Austria General Information

Official Name: Known officially as the Republic of Austria, or commonly as Austria.

Capital: Vienna is the capital of Austria, it lies on the Danube River and is partly surrounded by the hills of the Vienna Woods.

Location: Austria is located in Central Europe. Its border is formed by eight other European countries, namely Italy, Switzerland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia.

Size: The total land area of Austria is 83,871 square kilometers and this ranks 113rd globally. The size is slightly smaller than Maine in the USA.

Climate: Austria enjoys a moderate continental climate featuring all four distinct seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. Summers are generally warm and pleasant with cooler nights, rainfalls in the summers are usually heavy but of short duration. Winters are sunny and cold especially in the Northeast, with frequent snowfalls in mountains.

Population: Austria has an estimated population of 8.2 million people and ranks 92nd globally. The country has a population growth rate of 0.052%.

Life expectancy at Birth: The average life expectancy at birth for citizens of Austria is 79.5 years, ranking at 27th globally. Females have a longer average life span at 82.56 years, while Males average at 76.6 years from birth.

Prevalence of HIV/AIDS: The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Austria is about 0.2%, placing 93rd globally. This means that around 9,800 people are living with the disease in the country.

Major Illnesses: Potential healths risks in Austria include tick-borne encephalitis, rabies, Swine Flu (H1N1) and Influenza A.

Ethnic Groups: Austria is mainly comprised of Austrians at 91.1%. The remaining population includes former Yugoslavs (includes Croatians, Slovenes, Serbs, and Bosniaks) at 4%, Turks at 1.6%, German at 0.9% and other or unspecified at 2.4%.

Languages: The official language in Austria is German, which is spoken by 88.6% of the population. Other languages include Turkish at 2.3%, Serbian at 2.2%, Croatian (official in Burgenland) at 1.6% and other at 5.3% (includes Slovene-official in Carinthia, and Hungarian - official in Burgenland).

Religion:The major religion in Austria is Roman Catholic accounting for 73.6% of the population and other religions include Protestant at 4.7%, Islam at 4.2%, other at 3.5%, unspecified at 2% and none at 12%.

Government: The Government of Austria functions within the framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, with a Federal Chancellor as the head of government, and a Federal President as head of state. Executive power is exercised by the governments, both local and federal. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the National Council and the Federal Council.

Head of State: The Head of State in Austria is the President Heinz Fischer, who is appointed by popular vote and serves a six-year term, renewable once and is limited to two consecutive terms of office.

Head of Government: The Head of Government in Austria is the Chancellor Werner Faymann, who is appointed by the President. There is no term limit for this role.

Military: The Federal Armed Forces of Austria consists of two branches namely Land Forces and Air Forces. The suitable age for male or female compulsory military service is 18-35 years of age and voluntary service at the age of 16. The service obligation includes 6 months of training, followed by an 8-year reserve obligation.

Economy: Austria is a well developed, prosperous country with high quality of life. It is 1 of the 12 richest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita. The country is closely tied to other EU economies, especially Germany. The economy of Austria is comprised of a large service sector, a sound industrial sector and a small but highly developed agricultural sector. In 2008, Austria exported goods and services valued at US$241 billion, contributed about 60% to GDP. Export items include iron and steel, wood, motors and its components, paper and cardboard, synthetic materials and fibers, machinery, electricity, and chemical products.