Austria's New Statistics on Foreign Affiliates

Abstract

In 2007, 19% of all persons employed in Austria's market economy - some half a million people - worked in enterprises majority-owned by non-resident units. While accounting for just 3% of all domestic enterprises classified under sections C to K of the Austrian Statistical Classification of Economic Activities (ÖNACE) 2003, the foreign-controlled enterprises produced roughly one-third of the turnover generated and one-quarter of the gross value added by all enterprises in those sections. Foreign-controlled enterprises, moreover, accounted for more than 50% of corporate research expenditure.

At the same time, enterprises resident in Austria controlled nearly 4,300 enterprises abroad employing roughly 760,000 persons. These foreign affiliates were located in a total of 81 countries throughout the world. The lion's share, though, was sited in Germany, followed by countries in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe.

These figures and ratios are some of the key results of Austria's new statistics on foreign affiliates (Austrian FATS statistics) for the first reporting year (2007). For more details see the following report, which was co-authored by staff experts from the Oesterreichische Nationalbank and STATISTICS AUSTRIA and which has been published (in German) both in Statistische Nachrichten (STATISTICS AUSTRIA) and in Statistiken - Daten und Analysen (OeNB).

JEL Classification: C82, F21, F23