Austria Passport

[Country Name] The Republic of Austria (Republik Ö sterreich).

【 Area 】 83879 square kilometers.

【 Population 】 9.179 million (as of July 2024), with German as the official language.

Vienna, the capital, has a population of 2.018 million as of July 2024.

[Head of State] Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen.

[Important Festival] New Year: January 1st; Easter: the first Sunday after the full moon in the spring equinox every year; May Day International Labor Day: May 1st; National Day: October 26th; Christmas: December 25th.

[Overview] A landlocked country in southern Central Europe. It borders Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west, and Germany and the Czech Republic to the north. It belongs to the temperate broad-leaved forest climate that transitions from oceanic to continental. The average temperature is -2 ℃ in January and 19 ℃ in July.

In 996 AD, "Austria" was first mentioned in historical books. In the mid-12th century, during the rule of the Babenberg family, a principality was formed and became an independent country. In 1278, the Habsburg dynasty began a 640 year rule. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the German Confederation led by Austria was established. In 1866, Austria was defeated in the Austro Prussian War and the Confederation was dissolved. In 1867, it signed a contract with Hungary and established the Austro Hungarian Empire. After the end of World War I in 1918, the empire disintegrated and a republic was established. It was annexed by Germany in March 1938. After World War II, it was occupied by the Soviet Union, the United States, Britain, and France. The Second Republic was established in April 1945. In May 1955, the four occupying powers signed the Treaty on the Reconstruction of an Independent and Democratic Austrian State with Austria, declaring respect for Austria's sovereignty and independence. In October, the occupying forces withdrew and Austria regained independence. On October 26th, the Austrian National Assembly passed permanent neutrality legislation, declaring that it will not participate in any military alliances and will not allow the establishment of foreign military bases on its territory. Since 1965, October 26th has been designated as Olympic Day.

The system of government implements a prime minister responsibility system under both federal and parliamentary democracy.

The current Constitution came into effect on November 10, 1920. Two supplementary provisions were passed in 1925 and 1929. The Constitution was abolished in 1934. After the reconstruction of Austria in 1945, it was announced that the 1920 Constitution and two annexes would continue to be effective. The Constitution stipulates that Austria is a federal republic, and the President is the head of state, elected by universal suffrage for a term of six years. The Prime Minister is the head of government with a term of 5 years.

The parliament is composed of the National Assembly and the Federal Assembly. The National Assembly formulates laws, presides over the inauguration ceremony of the new government, and may dismiss the federal government and its members through a vote of no confidence. The Federal Parliament represents the interests of each state and has the power to reject legal proposals passed by the National Assembly, but if the National Assembly insists on the original proposal, the Federal Parliament may not raise any objections. The National Assembly has a total of 183 seats, elected through proportional representation and serving a term of 5 years. On September 29, 2024, Austria held the National Assembly elections, and the election results and the seats held by each party are as follows: the Liberal Party has 28.8%, 57 seats (an increase of 26 seats from 2019); The People's Party holds 26.3% of seats, with 51 seats (a decrease of 20 seats); Social Democratic Party 21.1%, 41 seats (increase of 1 seat); New Austrian Party 9.1%, 18 seats (an increase of 3 seats); The Green Party has 8.2% and 16 seats (a decrease of 10 seats). The term of office of the Speaker is 5 years, and the current Speaker is Walter Rosenkranz (Liberal Party). The Federal Parliament has a total of 61 seats, selected by each state according to their population ratio, and the Speaker is rotated by each state for a term of six months. The Speaker of the Federal Parliament for the second half of 2024 is Franz Ebner (People's Party).

On January 7, 2020, the People's Party and the Green Party formed a coalition government consisting of 14 ministries, with the following members: Prime Minister Karl Nehammer (People's Party), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sports Werner Kogler (Green Party), Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (People's Party), European Union and Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler (Women, People's Party), Minister of Climate Protection, Environment, Energy, Transport, Innovation and Technology Leonore Gewessler (Women, Green Party), Minister of Interior Gerhard Karhard ner (People's Party), Minister of Labor and Economy Martin Kocher (People's Party), Minister of Education and Research Martin Polash (People's Party) Polaschek (People's Party), Susanne Raab (Women, People's Party), Minister of Women, Family, Immigration Integration and Media in the Prime Minister's Office, Johannes Rauch (Green Party), Minister of Social Welfare, Health, Care and Consumer Protection, Alexander Schallenberg (People's Party), Minister of European and International Affairs, Klaudia Tanner (Women, People's Party), Nobert Totschnig (Women, People's Party), Minister of Agriculture, Regions and Water, Alma Zadi ć (Women, Green Party), in addition to the Ministry of Labor and Economy, Arts, Culture, The Ministry of Civil Service and Sports, the Prime Minister's Office, and the Ministry of Finance each have one State Secretary. After the September 2024 general election in Austria, a new government has not yet been formed, and the current government will hold power until the new government is established.

The country is divided into 9 states: Burgenland, Carinthia, Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Styria, Tyrol, Vorarlberg, and Vienna. Under the state, there are cities, districts, and towns (townships).

There are three court systems in the country: the Constitutional Court, which hears cases involving the Constitution, especially disputes between local and federal governments, led by its president Christoph Grabenwarter; Administrative Court, responsible for administrative dispute cases involving official institutions and their staff, presided over by Christian Filzwieser; The Supreme Court, responsible for criminal and civil cases, is presided over by Georg Kodek.

[Political Party]

(1) Austrian Freedom Party (Freiheitliche Partei Ö sterreichs): opposition party. Established in 1955, formerly known as the "Independence Alliance", it formed a coalition government with the Socialist Party from 1983 to 1986. In February 2000, he joined forces with the People's Party and lost his governing position after a split within the party in 2005. In December 2017, a coalition government was formed with the People's Party. In May 2019, the ruling coalition broke down due to a video scandal involving the then party chairman, the "Russia Gate". Chairman Herbert Kickl.

(2) Austrian People's Party (Ö sterreichische Volkspartei): The ruling party. Its predecessor was the Christian Socialist Party established in 1887, which was renamed to its current name in 1945. Chairman Karl Nehammer.

(3) The Austrian Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei Ö sterreichs) is an opposition party. Established in 1889. He was in power from 1919 to 1920 and was banned in 1934. In 1945, it was renamed as the Socialist Party, and in 1991 it was changed to its current name. Chairman Andreas Babler.

(4) New Austrian Party (NEOS, Das Neue Ö sterreich): opposition party. Founded by Austrian entrepreneur Matthias Stoltz on October 27, 2012. Chairman Beate Meinl Reisinger (female).

(5) Green Party (Die Gr ü nen): The ruling party. Its predecessor was Greenpeace. Established in 1986. Chairman Werner Kogler.

[Important Person] President: Alexander van der Bellen. Born in January 1944. Elected as a member of the National Assembly in 1994. Since 1997, he has served as the chairman of the Green Party and the parliamentary group. Elected as an independent candidate on December 4, 2016, and assumed office on January 26, 2017. In October 2022, Fan was re elected as the Federal President.

Prime Minister: Karl Nehammer. Born in October 1972, graduated from Krems Danube University with a Master's degree in Political Communication. Served in the Austrian Federal Army. After retiring, he briefly worked in communication training and later became active in the People's Party federal and local organizations for a long time. Served as the Secretary General of the People's Party from 2018 to 2020. Appointed as the Minister of Interior of Austria from January 2020. Appointed as Prime Minister of Austria on December 6, 2021.

The main economic data are as follows:

Gross Domestic Product: 473.2 billion euros (2023)

Per capita Gross Domestic Product: 51830 euros (2023)

Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate: -1.0% (2023)

Currency name: Euro.

Inflation rate: 1.8% (September 2024)

Unemployment rate: 5.1%. (2023)

【 Resources 】 Mineral resources mainly include graphite, magnesium, lignite, iron, petroleum, natural gas, etc. Forests and hydropower resources are abundant, with a forest area of 4 million hectares and a forest coverage rate of 47.9%. The timber storage volume is 1.18 billion cubic meters. (Source: Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Resources website)

In 2023, the industrial output value will be 126.2 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 8%. The main categories include mechanical manufacturing, electronics and automotive manufacturing, construction, etc. (Source: Austrian Statistical Office website)

The output value of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries in 2023 is 6.33 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 2.1%. Agriculture is developed with a high degree of mechanization. (Source: Austrian Statistical Office website)

The tourism industry is well-developed. In 2023, there will be 150 million overnight stays for tourists, including 110 million foreign tourists. Foreign tourists mainly come from countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Belgium, and the United States. (Source: Austrian Tourism Board website)

Austria is located in central Europe and is an important transportation hub in Europe.

Railway: The total length of operating railways in China is 5575 kilometers. The railway passenger volume is 329 million in 2023. The railway freight volume in 2023 is 92.4 million tons.

Highway: The total length of highways in China is 2249 kilometers. The freight volume in 2022 is 590 million tons.

Water transportation: The Danube River route is 350 kilometers long. The shipping and freight volume in 2023 is 6.047 million tons.

Air freight: Austrian Airlines was founded in 1957 and became a subsidiary of Lufthansa in 2009. There are six airports in the country, with Vienna Schwechat Airport being the main international airport. In 2023, the passenger volume of Austrian civil aviation reached 33.2 million, a year-on-year increase of 25.3%. (Source: Austrian Statistical Office website)

The fiscal revenue and expenditure situation in the past four years is as follows: