Austria

Objective

This website analyzes the current state of Austria’s ICT sector and the future that the country is working diligently to achieve. A variety of sources have been used, but the statistics have primarily been obtained through CIA: the World Factbook and The Global Information Technology Report 2003-2004. The following pages will detail findings on the following topics:

• National Technology Policies
• Telecommunications Infrastructure
• IT Diffusion and Usage: by individuals, business, and government
• Information Policies
• IT Workforce
• IT Geographics: IT Clusters and Technology Parks as incubators of innovation

Throughout this analysis, comparisons will be drawn between Austria and two other countries in continental Europe to give a broader perspective of the analysis. Switzerland was chosen because it is similar in population size and Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Germany was chosen because of its historical and economic relationship with Austria. Both are import sources and export markets for Austria. The table below shows the position of Austria, Germany, and Switzerland with regard to population, GDP, and the year of entry into the European Union (EU), which is viewed as a pivotal success factor for European countries.

	Austria	Switzerland	Germany
Population, 2004	8,174,762	7,450,867	82,424,609
July 2004 est.
GDP, 2002	$206.2	$1,990.3	$267.5
in billions of US dollars
GDP per capita, 2002	$25,457	$24,272	$37,150
in US dollars
Entry into the EU	1995	Not a Member	1950
Source: CIA-the World Factbook

The Global Information Technology Report 2003-2004

Rankings and scores on various variables can help to put an issue into perspective. The Global Information Technology Report 2003-2004 (1) uses the Networked Readiness Index as a basis of comparison, scoring countries on a numerous scales according to the variables being studied. This is “a nation’s or community’s degree of preparation to participate in and benefit from information and communication technology (ICT) developments.” It is a comparison of 102 countries in three component areas: Environment, Readiness, and Usage. The Index identifies three stakeholders in ICT: individuals, businesses, and governments. The Environment refers to the macroeconomic and regulatory systems surrounding the ICT sector. Usage is the impact of ICT on the stakeholders’ capability (Readiness) to use and benefit from the sector. The rankings of the three countries for the Index and its components are in the table below. Scores and rankings of specific subcomponents will be discussed throughout the website.

	Austria	Switzerland	Germany
Networked Readiness Index Rank	21	7	11
Environment Component Index	21	4	17
Readiness Component Index	15	13	12
Usage Component Index	19	7	10
Source: The Global Information Technology Report 2003-2004