Latest news with #StatisticsAustria
Russia Today
3 days ago
- Business
- Russia Today
EU state raises alarm about growing illiteracy
Almost a third of the population in Austria has poor reading skills, signaling an alarming trend, the EU country's government statistics office has said. The decline is particularly noticeable among those with jobs that require medium or low qualifications, Statistics Austria said in a statement earlier this week. In Austria, which has a population of nine million, a total of 29.0% or around 2.6 million people have a low level of literacy, according to data on the agency's website. The number of those who have problems with reading increased by 11.9% between 2012 and 2023, the figures show. The average literacy level among Austrians aged 16 to 65 stands at 254 points, which is significantly below the average of 260 points set by the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development). People from 16 to 24 performed above the OECD average, while older people appear to have significantly lower reading skills than the expected level, the agency said. 'The differences in reading skills among adults are large, and this gap has continued to widen,' Tobias Thomas, Director General of Statistics Austria, was cited as saying. There has been 'a particularly strong decline' in the consumption of complex reading materials such as newspapers and magazines, with the Austrians mainly reading emails and other shorter texts, the agency noted. According to Statistics Austria, the number of those with low day-to-day math skills also grew by 6.7% between 2012 and 2023, amounting to 22.6% of the population. Russia's state-owned pollster VTSIOM said last year that 'reading remains a popular means of obtaining knowledge and information among the Russians' despite what it called 'serious competition' from visual media. In the poll carried out in November 2024, some 87% of respondents said that they had read something over the previous week. Fiction topped the chart of the most popular reading materials (40%) in Russia, leaving news and social media posts in second place (37%), according to VTSIOM's figures.
The Star
19-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Austria's inflation rises to 3.1 pct in April
VIENNA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Austria's inflation rate rose to 3.1 percent in April, up slightly from a revised 3 percent in March, according to a press release issued on Monday by Statistics Austria. The main contributors to the increase were electricity, rents, and package holidays. Electricity prices surged by 36.4 percent in April compared to the same month in 2024, while rents rose by 4.2 percent, the agency reported. The year-on-year increase in travel-related costs was largely driven by the timing of the Easter and school holidays, both of which fell in April this year, resulting in higher demand and prices for holiday packages. Prices in the restaurant and hotel sectors also saw notable increases, rising by 5.8 percent and 5.7 percent respectively compared to April 2024. By contrast, a decline in fuel prices helped to moderate overall inflation pressures, according to the press release.
The Star
07-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Austrians keep traveling in high numbers despite prolonged sluggish economy
VIENNA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The Austrian population maintained a strong desire for travel in 2024, even as the country grappled with a sluggish economy and entered its second consecutive year of recession, according to data released by Statistics Austria on Wednesday. In 2024, 76.4 percent of people aged 15 and above took at least one holiday trip, nearly matching the record level of 76.7 percent in 2023. Young people between the ages of 15 to 24 were the most keen travellers, with a travel intensity of 89.2 percent, the data showed. "The Austrian population's desire to travel remains unbroken despite the weakening economy," said Statistics Austria Director General Tobias Thomas. A total of 27.53 million overnight holiday trips were made last year, including 13.03 million domestic trips and 14.5 million abroad. Domestic trips accounted for 47.3 percent of the total, while the neighboring Italy became the favorite outbound destination, taking up almost 20 percent of all holiday trips abroad. This high level of leisure travel contrasts with Austria's economic performance. The country's gross domestic product contracted by 1.1 percent in real terms in 2024 compared to the previous year, marking the second consecutive year of economic contraction. Reflecting this economic downturn, business travel declined slightly. Only 14.8 percent of the Austrian resident population made at least one overnight business trip in 2024, down from 15.9 percent in 2023, according to Statistics Austria.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Austria wine exports decline in 2024 amid 'volatile' market
Austrian wine exports declined both in terms of value and volume in 2024 due to the 'difficult market situation around the world', the country's industry association said. According to data from Statistics Austria, cited by the industry group, the value of the country's wine exports dropped by 6% to €233.3m ($252.4m). Volumes fell by 1.7% to 64.2 million litres. Austrian Wine Marketing Board CEO Chris Yorke said in a statement: 'All wine-producing countries are facing major challenges at the moment: costs that have risen sharply, reduced purchasing propensity and changes in consumers' drinking habits around the world, to name just a few. 'On top of that, the economic situation worldwide is extremely volatile at the moment, making it difficult to come up with long-term sales strategies.' A report from the Austrian Wine Marketing Board in January projected Austria's wine exports for 2024 would decline from the record levels reached in 2023. Austria's wine exports, which had grown by 62.7% or nearly €90m since their last decline in 2015, have experienced their first downturn in eight years, the report said. The country experienced a general decline in bottled wine exports, with volume falling by 5.1% and value by 6.3%. Bottled red wines were 'particularly impacted', registering a 12.5% drop in volume and a 14.4% decline in value. In contrast, bulk wine exports rose by 16.1% in volume but at a lower price, leading to a 1.4% decline in total bulk wine export value, the figures showed. Germany continued to be Austria's largest export market, accounting for 60.2% of total wine shipments and 42.3% of export revenues. However, the value of exports to Germany fell by 13.6% to €98.8m, despite remaining higher than the 2022 figure of €94.5m. Export volume dropped by 4.4%. Yorke added: 'In 2023, our wine exports came within a hair's breadth of reaching a quarter of a billion at €248m. 'The main driver for this was exceptionally high exports of bottled wine to our main export market, Germany. Since a higher volume of cheaper wine in bulk was sold to Germany again last year, we soon realised that we were not going to be able to match the exceptionally high export value achieved in 2023. The global economic situation as a whole is just too volatile for that at the moment.' Switzerland, previously Austria's second-largest export market, saw 'painful losses', with export volume down by 33.1% and value falling by 18.2%. A general decrease in Swiss wine imports, particularly red wines, contributed to these figures. Meanwhile, the US overtook Switzerland as Austria's second-largest wine export destination, accounting for 8.5% of revenues. Exports to the US increased by 6.5% in volume and 6.2% in value. Canada saw an increase in Austrian wine imports, with volume rising by 15.1% and value by 12.1%. Exports to the Nordic "monopoly markets", which include Norway, Sweden, and Finland, increased by 1.9% in both volume and value, according to Statistics Austria. "Austria wine exports decline in 2024 amid 'volatile' market" was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Austria wine exports decline in 2024 amid global market challenges
Austrian wine exports declined both in terms of value and volume in 2024 due to the 'difficult market situation around the world', the country's industry association said. According to data from Statistics Austria, cited by the industry group, the country's total export value dropped by 6% to €233.3m ($252.4m), while export volume fell by 1.7% to 64.2 million litres. Austrian Wine Marketing Board (Austrian Wine) CEO Chris Yorke said in a statement: 'All wine-producing countries are facing major challenges at the moment: costs that have risen sharply, reduced purchasing propensity and changes in consumers' drinking habits around the world, to name just a few. 'On top of that, the economic situation worldwide is extremely volatile at the moment, making it difficult to come up with long-term sales strategies.' A report from the Austrian Wine Marketing Board (ÖWM) in January projected that Austria's wine exports for 2024 would decline from the record levels reached in 2023. Austria's wine exports, which had grown by 62.7% or nearly €90m since their last decline in 2015, have experienced their first downturn in eight years, the report said. Austria experienced a general decline in bottled wine exports, with volume falling by 5.1% and in value by 6.3%. Bottled red wines were 'particularly impacted', registering a 12.5% drop in volume and a 14.4% decline in value. In contrast, bulk wine exports rose by 16.1% in volume but at a lower price, leading to a 1.4% decline in total bulk wine export value, the figures showed. Germany continued to be Austria's largest export market, accounting for 60.2% of total wine exports and 42.3% of export value. However, the value of exports to Germany fell by 13.6% to €98.8m, despite remaining higher than the 2022 figure of €94.5m. Export volume dropped by 4.4%. Yorke added: 'In 2023, our wine exports came within a hair's breadth of reaching a quarter of a billion at €248m. 'The main driver for this was exceptionally high exports of bottled wine to our main export market, Germany. Since a higher volume of cheaper wine in bulk was sold to Germany again last year, we soon realised that we were not going to be able to match the exceptionally high export value achieved in 2023. The global economic situation as a whole is just too volatile for that at the moment.' Switzerland, previously Austria's second-largest export market, saw 'painful losses', with export volume down by 33.1% and value falling by 18.2%. A general decrease in Swiss wine imports, particularly red wines, contributed to these figures. Meanwhile, the US overtook Switzerland as Austria's second-largest wine export destination, accounting for 8.5% of the total export value. Exports to the US increased by 6.5% in volume and 6.2% in value after a dip in 2023. Canada saw an increase in Austrian wine imports, with volume rising by 15.1% and value by 12.1%. Exports to the Nordic "monopoly markets", which include Norway, Sweden, and Finland, increased by 1.9% in both volume and value, according to Statistics Austria. Export volumes to the Czech Republic 'jumped' by 80.1%, while value climbed by 58.1%, positioning the country just behind Denmark in Austria's ranking of key wine export destinations. "Austria wine exports decline in 2024 amid global market challenges" was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
