Foreign trade figures of Austria

Foreign Trade in Figures

The Austrian economy is heavily dependent on foreign trade, which accounts for 102% of GDP (World Bank, latest data available). Its trade with the countries of the European Union accounts for almost 70% of its total trade (WTO). The country’s main exports are vehicles, medicaments, human and animal blood and parts of motor vehicles. Its main imports are motor vehicles and their parts, medicaments, human and animal blood, and petroleum oils.

Germany is, by far, Austria’s privileged partner for both imports and exports. In 2020, Austrian exports to Germany represented 30.4% of total exports, while imports represented 34.7%. Except for the USA (Austria’s second export destination), and China (second main supplier), the country trades mainly with its neighbour countries: Italy, Switzerland, France, Poland and the Czech Republic. The manufacturing industry is well integrated into Germany’s value chain. Austria remains therefore dependent on the economic conjuncture in Germany and in other central and eastern European countries.

Austria imports more goods than it exports: USD 168.5 billion as opposed to USD 172.2 billion in 2020 (-6.7% y-o-y for both indexes - WTO latest data available), but its current account has invariably been in surplus since 2002 and will continue to improve over the forecasted horizon thanks to exports of services, which amounted to USD 64.2 billion while imports stood at USD 55.7 billion in 2020. In the same year, the external balance of goods and services stood at 3.8% of GDP (World Bank). According to preliminary results from Statistics Austria, the total value of imports of goods in the period January to August 2021 stood at EUR 114.28 billion, whereas exports amounted to EUR 106.84 billion.