Economy of Austria

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Economy of Austria" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (September 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Economy of Austria

Danube City, Vienna
Currency	Euro (EUR, €)
Fiscal year	Calendar year
Trade organisations	EU, WTO, OECD
Country group	Advanced economy[1] High-income economy[2]
Statistics
Population	8,901,064 (1 January 2020)[3]
GDP	$541 billion (nominal, 2024)[4] $634 billion (PPP, 2024)[4]
GDP rank	27th (nominal, 2024) 43rd (PPP, 2024)
GDP growth	4.8% (2022) −0.7% (2023) 0.4% (2024)[4]
GDP per capita	$59,225 (nominal, 2024)[4] $69,460 (PPP, 2024)[4]
GDP per capita rank	13th (nominal, 2024) 16th (PPP, 2024)
GDP by sector	agriculture: 1.3% industry: 28.4% services: 70.3% (2017 est.)[5]
Inflation (CPI)	7.7% (2023) 3.9% (2024)[4]
Population below poverty line	17.7% at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE, 2023)[6]
Gini coefficient	28.1 low (2023)[7]
Human Development Index	0.926 very high (2022)[8] (22nd) 0.859 very high IHDI (2022, (15th))[8]
Labour force	4,559,603 (2019)[9] 76.2% employment rate (2018)[10]
Labour force by occupation	agriculture: 0.7% industry: 25.2% services: 74.1% (2017 est.)[5]
Unemployment	5.0% (August 2020)[11] 10.3% youth unemployment (15 to 24 year-olds; July 2020)[12]
Average gross salary	€3,050 monthly (2021)[13]
Average net salary	€2,224 monthly (2021)[13]
Main industries	construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, metals, chemicals, lumber and paper, electronics, tourism
External
Exports	$156.7 billion (2017 est.)[5]
Export goods	machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, manufactured goods, chemicals, iron and steel, foodstuffs
Main export partners	Germany 29.4%  United States 6.3%  Italy 6.2%   Switzerland 5.1%  France 4.8%  Hungary 4.8% (2017)[5]
Imports	$158.1 billion (2017 est.)[5]
Import goods	machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products, natural gas; foodstuffs
Main import partners	Germany 41.8%  Italy 5.8%   Switzerland 5.5%  Czech Republic 4.4%  Netherlands 4.2% (2017)[5]
FDI stock	$294.1 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[5] Abroad: $339.7 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[5]
Current account	$7.859 billion (2017 est.)[5]
Gross external debt	$630.8 billion (31 December 2017)[5]
Public finances
Government debt	70.4% of GDP (2019)[14] €280.426 billion (2019)[14]
Budget balance	€2.9 billion surplus (2019)[14] +0.7% of GDP (2019)[14]
Revenues	49.0% of GDP (2019)[14]
Expenses	48.2% of GDP (2019)[14]
Economic aid	€1.47 billion from European Structural and Investment Funds (2007–2013)[15] €4.92 billion from European Structural and Investment Funds (2014–2020)[16]
Credit rating	Scope:[17] AA+ Outlook: Stable
Foreign reserves	$21.57 billion (31 December 2017 est.)[5]
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Austria is a highly developed social market economy, with the country being one of the fourteen richest in the world in terms of GDP (gross domestic product) per capita.^[18] Until the 1980s, many of Austria's largest industry firms were nationalised. In recent years, privatisation has reduced state holdings to a level comparable to other European economies. Among OECD nations, Austria has a highly efficient and strong social security system; social expenditure stood at roughly 29.4% of GDP.^[19][20][21]

Labor movements are particularly strong in Austria, and they have a large influence on labor politics. Next to a highly developed industry, international tourism is the most important part of the national economy. The economy of Austria's average GDP is 13th growth in OECD countries, from 1992 to 2017. In Austria, 1.37% over average population growth is the strong factor.

Germany has historically been the main trading partner of Austria, making the Austrian economy vulnerable to rapid changes in the German economy.^[22] However, since Austria became a member state of the European Union, it has gained closer ties to other European Union economies. This development reduced its economic dependence on Germany. In addition, Austria's membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign investors.

They were attracted by Austria's access to the European Single Market and the country's proximity to the aspiring economies of the European Union. Growth in GDP has accelerated in recent years, and reached 3.3% in 2006.^[23]

In 2024 Austria has a very high, $59,225 nominal GDP per capita ranked 13th.^[4]

Vienna was ranked the fifth richest NUTS-2 region within Europe (see Economy of the European Union), with its GDP reaching €38,632 per capita. It was trailing behind Inner London, Luxembourg, the Brussels-Capital Region and Hamburg.^[24]

Growth had been steady between 2002 and 2006, varying between 1 and 3.3%.^[25] After hitting 0% in 2013, growth had picked up a little. As of 2016, growth was set at 1.5%.^[26]