Austria

Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard of living, is closely tied to other EU economies, 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 for Austrian exports and record employment growth, the international financial crisis and global economic downturn in 2008 led to a recession that persisted until the third quarter of 2009. Austrian GDP contracted 3.8% in 2009 but saw positive growth of about 2% in 2010. Unemployment has not risen as steeply in Austria as elsewhere in Europe, partly because its government has subsidized reduced working hour schemes to allow companies to retain employees. Such stabilization measures, stimulus initiatives, and the government’s income tax reforms pushed the budget deficit to 3.5% of GDP in 2009 and about 5% in 2010, from only about 1.3% in 2008. The international financial crisis caused difficulties for some of 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 regional 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, emphasizing knowledge-based sectors of the economy, and encouraging greater labor flexibility and greater labor participation to offset growing unemployment and Austria’s aging population and exceedingly low fertility rate.

$332.9 billion (2010 est.)

$326.4 billion (2009 est.)

$339.3 billion (2008 est.)

$366.3 billion (2010 est.)

2% (2010 est.)

-3.8% (2009 est.)

1.9% (2008 est.)

$40,300 (2010 est.)

$39,800 (2009 est.)

$41,300 (2008 est.)

3.63 million (2010 est.)

4.6% (2010 est.)

4.8% (2009 est.)

6% (2008)

26 (2007)

31 (1995)

21% of GDP (2010 est.)

68.6% of GDP (2010 est.)

66.4% of GDP (2009 est.)

1.5% (2010 est.)

0.4% (2009 est.)

5.03% (31 December 2009 est.)

6.82% (31 December 2008 est.)

$173.4 billion (31 December 2010 est)

$175.6 billion (31 December 2009 est)

$402.8 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$402.2 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$659.2 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$606.2 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

$53.58 billion (31 December 2009)

$72.3 billion (31 December 2008)

$228.7 billion (31 December 2007)

grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber

construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, metals, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism

3% (2010 est.)

66.78 billion kWh (2008 est.)

68.37 billion kWh (2008 est.)

14.93 billion kWh (2008 est.)

19.8 billion kWh (2008 est.)

25,410 bbl/day (2009 est.)

273,700 bbl/day (2009 est.)

52,970 bbl/day (2008 est.)

298,400 bbl/day (2008 est.)

50 million bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

1.668 billion cu m (2009)

8.232 billion cu m (2009)

3.961 billion cu m (2009 est.)

10.96 billion cu m (2009)

16.14 billion cu m (1 January 2010 est.)

$8.012 billion (2010 est.)

$8.73 billion (2009 est.)

$157.4 billion (2010 est.)

$135.7 billion (2009 est.)

machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs

Germany 30.96%, Italy 8.17%, Switzerland 4.99%, US 3.99% (2009)

$156 billion (2010 est.)

$138.7 billion (2009 est.)

machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs

Germany 45.07%, Switzerland 6.76%, Italy 6.66%, Netherlands 4.03% (2009)

$NA (31 December 2010 est.)

$18.05 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$755 billion (30 June 2010)

$864.2 billion (31 December 2008)

$290.7 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$286.4 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$297.2 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$290.5 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.7715 (2010), 0.7179 (2009), 0.6827 (2008), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006)