Indicators of economy in Austria

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Overall, the gross domestic product in Austria in 2020 decreased moderatly from 444.62 billion US dollars to 435.23 billion US dollars. Certainly, there have been shifts in some sectors of the economy, but a drop of 2.1 percent is still comparatively good this year. Numerous countries suffered more substantial losses. The tourism sector alone slumped by around 41 percent. The unemployment rate rose from 4.5 to 5.4 percent. The country's gross debt increased by 14.9 percent. The inflation rate fell from 1.5 percent previously to 1.4 percent by the end of 2020.

In 2021, there was already a recovery and the gross domestic product increased to 480.37 billion US dollars (=108.0% of 2019).

Income and purchasing power

The average monthly income in Austria is 4,397 US Dollar per capita. In the USA, the figure is 5,911 US Dollar. However, the prices of consumer goods are also around 14.1 percent lower than in the USA. If you compare income and price levels, the result is a more expensive life in Austria than in the United States. The bottom line is that the costs do not offset the lower income, and you get about 13.4 percent less.

However, it is also important to remember that this is a purely statistical model. Both the labor output and the type and quality of the goods received always correspond to the national average on both sides of the equation - so they do not necessarily have to match. Here you can also find an international comparison of cost of living and purchasing power.

Unemployment rates in percentages 1991 - 2022

Economic performance 2021

In the Global Innovation Index, Austria ranked 17th in 2022 with 50.2 points. The index is calculated annually by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and most recently included 132 countries. The top country was Switzerland with 64.6 points. Out of the 2,000 largest listed companies in the world, 9 originate from Austria. This is determined annually in the Forbes Global 2000 list. The 9 largest companies in the country in 2022 were:

Rank 388: OMV Group (Vienna)
Rank 507: Erste Group Bank (Vienna)
Rank 797: Raiffeisen Bank International (Vienna)
Rank 1054: Verbund (Vienna )
Rank 1190: Voestalpine (Linz)
Rank 1269: Vienna Insurance Group (Vienna)
Rank 1657: Bawag Group (Vienna)
Rank 1682: Uniqa (Vienna)
Rank 1685: STRABAG (Vienna )

Development of gross domestic product in billions of USD 1960 - 2021

Household debt and deficits 2022

Imports and Exports 2021

Development of imports and exports in billions of USD 2005 - 2021