Thursday, April 2, 2015

Main Economic Activities of Austria

As it can be seen, Austria is a big farming, and agricultural country. Their main source of economic income is with live animals, and animal products. This comes from the export value, which in 2010 reached $2,533,572,792. Out of this category the most valuable section is in dairy, eggs, and honey, which grossed at $1,222,325,916.

 Below is the link to the Zwinz beekeeping farm in Austria, it is a generational farm, with over fifty bee colonies, they even teach courses on how to bee-keep! Personally I had no idea there were beekeeping classes, and I think it would be a wonderful experience.

http://imkerei.zwinz.co.at/en/honey-farm/ 

Other big economic places of income for Austria are machinery and mechanical parts, which can be seen on charts in previous posts. In 2010 the income from machinery was at $36,841,912,937.
ABA is one of the biggest companies in Austria, and does more than just machinery, it also electronics, chemicals, among other products that are produced in factories. Below is a link that goes to the website.

http://investinaustria.at/EN/Home/Sectors/Mechanical%20Engineering/International+machine+manufacturers+in+Austria.aspx

This is an example of the economic incentives of ABA. (double click to enlarge). 

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Agriculture


Agriculture is an important part of Austria, as can be seen in previous data maps, it's highly prevalent. The main crops and products that are normally associated with Austria are; sugar beets, wheat, corn, barley, potatoes, apples, and grapes. Livestock that are raised are pigs and cattle. The farms that grow these products are usually medium sized. This rustic scene is a big attraction for tourists to take picturesque photos. Because of the high farm population, there is also a large business in making farm machinery.


Saturday, March 14, 2015

Human Development

What is it?

Human development is the study of the human condition compared to international development. It measures the progress of one country compared to the rest of the world. The measurement is a suggestion of what there is, since there is no true way to actually tell the changes in conditions.

Austria Vs. the Rest of the World

Austria, compared to many countries in the rest of the world, is on the higher end of everything. Which in retrospect is very good, especially considering that it is a smaller country.
In this graph I've labeled Austria, as well as the United States, and Germany, so that you can see where Austria's cultural parent country stands, as well as the United States, and they are all very relatively close. Which is understandable since all three are first world countries.

Sunday, March 1, 2015

Languages in Austria

There is a large range of languages spoken in Austria. Officially the language is German, however it is only spoken by 88% of the population. Croatian, Slovene, and Hungarian are official languages in specific cities, however their percentage of usage ranges between 0.2-1.5%. Then throughout the rest of the country you can see the usage of Serbian, Turkish, Czech, Slovak, Yiddish, Romany, and other immigrant languages can be seen smattered across the country. I searched for a map to show the range of where these languages are spoken in Austria, however none were available. I was able to find a map showing the usage of Germanic and Slavic. As you can see the usage of Slavic is not very prominent, mostly on the eastern and southern edges of Austria.
(To view map clearly double click to enlarge.)
http://www.ethnologue.com/map/AT 
It's very clear that Austria has a wide range of languages spoken in it, and this is due to the surrounding countries with their individual cultures, as people cross borders languages are shared, and some stay and become used more and more popularly. This can be seen in most other European countries as well.
The photo shown above is that of a traditional Austrian folk band, which can be seen at festivals throughout the country. The culture from Austria is largely based in Germanic as German is the main language, and German is the largest ethnic group in the country. The two countries hold a strong kinship with one another.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Austria
Population: 8.474 million.
Population density by state 2014.

Median age: total: 44.3years, male: 42.3 years, female: 45.23 years
Population growth rate: 0.01%
Birth rate: 8.76 births/1,000 population
Death rate: 10.38 deaths /1,000 population
Urban population: 67.7% of total population
Largest city: Vienna 1,793,667
Infant mortality rate: 4.16 deaths/1,000 live births, ranked 196th in the world.
Life expectancy at birth: 80.17 years, ranked 32nd in the world
Total fertility rate: 1.43 children born/woman, ranked 202nd in the world

HIV/AIDS
 adult prevalence rate: 0.3%. Ranked 90th in the world
 people living with HIV/AIDS: 15,000, ranked 84th in the world
 deaths: 54.

Health Expenditures - adult prevalence rate: 11%, ranked 20th
Literacy (age 15 and over can read and write): 98%

Education Expenditures: 5.9%, ranked 44th in the world

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Important Cultural Symbols of Austria

The Central Eastern Alps

Taking up most of Austria, the Central Eastern Alps are known around the world for their picturesque beauty. When most think of the Alps they think of goat herds, and yodelers, but that's not all there is to it. It is known for it's history of pilgrimage of everyday folk to soldiers during wartimes. It is also full of legends such as Krampus, a horned figure who accompanies Santa Claus and punishes the bad children.


St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna

A beautiful landmark of Vienna, the St. Stephen's Cathedral has been around since 1147 AD, and is the heart of the well known city. It is one of the very few gothic cathedrals that was finished at such an immense height during the Middle Ages. Being old as it is, it has many intriguing qualities about it, such as the bread loaf sized indent at the side of the main entrance, that was once used to measure loaves of bread by dissatisfied customers, and the incomplete northern steeple, that has a possible love story intertwined with it....

The Golden Strauss Statue

Found in Stadtpark, a local park in Vienna, is the Golden Strauss, a statue that represent Johann Strauss playing a stringed instrument. Originally bronze, it was gilded in the 20th century. A wonderful picture opportunity it is now considered to be the most famous statue of any musician in the world.

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Thematic Maps of Austria

Thematic Maps of Austria

Thematic maps are used to show data for specific topics in different geographical areas. These area a few examples.

Proportional Symbol Map

Uses symbols of different sizes to represent data from different areas, in this case it is for Austria's industry centers. So you can see the many textile centers, which are spread throughout the country, as well as the iron and steel which is mainly together near the center of Austria.
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/europe/austria_indust_centers_1969.jpg

Dasymetric Map

This is similar to the chloropleth map, however, instead of set regions, it shows the distribution of where the data is popular.
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/europe/austria_land_1969.jpg

Isopleth Map

 Shows, in this case, the level of land use in Austria, so you can see the large areas of forest, and crop cultivation with livestock, as well as the smaller areas of simple bare rock and snow, and then the alpine pastures.  
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/europe/austria_land_1969.jpg