Geography
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Being situated in the Alps, Austria's west and south are mountainous making Austria a well-known winter sports destination. The highest mountain is the Grossglockner, at 3,798 m, this is equivalent to 12460.63 feet. The north and east of the country are mostly rolling terrain. The climate is temperate, with cold winters and cool summers. Click here for a map showing Austria located in Europe
Austria is a relatively small country with an area of 83.000 km2 = 32.000 Square Miles
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Austrian Language
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Though there is no such thing as an Austrian language, several Germanic dialects are spoken in Austria. |
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Population Size
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Total: 8,1 Mio. inhabitants
Density: 97 People per km2
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| Total Area Size |
Austria is a relatively small country with an area of 83.800 km2 = 32.355 Square Miles
with a high percentage of mountains and forests
- % of mountains: around two thirds
- % of forests: 47%
- % of water: 1,3 %
Only Finland and Sweden have a higher percentage of forests compared to their area size.
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| Time Zone |
UTC + 1 (UTC means Coordinated Universal Time)
Link to the local time zone:
http://www.weltzeit.de
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The capital
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The capital is Vienna; it`s the political, economical und cultural centre of Austria
Area: 415 km2 = 160,23 Square Miles
Inhabitants of Vienna: 1,6 million
Every fifth Austrian lives in Vienna
About 20 % foreign people
link: www.wien.gv.at
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| Vienna is famous for
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The
Spanish Riding School of Vienna...
...is the oldest and last Riding School in the world where classic dressage is still practised in its purest form. This Institute was founded in 1572 and its very name gives away the fact that the horses were of Spanish origin. The Imperial Court Stud was situated near the village of Lipizza and it was this village which gave the race its name. The Lipizzaner is regarded as the oldest classic horse race in Europe.
The Viennese Opera Ball...
… is one of the biggest middle-European society events of the year. It´s known all over the world, the traditional dance is the Vienna Waltz. Follow this Link an click at "Panoramatour" to get a first impression.
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - Wiener Philharmoniker …
… is one of the most famous symphony orchestras of the world. The „New Year Concert“ is shown via TV in more than 40 countries all over the world.
UNO-City
Vienna is with the UNO-city the third official place of the UNO.
4000 employees
head quarter of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)
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Studying in Austria at the BOKU
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| Name of University (where the Global Seminar takes place) |
 BOKU - University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna |
| History of BOKU |
The BOKU was established in 1872 by the emperor Franz Josef as an academy. First there were founded the agronomy section, followed by the forestry. In 1883 a 3-years course for Land and Water Engineering was created. The Agitation Engineering Study – now renamed in Food and Biotechnology – has started in 1945. The last created study is Landscape Design and Planning, established in 1981 as a try-study. It became an ordinary study in 1991.
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| Studies at the BOKU
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Up to October 2003 the BOKU had only master – studies. All studies had 10 terms and the students finished their study with the master, without making a bachelor before. Now the studying system in Austria has changed and since October 2003 you have to graduate the bachelor first, before you can do the master.
Today The BOKU offers studies in following divisions:
- Agronomy
- Forestry and Wood Management
- Land and Water Management and Engineering
- Food and Biotechnology
- Landscape Design and Planning
- PhD Study Program
In the winter semester 2003 there were altogether 5209 students at the BOKU – extraordinary students included. Just BOKU-students there were 4650. The BOKU is compared to the economic university in Vienna with 30.000 students a rather small university in Austria.
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| Further information about studying in Austria |
Schedule of university year:
In Austria we have two terms per year: the winter term from 1st October to 31st January and the summer term from 1st March to 30th June.
The regular holidays at the BOKU are 3 weeks in February and 3 months during the summer (July, August and September). There are Christmasholidays (2 weeks) and Easterholidays for about 3 weeks too. The universities define on which days exams can not be taken – but in the most time of holidays students can make exams as well as during the term.
Students pay 363.36 Euro per term and have to buy the materials for classes by them self.
In Austria 2.5% of the population are students and we are having a percentage of academics in population of ca. 8% which is compared to other EU countries quite low (in Germany 16%). An average Austrian student is 27,4 years old, when he finishes his study (keep in mind that until now every student in Austria did master studies).
Link: www.boku.ac.at, www.oeh.ac.at, www.bmbwk.gv.at
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Public Spending
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The Significance of the Government Sector |
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In 2001 the government revenue (the income of government allocated via taxes, public charges etc.) amounted 52.2% of total GDP. This might seem to be a high value compared with states like the US (34.7%) or Canada (44.1%) but the value is still lower than in Sweden, Denmark or Norway which exhibit government revenue rates at about 60% of GDP.
Fortunately the public authorities do not only collect taxes, but spend as well money for the public welfare: In 2001 the Austrian authorities spent about 18.7% of GDP on Social Security Transfers (Pensions, Health Care etc.). The disposable income of an average worker is 71.1 % if he or she is single, and 91% if she or he is married with 2 children.
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Public spending for
Austrian Agriculture
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The Austrian agricultural and forestry sector only contributes about 2.3 % to the GDP of Austria. Still, it is heavily subsidized. Subsidies on agricultural issues are mainly regulated by the European Union. The OECD estimates the value of all gross transfers from taxpayers and consumers arising from policy measures which support agriculture at 1.3% of GDP for the EU-15. |
Public spending for Austrian Military
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The general public expenditures on military defense are traditionally very low. Actually they are the lowest (despite from Luxembourg) for the whole European Union: Expenditures account for about 0,8% of GDP. |
Public spending for
Education and Research & Development
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Since 1990 Austrias expenditures on research and development increased every year, catching up from a low level and finally reaching the EU-mean in 2001. They amount is 1.94% of the GDP. The Austrian government set itself the target to raise expenditures on R&D at 2.5% in 2006 and in order to comply with the European Union at 3% of GDP in 2010.
Total expenditures on education (public and private) amount 6.3 % of GDP. Though the overall secondary education level is a major strength of Austria, Austria is still lacking behind concerning tertiary education: Only 6.6% of all 25-65 year olds attained a tertiary type qualification degree (BA and MA or equivalent).
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Agriculture
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- Average farm size: 16,4 hectare (1 hectare = 10000m_)
- Average number of cows per farm: 14 cows
- Average number of tractors per farm: 2,5 tractors
- Average yield of wheat per hectare: 5100kg
- Average yield of milk per cow: 5500 liters
- Average yield of maize per hectar: 7600 kg
- Most common brand of tractore: Steyr – Traktoren
(www.steyr-traktoren.com)
- GNP contribution of agriculture in % 1,4%
- Percentage of people working in
agriculture: 2,4 %
Percentage of animal produktion 45,6% (milk.....15,6%, cattle....13,0%, pigs......10,9%)
Oil seeds, fruit and vegetables: 11,4%
Wine: 7,8%;
Grain: 12,5%
Percentage of organic farmers: 9,2%
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