ECONOMY
Before World War II, Austrian farmers produced 72 percent of the nation's food
requirements. With wider use of commercial fertilizers, mechanization, and scientific
methods, they steadily increased that percentage to 90 by the mid-1990s, even though
less than 20 percent of the land is suitable for farming.
Major crops are wheat and other grains, sugar beets, and potatoes. Austria also grows a
variety of other vegetables and fruits, as well as grapes for making wine. Most farmers
breed pigs, sheep, and dairy cattle, from which they obtain meat, wool, milk, cheese,
and butter.
With increased mechanization, the number of people employed in agriculture decreased,
and by the mid-1990s about 7 percent of the population held agricultural jobs. Most
farms are small and are owned and operated by families. Many farm families
supplement their income by renting out rooms or serving as tour guides or ski
instructors.
Citation 9
ECONOMY CONT.
Austria produces some petroleum and natural gas to meet its own needs,
and it also mines coal, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, antimony, and
graphite, used in industry.
Its rivers are harnessed to produce hydroelectric energy that provides a
substantial portion of the nation's energy needs, with a surplus to export
to neighboring countries. Abundant forests provide materials for lumber,
paper products, and fuel. Conservation has helped protect farmland
from landslides and erosion.
Austria's basic unit of currency is the schilling. Banking and finance are also
an important part of the economy.
Citation 9
ECONOMY CONT.
Main Imports:
•
Machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil
products; foodstuffs
Total Imports: $167.9 billion (2013 est.)
Main Exports:
•
Machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard,
metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs
Total Exports: $165.6 billion (2013 est.)
Citation 9
NATIONAL DEBT AND SURPLUS
Citation 4
AUSTRIA’S GDP AND GNP
Citations 3 & 4
CURRENCY
1 US Dollar is equal to 10.10
Austrian Schillings
Citation 5 & 6
LOCATION/AREA
Central Europe, north of Italy
and Slovenia
slightly smaller than Maine
Landlocked by 8 countries:
- Czech Republic, Germany,
Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein,
Slovakia, Slovenia,
Switzerland
Citation 1 & 7
CLIMATE AND TERRAIN
Temperate climate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent
rain and some snow in lowlands and snow in mountains;
moderate summers with occasional showers
Terrain in the west and south is mostly mountains (Alps); along the
eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping.
Citation 1 & 8
NATURAL RESOURCES
•
Oil
•
Coal
•
Lignite
•
Timber
•
iron ore
•
Copper
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Zinc
antimony
Magnesite
Tungsten
Graphite
Salt
hydropower
Citation 1
MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE
One way people in Austria can get around is by car. Austria is known for its
excellent road network. Also, a lot of people in Austria get around by
riding bikes. Austria has designated cycling lanes and beautiful bicycle
routes. Another good way for people to travel in Austria is by taking
public transportation. Some examples it has are underground systems,
buses, tramlines, and suburban railways.
Areas of major settlement are in the Danube valley and in the lowlands or
hills north, east, and south of the Alps.
Austria is divided into nine provinces, Vorarlberg, Tirol, Salzburg, Upper
Austria, Carinthia, Styria, Burgenland, Lower Austria, and Vienna, the
capital city and a major river port on the Danube.
Citation 10
MOVEMENT OF GOODS
Some of Austrias exports are machinery, motor vehicles, paper, metal
goods, chemicals, iron, steel, food, and textiles. Some of their imports
are machinery, motor vehicles, metal goods, food, oil, and oil products.
The Danube River, Austria's only navigable waterway, flows from
southeastern Germany across northern Austria.
Although the Alps usually did not demarcate the provinces' political
boundaries, they were often impassable. Many inhabitants of Alpine
valleys were thus isolated and developed their own distinct dialects,
dress, folklore, and architecture, and could easily determine the origins
of outsiders. Modern mass media and mobility have diminished many of
these distinctions.
Citation 10
Citation 1, 20, 21
ARCHITECTURE
Approximately one-third of the Austrians live in the five largest cities—Vienna, Graz,
Linz, Salzburg, and Innsbruck—with the remainder inhabiting small towns and the
countryside.
Most urban dwellers live in four- or five-story apartment buildings, high-rise buildings,
or single-family homes. Many rural areas are dominated by farmhouses that have
been in the family for hundreds of years. Usually made of stone and wood, the
farmhouses are often equipped with a bell tower to announce mealtimes to those
working in the fields. Because of the Alps, Austrian farms are small and isolated,
making production relatively expensive.
Western provinces have wooden chalets with steep, pointed roofs, like those in
Switzerland, whereas the eastern Danubian houses exhibit more of a Slavic
influence, with simple design and stucco plastering.
Citation 2
ARCHITECTURE CONT.
Austrian architects created a distinctive national
style, Austrian baroque, that featured irregular
or undulating outlines, dynamic use of bold
and delicate colors, and rich ornamentation.
Vienna achieved its modern-day look in the
second half of the nineteenth century with the
rise of a prosperous middle class.
"Plague columns" are a distinctive type of Austrian
monument, erected in town squares
throughout the nation in thanks to the Trinity
or the Virgin Mary for deliverance from deadly
plagues.
Citation 2 & 11
Citation 15, 16, 17, 18, & 19
DEMOGRAPHY
The 1998 population count was 8,078,449 (2000 estimate, 8,131,111),
about 95 percent of whom were ethnic Austrian. Other numerically
significant ethnic groups include Slovenes, Croats, and Czechs. Austria
has one of the world's lowest birthrates, and much of the population is
under age twenty-five or over sixty-five. About 65 percent of the
population is urban, the largest city by far being Vienna (1.64 million).
Citation 2
LINGUISTIC AFFILIATION
Austria is the only country other than Germany where the official language
is German, and approximately 98 percent of the population speaks High
German or a dialect of it. Austrian German sounds "softer" from that of
Germany, and German speakers can easily discern the difference. There
are also regional dialects of German, such as Weinerisch, spoken in
Vienna. Austria's Slavic minority, located mostly in the south and the
east, speak Slovenian and Croatian as their first language. English is
taught in all schools as a second language.
Citation 2
FOOD
Austrian cooking is one of the most varied in Europe and includes German,
Hungarian, Czech, and northern Italian influences.
A typical Austrian's day begins with a light breakfast of coffee or milk with
bread and butter or jam. Sausage served with mustard on a hard roll is a
typical midmorning snack. Lunch is usually the main meal of the day and
consists of soup and a main course of meat—sausage, the widely
popular Wiener schnitzel (breaded veal), chicken, beef, pork or fish.
Fresh vegetables, dumplings, noodles, or potatoes often accompany the
main course. A salad may conclude the meal.
Citation 2
MARRIAGE
Austria saw a boom in marriages from 1945 through the 1960s, a golden
age for the economy. Today, however, fewer young people marry, more
couples divorce, and more live together and raise children without
marrying. More women are opting for having a child but not marrying.
Couples marry later in life, and many educated women choose their
profession over a family. No-fault divorce was legalized in the 1980s,
and divorce has increased, especially in urban areas.
Most weddings are still held in a Roman Catholic Church, although religion
plays a lesser part in the lives of urban residents in the late twentieth
century.
Citation 2
HOW ARE WOMEN TREATED?
The Austrian concept of "equal treatment" differs substantially from the
United States idea of "equal rights."
Austrian legislation not only aims at establishing equality in realms where
there is discrimination against women, but it also attempts to provide
women with additional benefits related to the inequities inherent in the
gender-specific division of labor.
Citation 2 & 12
RELIGION
Freedom of religion and worship is guaranteed in Austria. About threefourths of Austrians are Roman Catholic. Many Austrians practice
"baptismal certificate Catholicism," in which they are Catholic by baptism
and religious formality but do not hold Catholic beliefs on central issues.
Another major religion in Austria is Protestantism, and many foreign
workers are Muslim or Serbian Orthodox. There is also a small
community of Jews, mostly post World War II immigrants and their
families, although the Jews have a long history in Vienna, beginning in
the tenth century.
Citation 2
RELIGION, CONT.
Cathedrals and churches are found throughout Austria. One of the most
magnificent cathedrals in Austria is Saint Stephen's, or Stephansdom, in
Vienna, built during the fifteenth century. The Augustinian abbey and the
statue of Saint Florian in the town of Saint Florian are also important
religious sites.
Citation 2
WORK ETHICS
A key issue for Austrians is flexible working time. However, to achieve a
balance between work, leisure time and family commitments, everyone
needs to be clear about their priorities and what they want.
In Austria, some companies like IBM for example offer activities in the
workplace such as yoga or massage in order for employees to find their
inner balance and be relaxed at work.
Furthermore, the government supports maternity/paternity leave or
reducing your working hours in order to fit in with family commitments.
Citation 2 & 13
SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Austrian society was traditionally highly stratified, with well-defined social distinctions. In
the early 1800s, the three major social classes were aristocrats, "citizens," and
peasant-farmers or peasant-serfs.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, a small aristocracy remained, along with a
small middle class of entrepreneurs, a larger working class, and a large class of
peasant-farmers (about 55 percent of the population).
During the period between World War I and World War II, these classes developed
separate political affiliations as well, dividing the people into camps based on beliefs
in either social democracy, conservative Christian politics, or liberalism. These camps
dissolved after World War II, and a growing middle class effected change in the social
structure.
Citation 2
SOCIAL STRUCTURE, CONT.
Prosperity, mobility, and more government benefits in the late twentieth
century resulted in a higher standard of living for nearly all Austrians.
There are more middle-class citizens than any other group, and
education is considered the means to upward mobility. Equality is
promoted throughout Austria, although foreign workers, immigrants, and
Gypsies are still generally less accepted by the middle class.
Citation 2
HOLIDAYS
New Year’s Day
January 1
Epiphany
January 6
Easter Sunday
March / April
Easter Monday
March / April
Labour Day
May 1
Ascension
May
Whit Sunday (Pentecost)
May
Whit Monday
May
Corpus Christi
May / June
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary August 15
Austrian National Day
October 26
All Saints Day
November 1
Immaculate Conception
December 8
Christmas Day
December 25
Boxing Day
December 26
Citation 13
RECREATIONAL PRACTICES
Outdoor winter sports are a favorite pastime.
Birthplace of downhill skiing
Mountain climbing and hiking also are popular, and thousands of wellmarked trails crisscross the Alps.
Residents of the lowlands enjoy thousands of venues—swimming pools,
stadiums, riding arenas, bicycle paths, and other facilities—for a wide
range of sports. Eastern Austria’s rivers and lakes attract countless
swimmers and boaters in the warmer months and skaters in winter.
Citation 14
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CITATIONS
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CITATIONS
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