274 lines
22 KiB
Plaintext
274 lines
22 KiB
Plaintext
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AUSTRIA
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 83,850 km2; land area: 82,730 km2
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Comparative area: slightly smaller than Maine
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Land boundaries: 2,640 km total; Czechoslovakia 548 km,
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Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 37 km,
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Switzerland 164 km, Yugoslavia 311 km
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Coastline: none--landlocked
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Maritime claims: none--landlocked
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Climate: temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent
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rain in lowlands and snow in mountains; cool summers with occasional
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showers
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Terrain: mostly mountains with Alps in west and south; mostly flat,
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with gentle slopes along eastern and northern margins
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Natural resources: iron ore, crude oil, timber, magnesite,
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aluminum, lead, coal, lignite, copper, hydropower
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Land use: arable land 17%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and
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pastures 24%; forest and woodland 39%; other 19%; includes irrigated
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NEGL%
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Environment: because of steep slopes, poor soils, and cold
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temperatures, population is concentrated on eastern lowlands
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Note: landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of
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central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys;
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major river is the Danube
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PEOPLE
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Population: 7,665,804 (July 1991), growth rate 0.3% (1991)
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Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 5 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun--Austrian(s); adjective--Austrian
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Ethnic divisions: German 99.4%, Croatian 0.3%, Slovene 0.2%,
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other 0.1%
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Religion: Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant 6%, other 9%
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Language: German
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Literacy: 99% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can
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read and write (1974 est.)
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Labor force: 3,470,000 (1989); services 56.4%, industry and crafts
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35.4%, agriculture and forestry 8.1%; an estimated 200,000 Austrians are
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employed in other European countries; foreign laborers in Austria number
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177,840, about 6% of labor force (1988)
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Organized labor: 60.1% of work force; the Austrian Trade Union
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Federation has 1,644,408 members (1989)
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: Republic of Austria
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Type: federal republic
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Capital: Vienna
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Administrative divisions: 9 states (bundeslander,
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singular--bundesland); Burgenland, Karnten, Niederosterreich,
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Oberosterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien
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Independence: 12 November 1918 (from Austro-Hungarian Empire)
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Constitution: 1920, revised 1929 (reinstated 1945)
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Legal system: civil law system with Roman law origin; judicial
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review of legislative acts by a Constitutional Court; separate
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administrative and civil/penal supreme courts; has not accepted
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compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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National holiday: National Day, 26 October (1955)
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Executive branch: president, chancellor, vice chancellor, Council
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of Ministers (cabinet)
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Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung)
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consists of an upper council or Federal Council (Bundesrat) and a lower
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council or National Council (Nationalrat)
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Judicial branch: Supreme Judicial Court (Oberster Gerichtshof) for
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civil and criminal cases, Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof)
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for bureaucratic cases, Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof) for
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constitutional cases
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Leaders:
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Chief of State--President Kurt WALDHEIM (since 8 July 1986);
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Head of Government--Chancellor Franz VRANITZKY (since 16 June
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1986); Vice Chancellor Josef RIEGLER (since 19 May 1989)
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Political parties and leaders:
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Socialist Party of Austria (SPO), Franz VRANITZKY, chairman;
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Austrian People's Party (OVP), Josef RIEGLER, chairman;
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Freedom Party of Austria (FPO), Jorg HAIDER, chairman;
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Communist Party (KPO), Franz MUHRI, chairman;
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Green Alternative List (GAL), Andreas WABL, chairman
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Suffrage: universal at age 19; compulsory for presidential
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elections
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Elections:
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President--last held 8 June 1986 (next to be held May 1992);
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results of Second Ballot--Dr. Kurt WALDHEIM 53.89%, Dr. Kurt STEYRER
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46.11%;
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National Council--last held 7 October 1990 (next to be
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held October 1994);
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results--SP0 43%, OVP 32.1%, FPO 16.6%, GAL 4.5%, KPO 0.7%,
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other 0.32%;
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seats--(183 total) SP0 80, OVP 60, FP0 33, GAL 10
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Communists: membership 15,000 est.; activists 7,000-8,000
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Other political or pressure groups: Federal Chamber of Commerce and
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Industry; Austrian Trade Union Federation (primarily Socialist); three
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composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party (OVP) representing
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business, labor, and farmers; OVP-oriented League of Austrian
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Industrialists; Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay
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organization, Catholic Action
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Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, CSCE,
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EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA, FAO, G-9, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU,
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IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO,
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ITU, LORCS, NAM (guest), NEA, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
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UNESCO, UNDOF, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UNTSO, UPU, WCL,
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WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Friedrich HOESS; Embassy at
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2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202)
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483-4474; there are Austrian Consulates General in Chicago, Los Angeles,
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and New York;
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US--Ambassador Roy Michael HUFFINGTON; Embassy at Boltzmanngasse
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16, A-1091, Vienna (mailing address is APO New York 09108-0001);
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telephone 43 (222) 31-55-11; there is a US Consulate General in Salzburg
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Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red
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ECONOMY
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Overview: Austria boasts a prosperous and stable capitalist
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economy with a sizable proportion of nationalized industry and extensive
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welfare benefits. Thanks to an excellent raw material endowment, a
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technically skilled labor force, and strong links to West German
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industrial firms, Austria has successfully occupied specialized niches
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in European industry and services (tourism, banking) and produces almost
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enough food to feed itself with only 8% of the labor force in
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agriculture. Improved export prospects from German unification
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and the opening of Eastern Europe will also boost the economy during
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the next few years. Living standards are roughly comparable with the
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large industrial countries of Western Europe. Problems for the l990s
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include an aging population, the high level of subsidies, and the
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struggle to keep welfare benefits within budget capabilities. Austria,
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which has applied for EC membership, is currently involved in EC and
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European Free Trade Association negotiations for a European Economic
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Area and will have to adapt its economy to achieve freer movement of
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goods, services, capital, and labor with the EC.
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GDP: $111.0 billion, per capita $14,500; real growth rate 4.5%
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(1990)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3.3% (1990)
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Unemployment: 5.4% (1990)
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Budget: revenues $44.1 billion; expenditures $49.6 billion,
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including capital expenditures of $NA (1990)
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Exports: $40.9 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
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commodities--machinery and equipment, iron and steel, lumber,
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textiles, paper products, chemicals;
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partners--EC 64.8%, EFTA 10.3%, CEMA 7.7%, US 3.2%, Japan 1.5%
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Imports: $46.6 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
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commodities--petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment,
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vehicles, chemicals, textiles and clothing, pharmaceuticals;
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partners--EC 68.4%, EFTA 7%, CEMA 5.7%, Japan 4.6%, US 3.6%
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External debt: $11.8 billion (1990 est.)
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Industrial production: real growth rate 8.5% (1990); accounts
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for 34% of GDP
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Electricity: 17,562,000 kW capacity; 49,290 million kWh produced,
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6,500 kWh per capita (1989)
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Industries: foods, iron and steel, machines, textiles, chemicals,
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electrical, paper and pulp, tourism, mining
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Agriculture: accounts for 3.2% of GDP (including forestry);
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principal crops and animals--grains, fruit, potatoes, sugar beets,
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sawn wood, cattle, pigs poultry; 80-90% self-sufficient in food
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Economic aid: donor--ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $2.4
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billion
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Currency: Austrian schilling (plural--schillings); 1 Austrian
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schilling (S) = 100 groschen
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Exchange rates: Austrian schillings (S) per US$1--10.627 (January
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1991), 11.370 (1990), 13.231 (1989), 12.348 (1988), 12.643 (1987), 15.267
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(1986), 20.690 (1985)
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Fiscal year: calendar year
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Railroads: 6,028 km total; 5,388 km government owned and 640 km
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privately owned (1.435- and 1.000-meter gauge); 5,403 km 1.435-meter
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standard gauge of which 3,051 km is electrified and 1,520 km is double
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tracked; 363 km 0.760-meter narrow gauge of which 91 km is electrified
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Highways: 95,412 km total; 34,612 are the primary network
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(including 1,012 km of autobahn, 10,400 km of federal, and 23,200 km of
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provincial roads); of this number, 21,812 km are paved and 12,800 km are
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unpaved; in addition, there are 60,800 km of communal roads (mostly
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gravel, crushed stone, earth)
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Inland waterways: 446 km
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Ports: Vienna, Linz (river ports)
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Merchant marine: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
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150,735 GRT/252,237 DWT; includes 26 cargo, 1 container, 1 chemical
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tanker, 4 bulk
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Pipelines: 554 km crude oil; 2,611 km natural gas; 171 km refined
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products
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Civil air: 25 major transport aircraft
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Airports: 55 total, 54 usable; 20 with permanent-surface runways;
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none with runways over 3,659 m; 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 4 with
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runways 1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: highly developed and efficient; 4,014,000
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telephones; extensive TV and radiobroadcast systems; stations--6 AM, 21
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(545 repeaters) FM, 47 (870 repeaters) TV; satellite stations operating
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in INTELSAT 1 Atlantic Ocean earth station and 1 Indian Ocean earth
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station and EUTELSAT systems
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Branches: Army, Flying Division, Gendarmerie
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Manpower availability: males 15-49, 1,957,414; 1,646,179 fit for
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military service; 48,038 reach military age (19) annually
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Defense expenditures: $1.4 billion, 1% of GDP (1990)
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