202009

COUNTRY:
AUSTRIA

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

SUBMITTED TO: PROF.AMNA SHAFIQ

SUBMITTED BY:
BILAL ILYAS L1F08MBAM 2087
ABDUR REHMAN L1F08MBAM 2041
SAAD IJAZ L1F08MBAM 2025

UNIVERSITYSUBMISSION
OF CENTAL DATE: 01/09/2009
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Table of Contents
Facts and Statistics...............................................................................................................4
Population........................................................................................................................4
Monetary units:................................................................................................................4
Ethnic Make-up:..............................................................................................................4
Religions:.........................................................................................................................4
Location:..........................................................................................................................5
Capital and largest city (2003 EST.):..............................................................................5
Other large cities:.............................................................................................................5
Government:....................................................................................................................5
Language in Austria:........................................................................................................5
National Holiday:.............................................................................................................6
Literacy rate:....................................................................................................................6
THE COUNTRY.................................................................................................................6
Land and Climate:............................................................................................................6
History:............................................................................................................................6
Government:....................................................................................................................7
Economy:.........................................................................................................................8
Transportation:.................................................................................................................9
THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY.................................................................................10
Population:.....................................................................................................................10
Language:......................................................................................................................10
Education:......................................................................................................................10
Health:............................................................................................................................11
Religion:........................................................................................................................11
HOLIDAYS:..................................................................................................................12
LIFE STYLES OF THE COUNTRY................................................................................12
FAMILY LIFE:.............................................................................................................12
BUSINESS HOURS:.....................................................................................................13

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FOOD:...........................................................................................................................13
CULTURAL CUSTOMS..............................................................................................14
Austrian Family Values.................................................................................................14
The Austrian Home........................................................................................................14
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Appearances Matter.......................................................................................................14
Greetings:......................................................................................................................15

A ustria officially the Republic of Austria is a

country of roughly 8.3 million people in
Europe. It borders both Germany and the
Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the
Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and
landlocked
Central
Czech
east,

Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers

83,872 square kilometers (32,383 sq mi), and is influenced
by a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly
mountainous due to the presence of the Alps (High Mountain); only 32% of the country is
below 500 meters (1,600 ft), and its highest point is 3,797 meters (12,460 ft). The majority
of the population—about 90%—speaks German which is also the country's official
language

Facts and Statistics

Population
8,210,281 (July 2009)
Country comparison to the world: 93

Monetary units:

EURO

Ethnic Make-up:

 German 88.5%,
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 indigenous minorities 1.5% (includes Croatians, Slovenes, Hungarians, Czechs,
Slovaks, Roma),
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 recent immigrant groups 10% (includes Turks, Bosnians, Serbians, Croatians) (2001)

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Religions:

 Roman Catholic 74%,

 Protestant 5%,

 Muslim 4%,

 others 17%

Location:

Central Europe, north of Italy and

Slovenia bordering Czech Republic 362 km,
Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy 430
km, Liechtenstein 35 km, Slovakia 91 km,
Slovenia 330 km, Switzerland 164 km.

Capital and largest city (2003 EST.):

Vienna, 2,041,300 (metro area), 1,523,600

Other large cities:

Graz, 219,500; Linz, 185,300; Salzburg, 145,500;

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Government:
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FEDERAL REPUBLIC

Language in Austria:

German is the official language spoken by 98% of the population as mother

tongue.

National Holiday:

National Day, October 26

Literacy rate:
98%

THE COUNTRY

Land and Climate:

The greater part of Austria lies in the

cool/temperate climate zone in which humid
westerly winds predominate. With over half of
the country dominated by the Alps, the alpine
climate is the predominant one. In the east—in
the Pannonian Plain and along the Danube valley
—the climate shows continental features with
less rain than the alpine areas. Although Austria
is cold in the winter, summer temperatures can
be relatively warm—reaching temperatures of
around 20-40 degrees Celsius. 6
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History:

The origins of Austria date back to the time of the

Roman Empire when a Celtic kingdom was
conquered by the Romans in approximately 15
BC, and later became Noricum, a Roman
province, in the mid 1st century AD ]—an area
which mostly encloses today's Austria. In 788
AD, the Frankish king Charlemagne conquered
the area, and introduced Christianity. More
recently, the Austrian Empire formed a
monarchic union with the Kingdom of Hungary
in 1867—creating Austria–Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire—which
ended in 1918 with the closure of World War I. In 1938, Austria was incorporated into
Nazi Germany, creating a unification known as the Aeschylus. This lasted until the end of
World War II in 1945, after which Austria was occupied by the Allies. In 1955, the
Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In
the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which
declared that the country would become permanently neutral. The modern name of Austria
can be traced back to the name Ostarrîchi, first documented in an official document from
996 AD.

Government:

Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy, composed of nine

federal states. It is one of six European countries that have declared
permanent neutrality, and one of the few countries that includes the
concept of everlasting neutrality in its constitution.

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PARLIMENT
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Economy:

Austria is one of the 12 richest countries in the world in terms of GDP (Gross domestic
product) per capital has a well-developed social market economy, and a high standard of
living.

(According to 2007 EST.)

 GDP $319.7 billion;

 Per capita $39,000.
 Real growth rate: 3.3%.
 Inflation: 1.9%.
 Unemployment: 4.3%.
 Arable land: 16.59%.
 Labor force: 3.56 million
 Exports: $158.3 billion
 Imports: $157.4 billion

Agriculture:

Potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber.

Industries:

Construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, metals, chemicals, lumber and wood
processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism.

Natural resources:

Oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnetite, tungsten, graphite,
salt, hydropower. f.o.b. (2007 est.): machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts,

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paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs. f.o.b.
(2007 est.): machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil
products; foodstuffs.
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Major trading partners:

Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands (2006).

Transportation:

Austria has wonderful transport facility. The country is

famous for cars. The streets are excellent in Austria.
Transportation through railways is very comfortable. Linz,
Salzburg, Innsbruck, Graz and Klagenfurt and Vienna
have their own airports. These airports connect Austria and
many other international cities.

Transportation is also very comfortable by tube, tram and bus. There are cheap night
buses which are better than taxi. There are many cycle lanes in the country.

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THE PEOPLE OF THE COUNTRY

Population:
8,210,281 (July 2009)
Country comparison to the world: 93

Language:

German is the official language spoken by 98% of the population as mother tongue.

Education:

Responsibility for educational oversight in Austria is

entrusted partly to the Austrian states (Bund slander),
and partly to the federal government. Optional kinder
garten education is provided for all children between
the ages of three and six years. School attendance is
compulsory for nine years, i.e. usually to the age of
fifteen. The Programme for International Student
Assessment, coordinated by the OECD (Organization for
Economic Co-operation Development) for, currently ranks
Austria's education as the 18th best in the world, being
significantly higher than the OECD average.

Primary education lasts for four years. Alongside Germany, secondary education includes
two main types of schools based on a pupil's ability as determined by grades from the
primary school: the Gymnasium for the more gifted children which normally leads to the
Matura which is a requirement for access to universities.

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Health:

Austria's federal government formulates health policy

directive and public hygiene standards are high. The
country spent an estimated 8.2% of GDP on health care
annually as of 1999 and, in recent years, has expanded its
public health facilities. Virtually every Austrian has
benefits of health insurance. I n principle, anyone is
entitled to use the facilities provided by Austria's health
service. The costs are borne by the social insurance plan, or in cases of hardship, by the
social welfare program.

The overall death rate in 2002 was 10 per 1,000 people, and in 1999 there were 16 cases
of tuberculosis per 100,000 people.

Religion:

At the end of the twentieth century, about 74% of Austria's population was registered as
Roman Catholic, while about 5% considered themselves Protestants. Austrian Christians
are obliged to pay a mandatory membership fee (calculated by income—about 1%) to
their church; this payment is called "Kirchensteuer" ("Church tax").

About 12% of the population declares that they have no religion. Of the remaining people,
around 340,000 are registered as members of various Muslim communities, mainly due to
the influx from Turkey, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania. About 180,000 are members of
Eastern Orthodox Churches, more than 20,000 are active Jehovah's Witnesses and about
8,100 are Jewish.

According to the most recent Euro barometer Poll 2005,

 54% of Austrian citizens responded that "they believe there is a God".



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34% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force".
8% answered that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life
force".
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HOLIDAYS:

Holiday Events
January 1 New Year
January 6 Epiphany
May 1 Labor Day
August 15 Assumption
October 26 National Day
November 1 All Saints Day
December 8 Immaculate Conception
December 25 Christmas
December 26 Boxing Day

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LIFE STYLES OF THE COUNTRY

FAMILY LIFE:

The most important Austrian family unit is the nuclear family (Families). Soon after
marriage, a bride and groom customarily establish their own household near one partner's
(usually the wife's) family. They may eventually be joined by a widowed grandparent or
unmarried aunt or uncle. Regular visits are exchanged with the extended family (Gross
families), consisting of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and first cousins. A wider network of
relations (Verwandschaft) comes together for major events such as weddings. Children
maintain a special relationship with godparents until adulthood.

Male and female roles in the family are not equal. For much of the twentieth century,
Austria has had a high proportion of women in the labor force. Women are eligible for two
years of paid maternity leave after the birth of a child, and many times grandparents take
care of children so that a woman may return to work. Regardless of women's significant
financial contribution to the household, Austrian men continue to look at domestic tasks
and child-rearing as essentially women's jobs.

BUSINESS HOURS:

Throughout the year, apart from Festivals, businesses are open at the following hours:

                 Offices: Mondays to Fridays: 09.00 - 18:00

                 Banks: Mondays to Fridays: 08:00 - 15:00
                                

(Small banks will close in the middle of the day between the hours of 12:30 and! 3:00, and
banks usually close on Thursdays at 17:30)

Stores: Mondays to Fridays: 09:00 -

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18:00
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Some supermarkets in Austria are open beyond the hours indicated above. Food may be
purchased on Sundays in shops, gas and railway stations.

FOOD:

Austrians are known for their love of food and drink.

Perhaps the most characteristic Austrian dish is the Wiener
schnitzel, a veal or pork cutlet that is breaded and fried.
Soups and stews with dumplings are very popular, and hot
sausages are often served

CULTURAL CUSTOMS

Austrian Family Values

 The family forms the basis of the Austrian social structure.

 The family is generally small and, due to lack of migration, generally closely
knit within a certain town or village.

 Weekends are generally devoted to family activities such as outdoor activities.

 Eating dinner together in the evening is very much the norm.

 Sundays re usually bookmarked for visiting grandparents for dinner, and/or,

enjoying a hike in the country together.

The Austrian Home

 Austrians take much pride in their homes, keeping them neat and tidy. 15
 In a formal culture such as theirs, the home is the place where people relax and
let their hair down.
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 Only close friends and relatives are invited into the house, so it is a place where
more informal communication may occur.

 Neighborly etiquette also has its rules that must be observed. It is imperative
that common areas such as sidewalks, pavements, corridors (in flats), and steps
be kept clean at all times by all associated with them.

Appearances Matter

 Presentation and dressing well are important to Austrians.

 Even when dressed informally, they are neat and conservative; their clothes are
never ostentatious.

 There is sometimes a strict protocol for dressing appropriately in different

situations: formal wear for the theatre or a concert, and semiformal wear for
better restaurants.

 Some high level events may have a dress code and will turn away patrons who
are not dressed properly.

 Most Austrian women dress up to go shopping, since they dress elegantly, if

conservatively, at all times, especially when they will be public.

Greetings:

 A quick, firm handshake is the traditional greeting.

 Maintain eye contact during the greeting.

 Some Austrian men, particularly those who are older, may kiss the hand of a
female.

 A male from another country should not kiss an Austrian woman's hand.

 When entering a room, shake hands with everyone individually, including

children. 16
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