Environment—current issues: air pollution from vehicle emissions and open-air burning; acid rain; water pollution from increased use of agricultural fertilizers; loss of biodiversity
Environment—international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air
Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine
Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Law of the Sea
Geography—note: landlocked; crossroads of northern and southern
Europe; along with southeastern France and northern Italy, contains
the highest elevations in Europe
People
Population: 7,275,467 (July 1999 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 17% (male 639,970; female 611,876)
15-64 years: 68% (male 2,509,988; female 2,417,580)
65 years and over: 15% (male 444,482; female 651,571) (1999 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.2% (1999 est.)
Birth rate: 10.53 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate: 9.06 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)