Bilateral economic relations with Africa and the Middle East

Bilateral Economic Relations with the Countries of North Africa and the Arab Region

The MENA Region (Middle East & North Africa) is comprised of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Palestine, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen and Iran. Austria's trade volume 2018 with these countries amounted to € 3.5 bn, making up around 1.76 percent of Austria's total trade. There is therefore a slight trade balance surplus on Austria’s side of around € 300 m.

Austria’s most important export partners in the MENA region in 2018 were UAE (€ 554 m), Israel (€ 372 m), and Saudi Arabia (€ 344 m). The main sources of imports from the region were Libya (€ 896 m), Iran (€ 457 m) and Iraq (€ 275 m).

Bilateral Economic Relations with Sub-Saharan Africa

Austria’s trade with goods with the countries in sub-saharan Africa amounted to only 0.6 percent (€ 1.8 bn) of Austria’s trade with the world. This corresponds approximately Austria’s foreign trade relations with India. Nevertheless, 2018 was a successful year for trade relations with this region: the bilateral trade volume rose by 14.1 percent, with Austrian exports increasing by 18.7 percent and Austrian imports by an equally substantial 8.3 percent.

As in the past, South Africa remained by far the most important export market for Austrian goods in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2018, with exports totaling € 588 m, followed by Algeria (€ 258 m), Egypt (€ 216 m), Marocco (€ 162 m) and Mali(€ 120 m).
Austrian Imports, on the other hand, in 2018 originated primarily in Libya (€ 896 m), followed by South Africa (€ 348 m), Nigeria (€ 204 m), Marocco (€ 190 m) and Tunisia (€ 141 m).