Profile
Background and figures as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.
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. Nazi Germany annexed Austria in 1938, and the victorious Allies then occupied the country in 1945. As a result, Austria's status remained unclear for a decade after World War II, until 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.
- Capital
- Vienna
- Government
- federal parliamentary republic
- Population
- 9,174,390
- Area
- 83,871 sq km
- Location
- Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia
- Climate
- temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain and some snow in lowlands and snow in mountains;
- Natural resources
- oil; coal; lignite; timber; iron ore; copper…
- Languages
- German (official nationwide) 88.6%; Turkish 2.3%; Serbian 2.2%; Croatian (official in Burgenland) 1.6%…
- Religions
- Roman Catholic 55.2%; Muslim 8.3%; Orthodox 4.9%; Evangelical Christian 3.8%…
- Independence
- no official date of independence: 976 (Margravate of Austria established);
- Administrative divisions
- 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten (Carinthia), Niederoesterreich (Lower Austria), Ob…
- Currency
- euros (EUR)
- Export partners
- Germany 25%; USA 9%; Italy 7%; Switzerland 5%…
- Import partners
- Germany 34%; China 7%; Italy 7%; Switzerland 5%…
Source: CIA World Factbook — a work of the US government, in the public domain