Economy and Law of Styria, Austria

Economy

The Styrian economy underwent a profound structural change after the steel crisis in the mid-1980s. Numerous companies involved in the production of goods were able to become competitive again through privatizations and new product developments. A decisive factor in this was that business and politics promoted growth based on research and development. Styria has (2017) 5.16% of the gross domestic product (BIP) has the highest research quota in Austria (national average: 3.14%), the close interlinking of industry (also with each other) and science manifests itself in a network of clusters, competence and impulse centers (e.g. Autocluster Styria). The GDP per resident was € 35,800 in 2016 and was thus below the national average of € 40,400 per resident; In a comparison of the federal states, Styria takes sixth place. The state contributes 12.5% ​​to Austria’s GDP. With (2016) 1.9%, Styrian agriculture and forestry have an above-average share of gross value added (GVA; at manufacturer prices) (Austria: 1.2%), and the GVA share in the industrial sector (including the energy and construction industry) at 33.2% is above the national average of 27.7%. The GVA share of the service sector is, however, significantly lower at 64.9% (Austria: 71.0%). In 2016, the unemployment rate was 8.2%, below the national average of 9.1%.

Agriculture: Over a quarter (26.3%) of the total area of ​​Styria is used for agriculture, of which around 35% is used as arable land. Styria is the most heavily forested federal state (“Green Mark”); over half of the country’s area (60.9%) is forested. Agricultural production is concentrated in the south-eastern flat and hill country, with small and very small businesses predominating. Styrian agriculture has an above-average proportion of special crops, in addition to tobacco, rapeseed, hops and pumpkin crops, above all fruit growing (the most important federal state in the apple harvest). In addition, wheat, rye, barley, oats, potatoes, sugar beets and, above all, grain maize are grown. Pig breeding (2016: 27% of the Austrian pig population) and cattle farming dominate animal production (16,

Natural resources and the energy industry: As in the rest of Germany, mining has lost a lot of its importance in Styria. Ore deposits are mined in the open pit at Erzberg near Eisenerz. Magnesite mining is mainly carried out in Breitenau and since 2013 again in Hohentauern, as well as the mining of graphite, talc and gypsum, and salt extraction at Altaussee. – Energy generation includes hydro and thermal power plants; the largest thermal power plants operate in Mellach (district heating power plant and gas-fired combined cycle power plant, the latter with 832 MW the most powerful in Austria) and Werndorf, the run-of-river power plants are located along the Enns and Mur rivers.

Industry: The main focus of material goods production today is metal production and processing, plant, machine and vehicle construction, electrical engineering and electronics, steel and iron industry, environmental technology, health and food technology. Almost half of Styrian industrial production is exported. A regional focus of industrial employment is Graz and the surrounding area, the second large industrial conurbation is the Mur-Mürz-Furche with the districts of Leoben, Bruck an der Mur, Judenburg and Mürzzuschlag. There are paper, cellulose and wood products manufacturing throughout the region Styria widespread.

Tourism: The main tourist attractions are the Ausseer Land on the Dead Mountains, the upper Ennstal with the Ramsau plateau (on the Dachstein), the Mariazeller area and the Semmering area. Winter sports are mainly practiced in the Niedere Tauern (Schladming). Overall, tourism plays a relatively minor role with (2015) 11.8 million overnight stays (only 39.2% of them foreigners).

Transportation

The main traffic artery is the Mur-Mürz-Furche, which forms the central part of the »sloping passage« (the most important earthquake line in Austria, on which a large number of repeatedly active earthquake sources line up). It is connected to the Vienna Basin via the Semmering and to the Ennstal via the Schoberpass. The Pyhrn and the Südautobahn, which as inner Austrian modes of transport, the Styrian industrial centers with the Linz industrial area (Linz) and with the Vienna area, Connect Lower Austria and Burgenland, and parallel railway lines cope with the steadily increasing volume of traffic on the north-west-south-east and north-east-south-west transit lines and integrate Styria into the European economic area. The most important railway line is the Styrian section of the Southern Railway (Vienna – Tarvisio, Italy) with a branch in Bruck an der Mur via Graz to Maribor (Slovenia). – With the Thalerhof airport in Graz, Styria has an international connection.

Styria: administrative division  Hide table

Styria: Administrative division (1.1. 2018)
Administrative unit Area (in km 2) Ew. Ew. (per km 2)
political district
Bruck-Mürzzuschlag 2 155 99 500 46
Deutschlandsberg 864 60 700 70
Graz area 1 086 152 900 141
Hartberg-Fürstenfeld 1 228 90 500 74
Leibnitz 727 82,000 113
Leoben 1 052 60 600 58
Liezen 3 317 80 100 24
Murau 1 384 27 900 20th
Murtal 1 676 72 500 43
Southeast Styria 1 009 86,000 85
Voitsberg 679 51 300 76
Wheat 1 098 90 100 82
City with its own statute
Graz 127 286 200 2 246

Law

According to the state constitutional law of October 20, 2010 (amended several times), the legislation exercises a state parliament with 48 (until 2015 56) members elected for a period of 5 years. The administration lies with the state government elected by the state parliament, which consists of the state governor, a deputy governor and 6 state councilors.

Flag and coat of arms: The national flag was introduced in 1960; it is horizontally divided white over green and bears the state coat of arms in the middle. – The coat of arms was laid down in the state constitution of 1926. In the green shield it shows an upright, red-horned and armored, fire-breathing silver panther. The representation has been documented since around 1160, the colors have been known since around 1260. The Styrian ducal hat rests on the shield.

Economy of Styria, Austria

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