Attractive business environment
- Austria is the fourth richest country in the EU
- Above-average purchasing power of Austrian consumers
- Excellent infrastructure
- Modern and efficient public administration
- Highest quality of life
Stability and Security
- Political stability and reliable legal system
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High personal security
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Good relations between employers and employees
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Low strike rate and high level of social peace
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Outstanding level of energy security
Tax advantages
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Low corporate tax rate
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Group taxation scheme
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No wealth or trade tax
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Cutting-edge Austrian trust regulations
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Attractive research promotion incentives
Productivity
- High labor productivity and low unit labor costs
- Top motivated and highly qualified employees
Central Location
- Ideal East-West business hub
- Location for 380 CEE headquarters of multinationals
- Coordination headquarters for about 1,000 foreign companies
- Competent consultants with extensive CEE know-how
- Leading flight and freight logistics hub to Eastern Europe
Business-oriented education
- Dual education system combines theoretical and practical teaching
- Optimal cooperation between business and science
Population
Austria is home to roughly 8.8 million people. Its employment rate of around 77.3% is above the EU-28 average of 76.2 percent.
The country’s official language is German. However, Austrians also have an excellent knowledge of foreign languages. The vast majority of Austria’s resident population speaks English, but there is also a large number of Austrians with a sound knowledge of Eastern European languages.
Political Environment
The Republic of Austria is a parliamentary democracy. Its legislative organs are the National Council, the Federal Council, and the provincial parliaments.
The 183 members of the National Council as well as the members of the nine provincial parliaments (for each federal province) are elected directly, while the members of the Federal Council are elected by the provincial parliaments.
The current Federal Chancellor is Christian Kern (Social Democratic Party), the Vice-Chancellor is Wolfgang Brandstetter and Harald Mahrer (Austria’s People’s Party) serves as Federal Minister of Science, Research and Economy.
Economic data of Austria
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017*) | |
|
Real GDP growth rate (percentage change on previous year)
|
1,0% | 1,5% | 2,4% |
| Gross domestic product (at current market prices) |
339,90 billion € | 349,49 billion € | 360,34 billion € |
| GDP per head of population (at current market prices) |
36.910 € | 36.540 € | 37.110 € |
| Gross fixed capital formation (Gross fixed capital formation) |
22,6% | 22,9% | 23,0% |
| Employment rate (Proportion of resident population in gainful employment) |
77,0% | 77,2 | 77,3% |
| Unemployment rate | 5,7% | 6,0% | 5,7% |
| Inflation rate | 0,8% | 1,0% | 2,0% |
| Research and development expenditures (percentage of GDP) |
3,12% | 3,12% | 3,14% |
| Export rate (as a percentage of GDP) |
38,7% | 37,5% | : |
*) Forecast
Quelle: Eurostat, European Commission (Ameco database), Austrian Institute of Economic Research, Statistics Austria (07/2017)
For further information regarding the facts and figures of Austria, please have a look at our factsheet:
Factsheet: Key Facts of Austria (PDF, 107 kB)
