Agriculture, Industry and Services
Main article: Agriculture in Austria Main article: Tourism in AustriaAustrian farms, like those of other west European mountainous countries, are small and fragmented, and production is relatively expensive. Since Austria's becoming a member of the EU in 1995, the Austrian agricultural sector has been undergoing substantial reform under the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Although Austrian farmers provide about 80% of domestic food requirements, the agricultural contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) has declined since 1950 to less than 3%.
Although some industries are global competitors, such as several iron and steel works, chemical plants and oil corporations that are large industrial enterprises employing thousands of people, most industrial and commercial enterprises in Austria are relatively small on an international scale.
Most important for Austria is the service sector generating the vast majority of Austria's GDP. Vienna has grown into a finance and consulting metropole and has established itself as the door to the East within the last decades. Viennese law firms and banks are among the leading corporations in business with the new EU member states. Tourism is very important for Austria's economy, accounting for around 10 percent of Austria's GDP. In 2001, Austria was the tenth most visited country in the world with over 18.2 million tourists. Previously, dependency on German guests made this sector of the Austrian economy very dependent on German economy. However recent developments have brought a change, especially since winter ski resorts such as Arlberg or Kitzbühel are now more and more frequented by Eastern Europeans, Russians and Americans.
Read more about this topic: Economy Of Austria
Famous quotes containing the words industry and/or services:
“Do not put off your work until tomorrow and the day after. For the sluggish worker does not fill his barn, nor the one who puts off his work; industry aids work, but the man who puts off work always wrestles with disaster.”
—Hesiod (c. 8th century B.C.)
“We now in the United States have more security guards for the rich than we have police services for the poor districts. If youre looking for personal security, far better to move to the suburbs than to pay taxes in New York.”
—John Kenneth Galbraith (b. 1908)