Austria - Science and technology

Numerous research institutes in Austria play an important role in conducting and coordinating advanced agricultural, medical, scientific, and technical research. The Austrian Research Council supports and coordinates scientific research. The major learned society is the Austrian Academy of Sciences (Founded in 1847 and headquartered in Vienna) The Austrian Science Foundation (Founded in 1967), and the Austrian Industrial Research Fund together form the Austrian Research Council, which supports and coordinates scientific, applied, and industrial research and development and advises Federal and state governments on scientific matters. The Natural History Museum and the Trade and Industrial Museum of Technology, both in Vienna and founded in 1748 and 1907, respectively, each have large libraries.

Austria has 11 universities offering training in basic and applied sciences and 13 federal colleges of technology. In 1987– 97, science and engineering students accounted for 29% of college and university enrollments. In the same period, total research and development expenditures in Austria amounted to 1.5% of GNP, while 1,627 scientists and engineers and 812 technicians per million people were engaged in research and development. In 1998, high-tech exports were valued at $5.9 billion and accounted for 12% of manufactured exports.