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Austria
- What is Austria and where is it located?
- What is the capital city of Austria?
- What language do people speak in Austria?
- What historical events have shaped Austria?
- How is Austria's geography characterized?
- What are some famous cultural traditions or festivals in Austria?
- Who are some prominent composers or musicians from Austria's past?
- What is the political structure of Austria's government?
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Austria, largely mountainouslandlocked country of south-centralEurope. Together withSwitzerland, it forms what has beencharacterized as the neutral core of Europe, notwithstanding Austria’s full membership since 1995 in the supranationalEuropean Union (EU).
A great part of Austria’s prominence can be attributed to its geographic position. It is at the center of European traffic between east and west along the greatDanubian trade route and between north and south through the magnificentAlpine passes, thus embedding thecountry within a variety of political and economic systems. In the decades following the collapse in 1918 ofAustria-Hungary, the multinational empire of which it had been the heart, this small country experienced more than a quarter century of social and economic turbulence and aNazidictatorship. Yet the establishment of permanent neutrality in 1955, associated with the withdrawal of theAllied troops that had occupied the country since the end ofWorld War II, enabled Austria to develop into a stable and socially progressive nation with a flourishing cultural life reminiscent of its earlier days of international musical glory. Its social and economic institutions too have been characterized by new forms and a spirit of cooperation, and, although political and social problems remain, they have not erupted with the intensity evidenced in other countries of the Continent. The capital of Austria is historicVienna (Wien), the former seat of theHoly Roman Empire and a city renowned for itsarchitecture.
- Head Of Government:
- Chancellor: Karl Nehammer
- Capital:
- Vienna
- Population:
- (2025 est.) 9,240,000
- Currency Exchange Rate:
- 1 USD equals 0.859 euro
- Head Of State:
- President: Alexander Van der Bellen
- Form Of Government:
- federal state with two legislative houses (Federal Council [61]; National Council [183])
- Official Language:
- German
- Official Religion:
- none
- Official Name:
- Republik Österreich (Republic of Austria)
- Total Area (Sq Km):
- 83,884
- Total Area (Sq Mi):
- 32,388
- Monetary Unit:
- euro (€)
- Population Rank:
- (2025) 98
- Population Projection 2030:
- 9,113,000
- Density: Persons Per Sq Mi:
- (2025) 285.3
- Density: Persons Per Sq Km:
- (2025) 110.2
- Urban-Rural Population:
- Urban: (2024) 59.8%
- Rural: (2024) 40.2%
- Life Expectancy At Birth:
- Male: (2023) 79.4 years
- Female: (2023) 84.2 years
- Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate:
- Male: 100%
- Female: 100%
- Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000):
- (2023) 502,501
- Gni Per Capita (U.S.$):
- (2023) 55,030
Land
Austria is bordered to the north by theCzech Republic, to the northeast bySlovakia, to the east byHungary, to the south bySlovenia, to the southwest byItaly, to the west bySwitzerland andLiechtenstein, and to the northwest byGermany. It extends roughly 360 miles (580 km) from east to west.
Relief
Mountains and forests give the Austrian landscape its character, although in the northeastern part of the country theDanube River winds between the eastern edge of theAlps and the hills ofBohemia andMoravia in its journey toward the Alföld, orHungarian Plain. Vienna lies in the area where the Danube emerges from between the mountains into the drier plains.
The Austrian Alps form the physicalbackbone of the country. They may be subdivided into a northern and a southern limestone range, each of which is composed of rugged mountains. These two ranges are separated by a central range that is softer in form and outline and composed of crystalline rocks. The Alpine landscape offers a complex geologic and topographical pattern, with the highest elevation—theGrossglockner (12,460 feet [3,798 meters])—rising toward the west. The western AustrianLänder (states) ofVorarlberg,Tirol, andSalzburg are characterized by the majestic mountains and magnificent scenery of the high Alps. This high Alpine character also extends to the western part of the state ofKärnten (Carinthia), to theSalzkammergut region of central Austria, and to the Alpine blocks of the state ofSteiermark (Styria).
North of the massive Alpine spur lies a hilly subalpine region, stretching between the northern Alps and the Danube andencompassing the northern portion of the state ofOberösterreich (Upper Austria). To the north of the river is a richly wooded foothill area that includes a portion of theBohemian Massif, which extends across the Czech border into the state ofNiederösterreich (Lower Austria). This part of Austria is furrowed by many valleys that for centuries served as passageways leading to the east and southeast of Europe and even—in the case ofmedieval pilgrims and Crusaders—to the Holy Land. The lowland area east of Vienna, together with the northern part of the state ofBurgenland, may be regarded as a western extension of theLittle Alföld (Little Hungarian Plain).
Drainage
Austria is a land of lakes, many of them alegacy of thePleistocene Epoch (i.e., about 2,600,000 to about 11,700 years ago), during which glacial erosion scooped out mountain lakes in the central Alpine district, notably around the Salzkammergut. The largest lakes—lying partly in the territory of neighboring countries—areLake Constance (Bodensee) in the west and the marshyNeusiedler Lake (Neusiedlersee) in the east.
Nearly all Austrian territory drains into theDanube River system. The main watershed between theBlack Sea and theNorth Sea runs across northern Austria, in some places lying only about 22 miles (35 km) from the Danube, while to the west thewatershed between the Danube and the river systems emptying into theAtlantic and theMediterranean coincides with the western political boundary of Austria. In the south theJulian andCarnic (Karnische) Alps and, farther to the west, the main Alpine range mark the watershed of the region draining into thePo River of northern Italy.