services810 662 148 1128 898 229 1215 952 262 1199 909

of which telecommunication

services 607 510 97 772 686 87 813 743 70 820 700 construction services

795 680 114 772 612 160 1001 878 123 1167 1044 construction services abroad

754 486 268 768 214 554 995 455 540 1160 628 construction services in

Austria 41 195 -154 4 398 -394 6 423 -417 7 insurance services

772 615 158 600 872 -272 956 1250 -294 888 722 life insurance and pension

funding 67 98 -32 75 101 -26 85 120 -35 44 67 freight insurance

11 67 -56 11 72 -61 12 82 -70 5 90


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other direct insurance69 31 38 66 39 27 75 25 50 141 21

reinsurance600 401 199 420 641 -221 747 1005 -258 668 527

auxiliary services26 18 8 27 19 8 36 17 19 30 16

financial services741 599 142 636 487 148 1084 530 554 1072 500

computer and informationservices 1001 762 239 1195 858 337 1331 1054 277 1479 1191

of which computer services 892 603 288 1038 716 322 1144 842 302 1222 925 royalties and license fees

315 1080 -765 427 1053 -625 537 1072 -536 624 1100 franchises and similar rights

x x x 13 12 1 13 11 3 19 16 other royalities and license

fees 315 1080 -765 414 1040 -626 523 1062 -539 605 1084 other business services, ofwhich: 8825 5080 3744 9653 5403 4249 10436 5493 4943 11400 5905

merchanting2029 0 2029 2273 0 2273 2538 0 2538 2774 0

other trade-related services645 528 117 535 461 73 568 443 124 579 533

operational leasing312 148 164 331 151 179 326 171 155 334 170

legal accounting,

management and publicrelations services 701 505 195 671 581 90 666 611 55 658 617

legal servicesx x x 163 151 12 161 187 -26 200 205

accounting, auditing, book-keeping and tax consultingservices x x x 52 51 0 58 67 -8 63 75

business and managementconsultancy and publicrelations sercies

x x x 456 379 77 447 357 89 396 337 advertising, market research

and public opinion polling569 758 -188 616 811 -195 762 771 -9 841 839

research and developmentservices 1197 222 975 1428 260 1168 1540 310 1231 1467 379

architectural, engineeringand other technicalconsultancy 1489 512 977 1816 660 1156 1818 739 1079 2234 807

agricultural, mining and on-

site processingx x x 30 69 -40 28 65 -37 28 70

other miscellaneousbusiness, professional and

technical services 570 989 -419 554 1063 -509 633 930 -297 601 933 services between affiliated

enterprises, n.i.e.1270 1369 -99 1399 1346 54 1557 1454 103 1883 1556

personal, cultural andrecreational services

191 583 -392 181 634 -453 201 615 -415 248 649 audio-visual and related

services 69 113 -45 74 114 -39 57 110 -53 58 110

education services14 40 -25 15 40 -25 12 49 -37 16 57

health services69 375 -306 54 425 -370 95 407 -312 129 421

other personal, cultural and

recreational services39 55 -16 37 55 -18 37 50 -13 45 62

government services, n.i.e311 85 226 347 84 263 436 89 347 418 87

income

20830 22452

-

1622 24541 26020

-

1479 31169 32786 -1617 30372 28679 compensation of employees

1542 1059 484 1495 1118 378 1582 1158 423 1636 1314 investment income

19287 21393

-

2106 23046 24902

-

1856 29588 31627 -2040 28737 27365


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of which income directinvestment excl. SPEs

7028 7400 -371 8579 7355 1224 11489 9698 1792 8772 4418

income direct investment distributed profit

3941 4064 -123 2432 3518

-

1086 4221 4398 -177 5584 4894 income direct investment

reinvested earnings3034 3323 -288 5341 2983 2358 6376 3743 2633 1937 -2512

income direct investment other capital

53 14 40 806 854 -48 892 1557 -665 1251 2036 of which income portfolio

investment7580 9781

-2201 8871 11103

-2233 10586 13647 -3061 10286 14095

income portfolioinvestment equity securities

641 592 49 698 891 -193 1016 1265 -249 819 1291 income portfolio

investment long-term debt

securities 6795 9001

-

2206 7930 9698

-

1768 9095 11449 -2354 9321 12082 income portfolio

investment money market

instruments 144 188 -45 243 514 -271 475 933 -458 146 722 of which income other

investment 4679 4213 466 5530 5878 -347 7455 7929 -474 9606 8852

current transfers3212 4618

-1407 3371 4685

-1314 3591 4815 -1225 3771 5385

general government711 2626

-1915 684 2643

-1959 650 2560 -1911 688 2650

other sectors2500 1992 508 2687 2041 646 2941 2255 686 3083 2735

of which workersremittances 320 647 -327 331 667 -336 340 770 -431 354 825

Capital account595 784 -189 466 1268 -802 747 547 200 498 539

capital transfers552 728 -176 387 1051 -664 664 330 334 408 307

nonfinancial assets43 56 -13 79 216 -137 83 217 -134 89 233

Source: OeNB, Statistics Austria.

Final data up to 2008, revised data for 2009.

last update on 07.10.2010 17:14

Poate fi pus si la anexa!

Subject Goods, balance in millions

Measure US-Dollar converted, Seasonally adjusted

Frequency Annual

Time 2005 2006 2007 2008

CountryAustria i -1120.616 992.8513 1907.949 -2004.523

data extracted on 17 Apr 2011 09:42 UTC (GMT) from OECD.Stat

From the table above we can observe fluctuations from an year to another, with a very

high deficit in 2008 which is, most probably, caused by the world crisis. The highest magnitude


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of the imbalance is in 2008, even higher than 2005 and we can say that the two comparable yearshave both negative imbalances.

Subject Services, balance in millions

Measure National Currency, Seasonally adjusted

Frequency Annual

Time 2005 2006 2007 2008

Country

Austria i 9394.399 9719.616 11147.56 14223.19


Regarding the services, the balance reflects a positive imbalance and the fluctuations are

smaller than goods case. The highest value is in 2008 and we can forecast higher values in the

upcoming years because of Austrias focusing on premium services. This might be the result of

having high deficits in goods balance. Also regarding goods, we can estimate if the acceptance

level of imbalance, in this case positive. For this fact, we must analyze the services as percent ofGDP.

Subject Services, balance in millions

Measure Percentage of GDP

Frequency Annual

Time 2005 2006 2007 2008

Country

Austriai 3.864094 3.78409 4.10381 5.052164


What is notable is that the maximum level of 5% is overtaken only in 2008 and by asmall value of 0.05% but the focusing on services in this year is obvious. As forecast, we can

estimate higher levels of relative significance of imbalance until the balance in goods will havelower fluctuations and a level of acceptance between 0 and 5%.

In 2005, the main merchandise groups were, in order:

- Boilers, machinery; nuclear reactors, etc. with an absolute value of exports of 20 mil.$

and imports of 16 mil. $;

- Vehicles other than railway, tramway with an absolute value of exports of 14 mil. $ andimports of 13 mil. $;

- Electrical, electronic equipment with an absolute value of exports of 13 mil. $ andimports of


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12 mil.$;

Comparative to 2005, the year 2008 maintained the main merchandise groups with even

higher levels of exports/imports: 31 mil $ and 24 mil $ for the first group, 18 mil. and 16 mil. forthe second one and 17 mil. for both imports and exports(with a small difference) for the third

one. The growth in exports and imports in 2008 was 14%, respectively 13%, but the net tradeindicator was affected by high imports in mineral fuels, oils and distillation products, which is

much higher than 2005.The exports/capita were 544 $ in 2009 for the main merchandise group

and 522 $ in 2005. The main partner countries are the ones in EU but Switzerland has also a veryimportant place in trading with Austria, having around 5 mil. $ values in merchandise trade.

As for the services, the commercial trade is based on transportation and travel with values

of 20 mil. $ in exports and 29 mil. in imports.

Austrian Direct Investment Abroad (active)

2005 2006 2007 2008

Transactions in EUR million

Direct investment including SPEs and real

estate1)

net

-62819 -6891 -51089 -20008excluding SPEs2) net

-53395 4274 -22409 229excluding real estate net

-462 -267 -167 -132Direct investment excluding SPEs and real

estate

net

-8962 -10897 -28513 -20106Equity capital1) net

-5056 -5328 -23580 -14484Disinvestment credit1740 9669 5919 5087

New investment debit6796 14998 29498 19570

Reinvested earnings net-3034 -5341 -6376 -1937

Other capital net-872 -228 1443 -3685

Assets net-598 -632 -523 -3148

Liabilities net-275 404 1965 -538

Direct investment excluding SPEs and realestate (total capital) broken down by targetarea

Europe -8690 -10212 -25521 -17625

EU-27 -5575 -7299 -11585 -11224EU-15

-2208 -2737 -2091 -5699Euro area 16

-2127 -2559 -5772 -6480Central and Eastern Europe3)

-5115 -6047 -16736 -10654

Belgium-4 333 -1035 -987

Germany-1128 443 -1512 -2588

Denmark-242 -316 -472 19


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Spain-97 -164 -133 266

Finland3 -65 -37 -24

France -21 75 -466 -209United Kingdom

-406 -487 1030 29Greece

-21 -30 -31 -158Ireland

-13 28 61 -55Italy -144 -1091 -63 -527Luxembourg

-40 -149 -311 -207Netherlands

-97 -913 886 -1149Portugal

-53 -3 -46 -43Sweden 54 -400 39 -67Bulgaria

-909 -191 -1573 -1064Cyprus

-106 -364 -1951 -193Czech Republic

-504 -1173 -1206 -1376Baltic countries -33 -67 -123 -68Hungary

-382 -758 -1731 -950Malta

-6 -48 -110 -160

Poland -375 3840 -447 -286Romania -652 -5189 -1329 -980Slovenia

-234 -204 -243 -374Slovakia

-167 -407 -780 -73Switzerland

-903 319 -1100 -203Liechtenstein -42 2 -5 -69

Norway-3 -52 31 1

Bosnia and Herzegovina-111 -255 -203 -231

Croatia-571 23 -5205 -726

Montenegro 0 -14 -14 -22Macedonia

-4 -184 -4 -87

Serbia -175 -422 -504 -370Russia

22 -1212 -2719 -1601Ukraine -989 205 -538 -2262Turkey

-8 -882 -3248 -196

Africa -54 -95 32 75America -138 -91 -752 -1089U.S.A

-154 -230 -240 -235Canada

74 13 -211 -408Central America

5 159 -143 -301South America -62 -34 -159 -145Brazil

-58 -21 -103 -100Asia -162 -495 -2124 -1137Middle East

-20 -28 -88 -128Other Asian countries -142 -467 -2036 -1009China

-110 -189 -182 -163Hong Kong

-4 -46 -34 -37India

3 -5 -9 -33Japan -8 -7 -30 -5South Korea

-9 12 16 -31


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Singapore1 -98 -24 -191

Thailand-4 5 -10 -10

Oceania 82 -69 -155 -310

Source: OeNB.

Final data up to 2008, revised data for 2009, provisional data for 2010.

1) Outward flows: (-) Increase / (+) decrease ofAustrian direct investment abroad.

2) Special purpose entities without significant activity in Austria.

3) Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro,Poland,Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine.

last update on 23.12.2010 17:40

Regarding investment in other countries we can observe that the main directions are the EUcountries, especially Ukraine. The direct investment abroad in 2008 is lower than 2005 and this can beexplained by the economic crisis and high deficit, illustrated above.

Foreign Direct Investment in Austria (passive)

2005 2006 2007 2008

Transactions in EUR million

Direct investment including SPEs and real estate1) net

62681 3225 45607excluding SPEs2) net

53566 -3203 22843excluding real estate net

444 104 2Direct investment excluding SPEs and real estate net

8672 6324 22762Equity capital1) net6839 444 4258

New investment credit9862 4417 22316

Disinvestment debit3023 3972 18058

Reinvested earnings net3323 2983 3743

Other capital net-1490 2896 14761

Assets net27 -211 -1043

Liabilities net-1518 3108 15804

Direct investment excluding SPEs and real estate (totalcapital) broken down by home country

Europe 7898 6553 18948EU-27

7079 6895 19002EU-15

6951 6842 17349Euro area 16

6789 7048 16271Central and Eastern Europe3)

260 -39 111

Belgium-149 -106 1468

Germany3815 3932 -8164


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Denmark45 -670 -153

Spain72 735 -75

Finland 72 39 132 France

191 52 -249 United Kingdom

134 472 2906 Greece

-3 -1 -1 Ireland -5 111 1405 Italy

2189 910 10861 Luxembourg

720 550 3746 Netherlands

-205 732 5544 Portugal 89 -2 -37 Sweden

-14 92 -34 Bulgaria

97 -1 -27 Cyprus

-5 89 1628 Czech Republic -5 14 -17 Baltic countries

7 1 3 Hungary

24 -13 21

Malta 2 -1 18 Poland 4 2 12 Romania

-2 -47 21 Slovenia

3 7 -6 Slovakia

2 1 1 Switzerland 647 -467 1139 Liechtenstein

21 8 13 Norway

26 -13 -202 Bosnia and Herzegovina

0 0 1 Croatia 5 -4 -7 Montenegro

0 0 0

Macedonia 0 0 0 Serbia

1 -1 1 Russia 74 35 124 Ukraine

50 -20 -15 Turkey

2 17 26

Africa 317 52 -77 America 362 -565 2820 U.S.A

347 -1570 2878 Canada

29 -17 3 Central America -17 1007 -86 South America

4 15 25 Brazil3 -5 31

Asia 90 273 313 Middle East 108 186 95 Other Asian countries

-18 87 217 China

0 -8 14 Hong Kong

-20 0 113 India -2 -5 79 Japan

1 57 2


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South Korea0 0 3

Singapore8 37 -2

Thailand -4 -2 0 Oceania 5 9 20

Source: OeNB.

Final data up to 2008, revised data for 2009, provisional data for 2010.

1) Inward flows: (+) Increase / (-) decrease of foreign direct investment in Austria.

2) Special purpose entities without significant activity in Austria.

The foreign investment in Austria has the opposite trend, with high values in 2005 and a decreaseof 73% in 2008. The source of investment is, in both years, Germany but with very high fluctuations duringthis interval. Despite this fact, the investment made by Germany in Austria is pretty much the same in 2008,compared to 2005 with around 3800 mil Euros.

In terms of external debt, Austria had very low levels until 2006 and, suddenly, the had a rose of3194% in 2006 and became stable until 2008. The economic crisis caught Austria with a change of 26.62%in external debt and a value of 752 billion $.


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http://www.indexmundi.com/austria/debt_external.html

Austria can be defined in 10 phrases like the ones below:

1. Only individuals choose.2. The study of the market order is fundamentally about exchange behavior and the

institutions within which exchanges take place.3. The facts of the social sciences are what people believe and think.4. Utility and costs are subjective.5. The price system economizes on the information that people need to process in making

their decisions.


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6. Private property in the means of production is a necessary condition for rationaleconomic calculation.

7. The competitive market is a process of entrepreneurial discovery.8. Money is nonneutral.9. The capital structure consists of heterogeneous goods that have multispecific uses that

must be aligned.10.Social institutions often are the result of human action, but not of human design.

Tourism is a major sector of the Austrian economy (15 percent of GDP, 30 per cent with

all associated activities; 18 per cent of all export receipts). The importance of the environment

for tourism in Austria is reflected in many strategies within tourism policy, by government

entities as well as by the private sector. For about 15 years, Austria has shown continuousprogress in making its tourism sector more environmentally friendly. A wide range of measures

has been adopted to move from quantitative growth to qualitative growth in the tourism industry.

This was facilitated by the fact that environmental quality is a major sales factor for Austrian

tourism. The measures relate to, inter alia, the management of tourism-related traffic, eco-

labelling, "green" villages, land use, codes of practice and the rapid expansion of protected areas.

In many respects (e.g. water quality improvement), progress has been sustained and veryimpressive. Agriculture may be detrimental to the environment if farming practices reflect only

individual economic needs of producers. On the other hand, sustainable farming methods

contribute positively to tourism development, for example by maintaining settlements in remoteareas and protecting landscape and amenities, especially in mountain areas.

It is therefore recommended that consideration be given to the following proposals:rapidly move towards the early implementation of the tourism measures in the National

Environmental Plan when it is adopted;continue efforts to influence tourism demand patterns and to reduce the temporal and spatial

concentration of the demand for tourism services;strengthen institutions and efforts for comprehensive and coherent territorial planning and

land use planning, including implementation of the guidelines on sustainable territorialdevelopment at local level;

consider increased use of economic instruments for reducing further the environmental impactof tourism;

continue efforts to contain the negative effects of tourist transport and develop regional trafficconcepts for the improved co-ordination of public transport;

improve the information base on tourism and environment, working towards greaterharmonisation of definitions (e.g. for biotope mapping) and management criteria acrossprovinces, in particular in the field of nature protection;

develop an overall plan for national parks in Austria, and continue efforts to create morenational parks.

Austria Country Report

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