Article Outline
Austria has a highly developed system of rail, air, water, and highway transportation. As a landlocked and mountainous country, Austria depends on rail passage for a major share of its foreign trade. In 2005 the country had 5,781 km (3,592 mi) of railroads, about 90 percent of which were owned by the state. Austria is known for its highway system, leading to even the remotest valley and highest mountains. Improved highways and roads totaled about 133,718 km (83,089 mi). Water transportation is confined largely to the Danube River. Shipping companies provide freight and passenger service on the Danube River. The principal goods shipped by river are iron, coal, coke, petroleum and petroleum products, and fertilizer. Many international carriers serve Austrian airports, with most traffic to Schwechat, near Vienna. Austrian Airlines, the national airline, serves many international and domestic routes. Lauda Air, a privately operated competitor, began service in the 1990s.
The Austrian public broadcasting system, Österreichische Rundfunk (ORF), ran all radio and television broadcasts until the 1990s, when the first privately owned Austrian radio stations began operation. A national commercial television station received a license in 2000. Austrians also receive cable and satellite broadcasts, primarily from Germany. ORF provides three radio and two television services. In 1997 there were 751 radios and 540 televisions licensed per 1,000 persons.
Telephone communications are directed by the Austrian postal service. In 2005 there were 450 telephone mainlines for every 1,000 persons. Some 17 daily newspapers are published; daily newspaper circulation averages 2.4 million. Newspapers with a national circulation include Wiener Zeitung (the oldest daily newspaper in the world), Neue Kronen-Zeitung, Kurier, Der Standard, and Die Presse, all published in Vienna; and Salzburger Nachrichten, published in Salzburg.
In 2005 the Austrian labor force totaled 4 million. Membership in the 13 unions that make up the Austrian Trade Union Federation has declined, but nearly two-fifths of the workforce still belonged to a union in the early 2000s. Women make up 45 percent of the total labor force.
Austria is a democratic, federal republic governed according to the constitution of 1920, as amended in 1929 and subsequently modified. Like the constitutions of many other Western democracies, the constitution of Austria provides for a distinct division of power among the executive, the legislative, and the judicial branches of government. Laws having their origin in 1862 and 1867 guarantee basic human rights and liberties; the rights of minorities are also guaranteed by the constitution.
Executive power is exercised by the president of the republic, who is elected by popular vote every six years, and by the Council of Ministers, or cabinet, which is headed by a chancellor, appointed by the president for a term not exceeding four years. The chancellor is usually from the party with the largest number of seats in the Nationalrat (National Council). Suffrage is universal for citizens 19 years of age and older. The president may succeed himself for only a single term.
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