Environment
Austria
Climate
temperate; continental, overcast; cold winters characterized by frequent rainfall and occasional snowfall in lower regions, along with snow in mountainous areas; moderate summer temperatures with intermittent showers
Geoparks
global geoparks and regional networks
Ore of the Alps; Styrian Eisenwurzen; Karawanken/Karavanke (which includes Slovenia) (2023)
total global geoparks and regional networks
3
Land use
other
20.9% (2023 est.)
forest
47.2% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
31.5% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 16% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 0.8% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 14.7% (2023 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
59.5% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
0.68% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Waste and recycling
municipal solid waste generated annually
5.22 million tons (2024 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled
36% (2022 est.)
Environmental issues
forest degradation due to air and soil contamination; soil contamination from agricultural chemicals; air contamination originating from coal- and oil-powered plants, industrial facilities, and trucks passing through Austria; water contamination
Total water withdrawal
municipal
34.36 million cubic meters (2022 est.)
industrial
2.21 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
agricultural
124 million cubic meters (2022 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions
total emissions
56.959 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from consumed natural gas
13.397 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke
10.527 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids
33.036 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)
Particulate matter emissions
10.3 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Total renewable water resources
77.7 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)
International environmental agreements
party to
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified
Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Antarctic-Environmental Protection