Once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria was reduced to a small republic after its defeat in World War I. Following annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent occupation by the victorious Allies in 1945, Austria's status remained unclear for a decade. A State Treaty signed in 1955 ended the occupation, recognized Austria's independence, and forbade unification with Germany. A constitutional law that same year declared the country's "perpetual neutrality" as a condition for Soviet military withdrawal. Following the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995, some Austrians have called into question this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999.

Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia

47 20 N, 13 20 E

total: 83,870 sq km
land: 82,444 sq km
water: 1,426 sq km

total: 2,562 km
border countries: Czech Republic 362 km, Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 35 km, Slovakia 91 km, Slovenia 330 km, Switzerland 164 km

0 km (landlocked)

none (landlocked)

temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain and some snow in lowlands and snow in mountains; moderate summers with occasional showers

in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping

lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m

oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower

arable land: 16.59%
permanent crops: 0.85%
other: 82.56% (2005)

40 sq km (2003)

landslides; avalanches; earthquakes

some forest degradation caused by air and soil pollution; soil pollution results from the use of agricultural chemicals; air pollution results from emissions by coal- and oil-fired power stations and industrial plants and from trucks transiting Austria between northern and southern Europe

landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys; major river is the Danube; population is concentrated on eastern lowlands because of steep slopes, poor soils, and low temperatures elsewhere

8,192,880 (July 2006 est.)

0-14 years: 15.4% (male 645,337/female 614,602)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 2,782,712/female 2,749,620)
65 years and over: 17.1% (male 567,752/female 832,857) (2006 est.)

total: 40.9 years
male: 39.8 years
female: 42 years (2006 est.)

0.09% (2006 est.)

8.74 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

9.76 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

1.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

total: 4.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.65 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

total population: 79.07 years
male: 76.17 years
female: 82.11 years (2006 est.)

1.36 children born/woman (2006 est.)

0.3% (2003 est.)

10,000 (2003 est.)

less than 100 (2003 est.)

noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian

Austrians 91.1%, former Yugoslavs 4% (includes Croatians, Slovenes, Serbs, and Bosniaks), Turks 1.6%, German 0.9%, other or unspecified 2.4% (2001 census)

Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 2%, none 12% (2001 census)

German (official nationwide), Slovene (official in Kaernten or Carinthia), Croatian (official in Burgenland), Hungarian (official in Burgenland)

conventional long form: Republic of Austria
conventional short form: Austria
local long form: Republik Oesterreich
local short form: Oesterreich

federal republic

Vienna

9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten, Niederoesterreich, Oberoesterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, Wien (Vienna)

17 September 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 11 August 1804 (Austrian Empire proclaimed); 12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed)

National Day, 26 October (1955); note - commemorates the State Treaty restoring national sovereignty and the end of occupation and the passage of the law on permanent neutrality

1920; revised 1929 (reinstated 1 May 1945)

civil law system with Roman law origin; judicial review of legislative acts by the Constitutional Court; separate administrative and civil/penal supreme courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal Council or Bundesrat (62 members; members represent each of the states on the basis of population, but with each state having at least 3 representatives; members serve a five- or six-year term) and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: National Council - last held 24 November 2002 (next to be held in the fall of 2006)
election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - OeVP 42.3%, SPOe 36.5%, FPOe 10.0%, Greens 9.5%; seats by party - OeVP 79, SPOe 69, FPOe 18, Greens 17; seating as of May 2005 after split within the Freedom Party: OeVP 79, SPOe 69, Greens 17, BZOe 11, FPOe 7

Supreme Judicial Court or Oberster Gerichtshof; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof

Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard of living, is closely tied to other EU economies, especially Germany's. The Austrian economy also benefits greatly from strong commercial relations, especially in the banking and insurance sectors, with central, eastern, and southeastern Europe. The economy features a large service sector, a sound industrial sector, and a small, but highly developed agricultural sector. Membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European market and proximity to the new EU economies. The current government has successfully pursued a comprehensive economic reform program, aimed at streamlining government, creating a more competitive business environment, further strengthening Austria's attractiveness as an investment location, pursuing a balanced budget, and implementing effective pension reforms. Weak domestic consumption and slow growth in Europe have held the economy to growth rates of 0.4% in 2002, 1.4% in 2003, 2.4% in 2004, and 1.8% in 2005. To meet increased competition from both EU and Central European countries, particularly the new EU members, Austria will need to continue restructuring, emphasizing knowledge-based sectors of the economy, and encouraging greater labor flexibility and greater labor participation by its aging population.

$269.6 billion (2005 est.)

$295.1 billion (2005 est.)

1.8% (2005 est.)

$32,900 (2005 est.)

agriculture: 2.3%
industry: 30.8%
services: 66.9% (2004 est.)

3.49 million (2005 est.)

agriculture: 3%
industry: 27%
services: 70% (2005 est.)

5.1% (2005 est.)

5.9% (2004)

lowest 10%: 3.3%
highest 10%: 22.5% (2004)

31 (2002)

2.3% (2005)

21.1% of GDP (2005 est.)

revenues: $148.6 billion
expenditures: $154.5 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)

63.3% of GDP (2005 est.)

grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine, fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber

construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, metals, chemicals, lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications equipment, tourism

3.2% (2005 est.)

63.69 billion kWh (2004)

64.78 billion kWh (2004)

13.53 billion kWh (2004)

16.63 billion kWh (2004)

17,810 bbl/day (2004)

249,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

30,140 bbl/day (2004)

152,600 bbl/day (2004)

84.3 million bbl (2004)

1.96 billion cu m (2004)

9.01 billion cu m (2004)

7.05 billion cu m (2004)

23.2 billion cu m (2004)

-$212 million (2005 est.)

$122.5 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs

Germany 32%, Italy 8.9%, US 6%, Switzerland 4.8%, France 4.2%, UK 4.2% (2004)

$118.8 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs

Germany 46.3%, Italy 6.8%, Switzerland 4.3% (2004)

$19.5 billion (2004)

$510.6 billion (30 June 2005 est.)

ODA, $681 million (2004)

euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries

calendar year

3.791 million (2004)

7.99 million (2004)

general assessment: highly developed and efficient
domestic: there are 48 main lines for every 100 persons; the fiber optic net is very extensive; all telephone applications and Internet services are available
international: country code - 43; satellite earth stations - 15; in addition, there are about 600 VSAT (very small aperture terminals) (2005)

AM 2, FM 65 (plus several hundred repeaters), shortwave 1 (2001)

10 (plus more than 1,000 repeaters) (2001)

.at

1,812,776 (2005)

4.65 million (2005)

55 (2005)

total: 24
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 14 (2005)

total: 31
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 27 (2005)

1 (2005)

gas 2,722 km; oil 663 km; refined products 149 km (2004)

total: 6,021 km (3,552 km electrified)
standard gauge: 5,565 km 1.435-m gauge (3,430 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 34 km 1.000-m gauge (28 km electrified); 422 km 0.760-m gauge (94 km electrified) (2004)

total: 133,718 km
paved: 133,718 km (including 1,677 km of expressways) (2003)

358 km (2003)

total: 8 ships (1000 GRT or over) 34,072 GRT/44,437 DWT
by type: cargo 6, container 2
foreign-owned: 2 (Netherlands 2)
registered in other countries: 15 (Liberia 14, Malta 1) (2005)

Enns, Krems, Linz, Vienna

Land Forces (KdoLdSK), Air Forces (KdoLuSK)

Austrian anti-nuclear activists have revived blockades of the Czech-Austrian border to protest operation of the Temelin nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic

transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for Western Europe