to levels in industrialized West European countries. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels. Of the top 25 exports, 21 are primary products, so that, as happened during 1983–84, a downturn in world commodity prices can have a big impact on the economy. The government is pushing for increased exports of manufactured goods but competition in international markets will be severe.
GNP: $240.8 billion, per capita $14,300; real growth rate 4.1% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.0% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 6.0% (December 1989)
Budget: revenues $76.3 billion; expenditures $69.1 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (FY90 est.)
Exports: $43.2 billion (f.o.b., FY89); commodities—wheat, barley, beef, lamb, dairy products, wool, coal, iron ore; partners—Japan 26%, US 11%, NZ 6%, South Korea 4%, Singapore 4%, USSR 3%
Imports: $48.6 billion (c.i.f., FY89); commodities—manufactured raw materials, capital equipment, consumer goods; partners—US 22%, Japan 22%, UK 7%, FRG 6%, NZ 4% (1984)
External debt: $111.6 billion (September 1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 5.6% (FY88)
Electricity: 38,000,000 kW capacity; 139,000 million kWh produced, 8,450 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: mining, industrial and transportation equipment, food processing, chemicals, steel, motor vehicles
Agriculture: accounts for 5% of GNP and 37% of export revenues; world's largest exporter of beef and wool, second-largest for mutton, and among top wheat exporters; major crops—wheat, barley, sugarcane, fruit; livestock—cattle, sheep, poultry
Aid: donor—ODA and OOF commitments (1970–87), $8.8 billion
Currency: Australian dollar (plural—dollars); 1 Australian dollar
($A) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Australian dollars ($A) per US$1—1.2784 (January 1990), 1.2618 (1989), 1.2752 (1988), 1.4267 (1987), 1.4905 (1986), 1.4269 (1985)
Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June
- Communications Railroads: 40,478 km total; 7,970 km 1.600-meter gauge, 16,201 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 16,307 km 1.067-meter gauge; 183 km dual gauge; 1,130 km electrified; government owned (except for a few hundred kilometers of privately owned track) (1985)
Highways: 837,872 km total; 243,750 km paved, 228,396 km gravel, crushed stone, or stabilized soil surface, 365,726 km unimproved earth
Inland waterways: 8,368 km; mainly by small, shallow-draft craft
Pipelines: crude oil, 2,500 km; refined products, 500 km; natural gas, 5,600 km
Ports: Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Devonport, Fremantle, Geelong,
Hobart, Launceston, Mackay, Melbourne, Sydney, Townsville
Merchant marine: 77 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,300,049 GRT/3,493,802 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 7 cargo, 5 container, 10 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 17 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 2 chemical tanker, 3 liquefied gas, 1 combination ore/oil, 1 livestock carrier, 29 bulk
Civil air: around 150 major transport aircraft
Airports: 564 total, 524 usable; 235 with permanent-surface runways, 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 20 with runways 2,440–3,659 m; 311 with runways 1,220–2,439 m
Telecommunications: good international and domestic service; 8.7 million telephones; stations—258 AM, 67 FM, 134 TV; submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia; domestic satellite service; satellite stations—4 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 6 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
- Defense Forces
Branches: Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army, Royal Australian Air
Force
Military manpower: males 15–49, 4,588,750; 4,009,127 fit for military service; 136,042 reach military age (17) annually
Defense expenditures: NA
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Country: Austria
- Geography
Total area: 83,850 km2; land area: 82,730 km2
Comparative area: slightly smaller than Maine
Land boundaries: 2,640 km total; Czechoslovakia 548 km, Hungary 366 km,
Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 37 km, Switzerland 164 km, FRG 784 km,
Yugoslavia 311 km
Coastline: none—landlocked
Maritime claims: none—landlocked
Disputes: South Tyrol question with Italy
Climate: temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain in lowlands and snow in mountains; cool summers with occasional showers
Terrain: mostly mountains with Alps in west and south; mostly flat, with gentle slopes along eastern and northern margins
Natural resources: iron ore, crude oil, timber, magnesite, aluminum, lead, coal, lignite, copper, hydropower
Land use: 17% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 24% meadows and pastures; 39% forest and woodland; 19% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: because of steep slopes, poor soils, and cold temperatures, population is concentrated on eastern lowlands
Note: landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys; major river is the Danube
- People
Population: 7,644,275 (July 1990), growth rate 0.3% (1990)
Birth rate: 12 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 11 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 2 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 80 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 1.5 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Austrian(s); adjective—Austrian
Ethnic divisions: 99.4% German, 0.3% Croatian, 0.2% Slovene, 0.1% other
Religion: 85% Roman Catholic, 6% Protestant, 9% other
Language: German
Literacy: 98%
Labor
