That dollar amount results from a 14.5% advance from $184.8 billion in 2018.
Year over year, the total value of Austrian exports rose 4.3% compared to $203 billion for 2021.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2022, Austria uses the euro which depreciated by -12.1% against the US dollar since 2018 and diluted by -12.3% from 2021 to 2022. The weaker EU currency in 2022 made Austria’s exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Austria’s Main Partners for Buying Austrian Exports
The latest available country-specific data shows that nearly three-quarters (74%) of products exported from Austria were bought by importers in: Germany (29.2% of the Austrian total), Italy (6.6%), United States of America (6.4%), Switzerland (5.2%), France (3.9%), Poland (3.85%), Hungary (3.85%), Slovakia (3.83%), Czech Republic (3.6%), mainland China (2.6%), United Kingdom (2.5%) and Slovenia (2.4%).
From a continental perspective, 79.9% of Austria’s exports by value was delivered to fellow European countries while 9.1% was sold to importers in Asia. Austria shipped another 8.2% worth of goods to North America.
Smaller percentages went to Latin America (1.05%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (1.02%), then Oceania (0.7%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
Given Austria’s population of 9.025 million people, its total $211.7 billion in 2022 exports translates to roughly $23,500 for every resident in the Central European nation. That dollar metric exceeds the average $22,500 per capita one year earlier during 2021.
Austria’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Austrian global shipments during 2022. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Austria.
- Machinery including computers: US$33.9 billion (16.8% of total exports)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $21.5 billion (10.7%)
- Vehicles: $18.8 billion (9.3%)
- Pharmaceuticals: $14.4 billion (7.1%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $9.9 billion (4.9%)
- Iron, steel: $8.5 billion (4.2%)
- Wood: $7.5 billion (3.7%)
- Articles of iron or steel: $6.8 billion (3.4%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $5.6 billion (2.8%)
- Paper, paper items: $5.3 billion (2.6%)
Austria’s top 10 exports accounted for almost two-thirds (65.1%) of the overall value of its global shipments.
Mineral fuels including oil represents the fastest grower among the top 10 Austrian export categories, up by 53.2% from 2021 to 2022.
In second place for improving export sales was paper including items made from paper via a 16.9% upturn.
Austria’s shipments of the metals iron and steel posted the third-fastest gain, in value up by 14.6%.
The severest decliner among Austria’s top 10 export categories was wood, dragged down by a -10% year-over-year drop.
Note that the results listed above are at the categorized two-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code level.
From the more granular four-digit HTS code perspective, Austria’s most valuable exported product is cars (3.7% of Austrian exports by value). In second place were blood fractions including antisera (3.2%), medication mixes in dosage (2.9%), phone devices including smartphones (2.3%), electrical energy (2.2%), automobile parts or accessories (also 2.2%), non-alcoholic drinks excluding water, juice and milk (1.7%), piston engines (1.3%), base metal mountings or fittings (1.2%), then unwrought gold (also 1.2%).
Products Creating Austria’s Largest Trade Surpluses
The following types of Austrian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Machinery including computers: US$6.8 billion (Up by 7.9% since 2021)
- Pharmaceuticals: $3.6 billion (Down by -0.02%)
- Paper, paper items: $3.3 billion (Up by 22.1%)
- Beverages, spirits, vinegar: $2.99 billion (Up by 8.5%)
- Wood: $2.98 billion (Down by -5.2%)
- Iron, steel: $2.8 billion (Up by 27.7%)
- Other base metal goods: $1.9 billion (Down by -9.6%)
- Manmade staple fibers: $1.1 billion (Up by 8.4%)
- Articles of iron or steel: $688 million (Up by 362.8%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $625.8 million (Up by 10.4%)
Austria has highly positive net exports in the international trade of machines including computers. In turn, these cashflows indicate Austria’s strong competitive advantages under the machinery including computers category.
Products Causing Austria’s Worst Trade Deficits
Austria incurred an overall -$20.6 billion trade deficit for 2022, expanding by 22.9% from -$16.8 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2021.
Below are exports from Austria that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Austria’s goods trail Austrian importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$19.8 billion (Up by 70.9% since 2021)
- Gems, precious metals: -$3.5 billion (Up by 29.6%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$3.4 billion (Up by 7.9%)
- Organic chemicals: -$3.2 billion (Down by -16.6%)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: -$2.1 billion (Up by 1.8%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): -$1.82 billion (Up by 3.1%)
- Ores, slag, ash: -$1.77 billion (Down by -13.8%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: -$1.4 billion (Down by -16.4%)
- Footwear: -$1.1 billion (Up by 6.1%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: -$1.1 billion (Down by -15.4%)
Austria has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for both crude and refined petroleum oils.
These cashflow deficiencies clearly indicate Austria’s competitive disadvantages in international mineral fuels-related markets, but also represent key opportunities for Austria to improve its position in the global economy through focused innovations particularly in alternative energy sources.
Austrian Export Companies
Ten Austrian corporations rank among Forbes Global 2000. Below is a sample of the major Austrian companies that Forbes included.
- Andritz (other industrial equipment)
- OMV Group (oil, gas)
- STRABAG (construction services)
- Uniqa (diversified insurance)
- Voestalpine (iron, steel)
Wikipedia also lists exporters from Austria. Selected examples are shown below.
- Ams AG (semiconductors)
- Austria Metall (metals)
- Borealis (polyethylene, plastics)
- Bösendorfer (pianos)
- Julius Meinl (coffee)
- KTM (motorcycles)
- OMV (petroleum)
- Red Bull GmbH (beverages)
- Rosenbauer (fire-fighting vehicles)
- Runtastic (smartphone apps)
Searchable List of Austria’s Most Valuable Export Products
The following searchable table displays 100 of the most in-demand goods shipped from Austria during 2022. Shown beside each product label is its total export value then the percentage increase or decrease since 2021.
| Rank | Austria's Export Product | 2022 Value | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cars | $7,929,778,000 | +11.7% |
| 2 | Blood fractions (including antisera) | $6,672,694,000 | -8% |
| 3 | Medication mixes in dosage | $6,136,908,000 | -5.1% |
| 4 | Phone system devices | $4,858,669,000 | +3.8% |
| 5 | Electrical energy | $4,749,396,000 | +147.7% |
| 6 | Automobile parts/accessories | $4,639,781,000 | -5.1% |
| 7 | Non-alcoholic drinks (not water/juice/milk) | $3,536,375,000 | +3.2% |
| 8 | Piston engines | $2,654,142,000 | +14.9% |
| 9 | Base metal mountings, fittings | $2,604,436,000 | -8.5% |
| 10 | Gold (unwrought) | $2,591,307,000 | +22.8% |
| 11 | Electrical converters/power units | $2,479,325,000 | +24.8% |
| 12 | Motorcycles | $2,407,863,000 | +13.2% |
| 13 | Flat-rolled other alloy steel products | $2,326,807,000 | +20.2% |
| 14 | Sawn wood | $2,136,398,000 | -17.2% |
| 15 | Wood carpentry, builders' joinery | $1,981,931,000 | -7% |
| 16 | Trucks | $1,778,650,000 | +0.8% |
| 17 | Miscellaneous machinery | $1,666,563,000 | -0.9% |
| 18 | Miscellaneous iron or steel items | $1,624,644,000 | +13.8% |
| 19 | Miscellaneous iron and steel structures | $1,544,126,000 | +3.3% |
| 20 | Processed petroleum oils | $1,540,891,000 | -14.8% |
| 21 | Miscellaneous plastic items | $1,519,805,000 | -2.2% |
| 22 | Machinery for making semi-conductors | $1,512,130,000 | +12.1% |
| 23 | Tractors | $1,511,228,000 | +11.4% |
| 24 | Coated paper | $1,474,317,000 | +31.5% |
| 25 | Computers, optical readers | $1,463,858,000 | -7.3% |
| 26 | Insulated wire/cable | $1,463,726,000 | -0.6% |
| 27 | Lifting/loading machinery | $1,403,633,000 | +5.8% |
| 28 | Engines (diesel) | $1,340,064,000 | -23.2% |
| 29 | Central heating boilers | $1,322,556,000 | +11% |
| 30 | Heavy machinery (bulldozers, excavators, road rollers) | $1,309,493,000 | -14.6% |
| 31 | Electro-medical equip (e.g. xrays) | $1,299,930,000 | -2.8% |
| 32 | Coins | $1,267,660,000 | +10.1% |
| 33 | Hot-rolled iron or non-alloy steel products | $1,212,997,000 | +18.5% |
| 34 | Aluminum plates, sheets, strips | $1,145,155,000 | +24% |
| 35 | Machinery parts | $1,140,948,000 | +15.4% |
| 36 | Flat-rolled iron or non-alloy steel products (plated/coated) | $1,136,872,000 | +15.3% |
| 37 | Electric motors, generators | $1,114,060,000 | +6.9% |
| 38 | Electrical/optical circuit boards, panels | $1,111,096,000 | +11.4% |
| 39 | Plastic packing goods, lids, caps | $1,092,083,000 | +8.4% |
| 40 | Refrigerators, freezers | $1,088,106,000 | +0.6% |
| 41 | Miscellaneous furniture | $1,078,039,000 | +1.2% |
| 42 | Solar power diodes/semi-conductors | $1,060,893,000 | +1.2% |
| 43 | Plastic plates, sheets, film, tape, strips | $1,058,201,000 | +4.6% |
| 44 | Plastic plates, sheets, film, tape, strips | $995,205,000 | -0.5% |
| 45 | Lamps, lighting, illuminated signs | $992,342,000 | -7.6% |
| 46 | Refined copper, unwrought alloys | $987,985,000 | -15.4% |
| 47 | Iron or steel tubes, pipes | $978,086,000 | +55.5% |
| 48 | Taps, valves, similar appliances | $976,707,000 | -8.7% |
| 49 | Integrated circuits/microassemblies | $949,872,000 | +12.4% |
| 50 | Lower-voltage switches, fuses | $946,824,000 | +1.3% |
| 51 | Paper containers, cellulose wadding | $941,642,000 | +1.5% |
| 52 | Centrifuges, filters and purifiers | $933,607,000 | -2.6% |
| 53 | Pneumatic hand tool | $924,125,000 | +7.6% |
| 54 | Electric circuit parts, fuses, switches | $908,049,000 | -3% |
| 55 | Transmission shafts, gears, clutches | $900,648,000 | +5.9% |
| 56 | Rubber/plastic article making machines | $892,147,000 | -6.3% |
| 57 | Aircraft or spacecraft parts | $886,180,000 | +0% |
| 58 | Particle board, other ligneous materials | $876,503,000 | -20.6% |
| 59 | Miscellaneous animal feed preparations | $871,717,000 | -3.4% |
| 60 | Other measuring/testing machines | $869,608,000 | -2.7% |
| 61 | Uncoated kraft paper | $869,472,000 | +19.5% |
| 62 | Cheese, curd | $866,917,000 | +7.1% |
| 63 | Aluminum bars/rods | $863,236,000 | +19.3% |
| 64 | Unrecorded sound media | $856,550,000 | -5.3% |
| 65 | Locomotives/rolling stock miscellaneous parts | $853,416,000 | -0.9% |
| 66 | Piston engine parts | $844,392,000 | -7.3% |
| 67 | Miscellaneous aluminum items | $844,077,000 | +10.6% |
| 68 | Derricks, cranes | $828,637,000 | -1.9% |
| 69 | Sports equipment | $821,026,000 | +22.5% |
| 70 | Ethylene polymers | $818,041,000 | -7.5% |
| 71 | Propylene/olefin polymers | $799,808,000 | -23.4% |
| 72 | Other food preparations | $795,937,000 | +0.5% |
| 73 | Bread, biscuits, cakes, pastries | $789,977,000 | +5.2% |
| 74 | Electrical lighting/signaling equpment, defrosters | $783,032,000 | -7.2% |
| 75 | Harvest/threshing machinery | $743,299,000 | +10% |
| 76 | Bridge/tower structures, parts | $738,402,000 | +19.7% |
| 77 | Liquid pumps and elevators | $735,666,000 | +0.3% |
| 78 | Plastic tubes, pipes, fittings | $716,823,000 | +15.4% |
| 79 | Orthopedic appliances | $690,811,000 | -7.5% |
| 80 | Uncoated paper for writing/printing | $667,962,000 | +25.8% |
| 81 | Iron or steel scrap | $650,906,000 | -12.3% |
| 82 | Temperature-change machines | $648,804,000 | -6.4% |
| 83 | Ball, roller bearings | $646,729,000 | -1.8% |
| 84 | Railway track construction material | $645,749,000 | +14.4% |
| 85 | Flat-rolled thin alloy steel products | $639,543,000 | +29.2% |
| 86 | Packaged insecticides/fungicides/herbicides | $638,055,000 | +25.8% |
| 87 | Uncoated paper | $629,042,000 | +20.1% |
| 88 | Iron and steel screws, bolts, nuts, washers | $614,935,000 | +6.3% |
| 89 | Miscellaneous iron or steel tubes, pipes | $597,418,000 | +10.9% |
| 90 | Machine tools for nailing, stapling, glueing | $594,629,000 | -2% |
| 91 | Aluminum (unwrought) | $591,392,000 | +42% |
| 92 | Air or vacuum pumps | $590,084,000 | +0.7% |
| 93 | Electric water heaters, hair dryers | $583,145,000 | +15.9% |
| 94 | Railway/tramway coaches, vans, trucks | $579,440,000 | -30.3% |
| 95 | Physical/chemical analysis tools | $577,462,000 | -12.5% |
| 96 | Biodiesel | $554,311,000 | +21.4% |
| 97 | Electric storage batteries | $548,810,000 | -19.1% |
| 98 | Air conditioners | $542,630,000 | +8.5% |
| 99 | Hormones, miscellaneous steroids | $538,636,000 | +152.1% |
| 100 | Chocolate, other cocoa preparations | $538,298,000 | -2.4% |
Austria’s 100 most valuable exported goods were worth a subtotal of US$136.2 billion or approaching two-thirds (64.3%) by value for all products exported from Austria during 2022.
The fastest growers among Austria’s 100 most valuable exported product are hormones and miscellaneous steroids (up 152.1% from 2021), electrical energy (up 147.7%), tubes and pipes made from iron or steel (up 55.5%), unwrought aluminum (up 42%), then coated paper (up 31.5%).
In macroeconomic terms, Austria’s total exported goods represent 35% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2022 ($604.5 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 35% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2022 compares to 37.8% for 2021. This suggests a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Austria’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Please note that these metrics include a significant amount of re-exporting activity.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Austria’s unemployment rate averaged 9.025% for 2022, up from 6.167% one year earlier in 2021 according to International Monetary Fund statistics.
Austria’s capital city is Vienna.
See also Austria’s Top Trading Partners, Austria’s Top 10 Imports, Switzerland’s Top Trading Partners, Poland’s Top Trading Partners and Slovakia’s Top Trading Partners
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Country Profiles, Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on May 23, 2023
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on May 23, 2023
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on May 23, 2023
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on May 23, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 23, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 23, 2023
Wikipedia, Austria. Accessed on May 23, 2023
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on May 23, 2023
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Austria. Accessed on May 23, 2023
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on May 23, 2023
