Power in the Republic of Austria's multi-party, parliamentary democracy is shared between the elected President and a bicameral Parliament. Representatives are elected to 6-year terms of office on the basis of universal suffrage in elections that have been deemed free and fair. In the 2004 elections, 59 women were directly elected to the 183-seat National Council and 18 women were appointed by states to the 62-member Federal Council. There are 5 women in the 12-member federal Cabinet. There is little minority representation at the national level. The judiciary is independent in law and in practice.

The Equal Treatment Bill implements the European Union (EU) Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Racism Guidelines, but police are accused of abusing minorities.

A modern economy is based on technologically advanced industry, modern agriculture and tourism.

Freedom of speech and of the press are guaranteed and generally respected. However, the strict application of slander laws is said to discourage the reporting of accusations of police brutality, and the use of libel procedures to protect politicians restricts freedom of speech.

Austria is a transit and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The government implements the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. In 2005, legislation went into effect expanding the definition of trafficking to include exploitation for labour and the sale and trafficking of human organs. Possession, trading and private viewing of child pornography are criminal acts, and a special department for cyber crime exists.

A public debate has taken place on expanding the rights of homosexuals. The European Union Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia notes that in Austria anti-Semitism is characterised by anti-Semitic stereotypes rather than by acts of physical aggression. A former Freedom Party member of the Federal Council has been charged (along with a British professor) with violating the law banning neo-Nazi activities. All forms of neo-Nazism and anti-Semitism are prohibited, as is public denial, belittlement or approval of National Socialist crimes, including the Holocaust.

According to the School Law, all state-funded schools are open to children regardless of birth, gender, race, status, class, language or religion. Until 1995 Austria had a free public school system providing 9 years of compulsory education. Since then fees for transportation and books have been introduced and a levy on parents has been imposed as part of an austerity package. Fees were introduced at the university level in 2001. 9 years of compulsory education begin at age 6, and educational opportunities are equal for girls and boys.

Primary and secondary education are funded and supervised by the federal Ministry of Education and administered by provincial authorities. Laws dealing with education can only be changed or amended through a two-thirds majority in Parliament. Private schools, run mainly by the Roman Catholic Church, provide primary and secondary education and some teacher training. Religious instruction in public schools and recruitment of religious teachers requires recognition of the religious society by the government. The Ministry of Education has confirmed that Muslim girls and women have the right to wear a hijab in schools. Holocaust education is taught and is the subject of teacher-training seminars.

A 3-year ECE programme begins at age 3. 49% of children in the programme are girls. Private education accounts for 4% of ECE. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for ECE is 86%. The pupil/teacher ratio (PTR) is 9 : 1.

Compulsory, primary education begins at age 6 and lasts for 4 years. 49% of primary students are girls. 4% of primary education is private. There are 28,822 primary teachers, of whom 90% are women. The PTR is 13 : 1. For an increasing number of students whose first language is not German, their low fluency in German is said to hamper their performance in school. In some schools a reported 70% of children require remedial language instruction. Remedial and intercultural programmes have been introduced into the compulsory school system.

Secondary education begins at age 10 and lasts for 8 years. Compulsory education ends at age 14. 9% of secondary education is private. In lower secondary education, 50% of students are in general programmes and 35% in technical vocational programmes. In upper secondary, 72% of students are in technical programmes. 46% of upper secondary students are female. There are 176,373 secondary teachers, 112,553 (51% female) in lower secondary and 63,822 (46% female) in upper secondary schools. The PTR is 21 : 1 in lower secondary and 20 : 1 in upper secondary.

12 universities and 6 academies of music and art enjoy a high degree of autonomy. There is no tradition of private university education in Austria. 229,802 students are registered in tertiary institutions, giving a GER of 49%. There are 28,698 faculty members (29% female). 31,101 foreign students study in Austria, coming mainly from Central and Eastern Europe (12,968), North America and Western Europe (14,753), East Asia (1,309) and the Arab States (454). Meanwhile, 11, 679 Austrian students study abroad, mainly in Germany (6,924) the UK (1,308) USA (899), Switzerland (550) and France (495).

The law requires provision for persons with disabilities and their protection from discrimination in education and employment. Depending on the type of work, federal government offices have to employ 1 person with disabilities for every 25 to 40 employees. Employers who do not meet this requirement must pay a fee to help finance services for persons with disabilities. Training programmes, wage subsidies and workplace adaptations are subsidised by these fees. Special education programmes are provided in mainstream schools and through specialised services for children with disabilities.

Austria is signatory to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. The government has established a system for providing protection to refugees which includes provision of primary education.

The law recognises 6 national minority groups: Croats, Czechs, Hungarians, Roma, Slovaks and Slovenes. Any community where at least 25% of the population belongs to one of these groups is entitled to bilingual education, using federal funds earmarked for this purpose. Members of groups not considered national minorities do not have access to this funding. The Roma face particular discrimination. Muslims have also complained about incidents of social discrimination.

The government does not restrict academic freedom or Internet access.

62.8 % of women aged 15 to 65 are employed. On average they earn 79% as much as men. Women are also more likely to hold temporary and part-time jobs and are over-represented among those who are unemployed for extended periods. Labour laws provide for equal treatment of women in the civil service, but they remain under-represented. The law now requires the hiring of women with equivalent qualifications ahead of men in all civil service areas where fewer than 40% of the employees are women, though there are no penalties for failing to attain the 40% target.

Violence against women is a problem. Laws are enforced, but media reports estimate that fewer than 10% of abused women file complaints. The government sponsors shelters for women. The law prohibiting sexual harassment is enforced.

The minimum legal working age is 15. The Labour Inspectorate enforces this law. The government has adopted laws to protect children from exploitation in the workplace. Trafficking of Bulgarian children for the purposes of forced begging remains a problem. Roma children are also reported to beg in cities.

Workers have the right to form and join trade unions. 47% of the work force is organised into 13 national unions belonging to the Austrian Trade Union Federation (OGB). Unions are independent of control by government or political parties and conduct their activities without interference. Collective bargaining is practised, and approximately 80% of the work force benefits from collective agreements that cover wages, benefits, and working conditions for each industry. The OGB is responsible for collective bargaining. The right to strike is not provided for in law but is recognised in practice. Retaliation against strikers is prohibited.

No legislated national minimum wage exists, but industry-wide collective bargaining agreements set minimum wages by job classification. The accepted unofficial annual minimum wage is US$14,880 to 17,360 (12,000 to 14,000 euros). The standard working hours are limited to 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week