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Austria The Defense Budget
Austrians have been traditionally reluctant to allocate
significant sums for improving the nation's defense. This
attitude, combined with a sluggish economy and uncertainties over
the shape of the armed forces in the post-Cold War era, have
forced the military to postpone equipment acquisitions and to
accept compromises in performance levels, operational readiness,
and maintenance standards.
Set at S18.3 billion (for value of the
schilling--see Glossary)
in 1992, and climbing to S19.0 billion in 1993, the
budget was higher than in 1989 (S17.2 billion) and 1990 (S17.5
billion) but was roughly the same in terms of real growth. Having
reached a peak in 1986, the defence budget declined between 1987
and 1989 to level off at approximately the 1982 spending rate in
real terms.
The government expects to maintain a relatively constant
defense budget during the remainder of the 1990s. However,
anticipated lower expenditures on personnel will permit some
expansion in equipment procurement and improvement of facilities
and infrastructure. In 1986 personnel costs absorbed 51 percent
of the budget; operations, 32 percent; and investment, 17
percent. A downward trend in the investment budget has since been
reversed. In 1992 new procurements were expected to reach S6.5
billion, or more than one-third of the entire budget. Part of
these funds were to be allocated to renovating housing and
barracks, much of which dates from the occupation period after
World War II. Some S1.3 billion was earmarked for SAMs and airto -air missiles.
Austria's defense spending as a proportion of the gross
national product
(GNP--Glossary) is
the lowest in Europe, except
for Luxembourg. During the 1981-91 decade, annual defense outlays
were in the range of 1.0 to 1.3 percent of GNP, with the lowest
percentage occurring recorded in 1991. Sweden and Switzerland,
neutral countries often compared with Austria, had defense
spending in 1991 that amounted to 2.8 and 1.9 percent of GNP,
respectively. The Austrian defense budget in 1991 was 2.9 percent
of total central government expenditure. The corresponding levels
for Sweden and Switzerland were 6.4 and 19.4 percent,
respectively. Military expenditures per capita amounted to US$213
in Austria in 1991, compared with US$751 in Sweden and US$667 in
Switzerland in the same year. In defending the level of defense
spending, an Austrian defense minister asserted that although it
was not generous, it was sufficient to achieve high standards for
the ground forces, although air defense remained inadequate. He
rejected the comparison with Switzerland, because the Swiss have
adopted the more ambitious goal of the absolute capability of
defending their country against attack from any source.
Data as of December 1993
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