Environment - current issues: some forest degradation caused by air and soil pollution; soil pollution results from the use of agricultural chemicals; air pollution results from emissions by coal- and oil-fired power stations and industrial plants and from trucks transiting Austria between northern and southern Europe
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,
Law of the Sea, 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
Geography - note: landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys; major river is the Danube; population is concentrated on eastern lowlands because of steep slopes, poor soils, and low temperatures elsewhere
Austria People
Population: 8,150,835 (July 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 16.57% (male 691,925; female 658,375)
15-64 years: 68.05% (male 2,802,019; female 2,744,536)
65 years and over: 15.38% (male 478,498; female 775,482) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.24% (2001 est.)