Background: 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. The Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the EU in 1995 have altered the meaning of this neutrality. A prosperous democratic country Austria entered the EU Economic and Monetary Union in 1999.

Geographic coordinates: 47 20 N 13 20 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 83,871 km²
Land: 82,445 km²
Water: 1426 km²
Rank: 114
Comparative: about the size of South Carolina; slightly more than two-thirds the size of Pennsylvania

Land boundaries
Total: 2,524 km
Border countries: (8) Czech Republic 402 km; Germany 801 km; Hungary 321 km; Italy 404 km; Liechtenstein 34 km; Slovakia 105 km; Slovenia 299 km; Switzerland 158 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

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

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

Elevation
Mean elevation: 910 m
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m: highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m

Natural resources: oil coal lignite timber iron ore copper zinc antimony magnesite tungsten graphite salt hydropower

Land use
Agricultural land: 38.4%
Forest: 47.2%
Other: 14.4%

Irrigated land: 1170 km² (2012)

Natural hazards: landslides; avalanches; earthquakes

Geography
Note: 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

Population
Distribution: the northern and eastern portions of the country are more densely populated; nearly two-thirds of the populace lives in urban areas: 8,711,770 (July 2016 est.)
Rank: 95
Growth rate: 0.51% (2016 est.)
Growth rate rank: 160
Below poverty line: 4% (2014 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Austrian
Adjective: Austrian

Ethnic groups: Austrians 91.1% former Yugoslavs 4% (includes Croatians Slovenes Serbs and Bosniaks) Turks 1.6% Germans 0.9% other or unspecified 2.4% (2001 census)

Languages: German (official nationwide) 88.6% Turkish 2.3% Serbian 2.2% Croatian (official in Burgenland) 1.6% other (includes Slovene official in South Carinthia and Hungarian official in Burgenland) 5.3% (2001 est.)

Religions: Catholic 73.8% (includes Roman Catholic 73.6% other Catholic 0.2%) Protestant 4.9% Muslim 4.2% Orthodox 2.2% other 0.8% (includes other Christian) none 12% unspecified 2% (2001 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 14.02%
15-24 years: 11.33%
25-54 years: 42.71%
55-64 years: 12.85%
65 years and over: 19.09% (2016 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 49.2%
Youth dependency ratio: 21.2%
Elderly dependency ratio: 28%
Potential support ratio: 3.6%

Median age
Total: 43.8 years
Male: 42.7 years
Female: 44.9 years
Rank: 12

Population growth rate: 0.51% (2016 est.)
Rank: 160

Birth rate: 9.5 births/1000 population (2016 est.)
Rank: 204

Death rate: 9.5 deaths/1000 population (2016 est.)
Rank: 56

Net migration rate: 5.2 migrant(s)/1000 population (2016 est.)
Rank: 24

Population distribution: the northern and eastern portions of the country are more densely populated; nearly two-thirds of the populace lives in urban areas

Urbanization
Urban population: 66% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 0.4% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: VIENNA (capital) 1.753 million (2015)

Environment
Current issues: 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
International agreements party to: Air Pollution Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants Air Pollution-Sulfur 85 Air Pollution-Sulphur 94 Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds Antarctic Treaty Biodiversity Climate Change Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification Endangered Species Environmental Modification Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution Tropical Timber 83 Tropical Timber 94 Wetlands Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male/female
15-24 years: 1.04 male/female
25-54 years: 1 male/female
55-64 years: 0.98 male/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male/female
Total population: 0.96 male/female

Mothers mean age at first birth: 28.5 (2011 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 3.4 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 3.8 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 3.1 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 209

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 81.5 years
Male: 78.9 years
Female: 84.3 years
Rank: 23

Total fertility rate: 1.47 children born/woman (2016 est.)
Rank: 202

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 69.6%
Note: percent of women aged 18-46

Drinking water source:

Physicians density: 4.83 physicians/1000 population (2011)

Hospital bed density: 7.6 beds/1000 population (2011)

Sanitation facility access:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 20.1% (2014)
Rank: 93

Education expenditures: 5.6% of GDP (2013)
Rank: 44

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 16 years
Male: 16 years
Female: 16 years

Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Austria
Conventional short form: Austria
Local long form: Republik Oesterreich
Local short form: Oesterreich
Etymology: the name Oesterreich means 'eastern realm' or 'eastern march' and dates to the 10th century; the designation refers to the fact that Austria was the easternmost extension of Bavaria and in fact of all the Germans; the word Austria is a Latinization of the German name

Government type: federal parliamentary republic

Capital
Name: Vienna
Geographic coordinates: 48 12 N 16 22 E
Time difference: UTC+1
Daylight saving time: +1hr begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions: 9 states (Bundeslaender singular - Bundesland); Burgenland Kaernten (Carinthia) Niederoesterreich (Lower Austria) Oberoesterreich (Upper Austria) Salzburg Steiermark (Styria) Tirol (Tyrol) Vorarlberg Wien (Vienna)

Independence: 12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed); notable earlier dates: 976 (Margravate of Austria established); 17 September 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 11 August 1804 (Austrian Empire proclaimed)

National holiday: National Day 26 October (1955); note - commemorates the passage of the law on permanent neutrality

Constitution: several previous; latest adopted 1 October 1920 revised 1929 replaced May 1934 (authoritarian-corporate constitution) replaced by German Weimar constitution in 1938 following German annexation; latest reinstated 1 May 1945 (1920 constitution with 1929 revisions); amended many times last in 2014 (2016)

Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts by the Constitutional Court

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Austria
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years

Suffrage: 16 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Acting Presidents Doris BURES Karlheinz KOPF (OeVP) Norbert HOFER (FPOe) (since 8 July 2016)
Head of government: Chancellor Christian KERN (since 17 May 2016); Vice Chancellor Reinhold MITTERLEHNER (OeVP) (since 1 September 2014)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor
Electionsappointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 6-year term ; elections last held on 24 April 2016 (first round) and 22 May 2016 (second round) the latter was ruled invalid and a re-vote will be held 4 December 2016; next presidential elections to be held in April 2022; chancellor appointed by the president but determined by the majority coalition parties in the Federal Assembly; vice chancellor appointed by the president on the advice of the chancellor
Election results: percent of vote: first-round results - Norbet HOFER 35.1% Alexander van der BELLIEN (independent allied with the Greens) 21.3% Irmgard GRISS (independent) 18.9% Rudolf HUNDSTORFER (SPOe) 11.3% Andreas KHOL (OeVP) 11.1% Richard LUGNER (independent) 2.3%; second round results - Alexander van der BELLIEN 50.3% Norbet HOFER 49.7%; on 1 July 2016 the Constitutional Court ordered a rerun of the 22 May 2016 runoff election to be held 2 October 2016; former President Heinz FISCHER's term ended July 8; his functions were replaced by the three Presidents of the National Council Doris BURES (SPOe) Karlheinz KOPF (OeVP) and Norbert HOFER (FPOe)

Legislative branch
Description: bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of the Federal Council or Bundesrat and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)
Elections: National Council - last held on 29 September 2013
Election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - SPOe 26.8% OeVP 24.0% FPOe 20.5% Greens 12.4% Team Stronach 5.7% NEOS 5.0% other 5.6%; seats by party - SPOe 52 OeVP 47 FPOe 40 Greens 24 Team Stronach 11 NEOS 9; note - currently: SPOe 52 OeVP 50 FPOe 38 Greens 24 NEOS 9 Team Stronach 6 without faction 4

Judicial branch
Highest court: Supreme Court of Justice or Oberster Gerichtshof ; Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof (consists of 20 judges including 6 substitutes; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof - 2 judges plus other members depending on the importance of the case)
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges nominated by executive branch departments and appointed by the president; judges serve for life; Constitutional Court judges nominated by several executive branch departments and approved by the president; judges serve for life; Administrative Court judges recommended by executive branch departments and appointed by the president; terms of judges and members determined by the president
Subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal ; Regional Courts (20); district courts (120); county courts

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ADB (nonregional member) AfDB (nonregional member) Australia Group BIS BSEC (observer) CD CE CEI CERN EAPC EBRD ECB EIB EMU ESA EU FAO FATF G-9 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC (national committees) ICCt ICRM IDA IEA IFAD IFC IFRCS IGAD (partners) ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC (NGOs) MIGA MINURSO NEA NSG OAS (observer) OECD OIF (observer) OPCW OSCE Paris Club PCA PFP Schengen Convention SELEC (observer) UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNFICYP UNHCR UNIDO UNIFIL UNTSO UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Wolfgang WALDNER
In the us chancery: 3,524 International Court NW Washington DC 20,008-3,035
In the us telephone: [1] 895-6,700
In the us FAX: [1] 895-6,750
In the us consulate general: Los Angeles New York
In the us consulate: Chicago
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Alexa Lange WESNER
From the us embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16 A-1090 Vienna
From the us mailing address: use embassy street address
From the us telephone: [43] 31,339-0
From the us FAX: [43] 3,100,682

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top) white and red; the flag design is certainly one of the oldest - if not the oldest - national banners in the world; according to tradition in 1191 following a fierce battle in the Third Crusade Duke Leopold V of Austria's white tunic became completely blood-spattered; upon removal of his wide belt or sash a white band was revealed; the red-white-red color combination was subsequently adopted as his banner

National symbols: golden eagle edelweiss Alpine gentian; national colors: red white

National anthem
Name: 'Bundeshymne'
Lyrics and music: Paula von PRERADOVIC/Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART or Johann HOLZER
Note: adopted 1947; the anthem is also known as 'Land der Berge Land am Strome' ; Austria adopted a new national anthem after World War II to replace the former imperial anthem composed by Franz Josef HAYDN which had been appropriated by Germany in 1922 and was thereafter associated with the Nazi regime; a gendered version of the lyrics was adopted by the Austrian Federal Assembly in fall 2011 and became effective 1 January 2012

Economy overview:

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2015 US dollars
Rank: 47

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 176

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2015 US dollars
Rank: 27

Gross national saving:
Rank: 54

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 52.6%
Government consumption: 19.9%
Investment in fixed capital: 22.6%
Investment in inventories: 0.4%
Exports of goods and services: 53%
Imports of goods and services: -48.6%

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 1.3%
Industry: 28.3%
Services: 70.4%

Agriculture products: grains potatoes wine fruit; dairy products cattle pigs poultry; lumber and other forestry products

Industries: construction machinery vehicles and parts food metals chemicals lumber paper and paperboard communications equipment tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 0.8% (2015 est.)
Rank: 151

Labor force: 3.889 million (2015 est.)
Rank: 94
By occupation agriculture: 0.7%
By occupation industry: 25.3%
By occupation services: 74%

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 65

Population below poverty line: 4% (2014 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.8%
Highest 10: 23.5%

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 125

Budget
Revenues: $189.1 billion
Expenditures: $193.1 billion
Surplus or deficit: -1.1% of GDP (2015 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 62

Taxes and other revenues: 50.5% of GDP (2015 est.)
Rank: 14

Public debt:
Note: this is general government gross debt defined in the Maastricht Treaty as consolidated general government gross debt at nominal value outstanding at the end of the year; it covers the following categories of government liabilities : currency and deposits (AF.2) securities other than shares excluding financial derivatives (AF.3 excluding AF.34) and loans (AF.4); the general government sector comprises the sub-sectors of central government state government local government and social security funds; as a percentage of GDP the GDP used as a denominator is the gross domestic product in current year prices
Rank: 25

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 78

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 177

Stock of narrow money:
Note: see entry for the European Union for money supply for the entire euro area; the European Central Bank controls monetary policy for the 18 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of money circulating within their own borders
Rank: 23

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 26

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 26

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 41

Current account balance:
Rank: 23

Exports:
Rank: 32
Commodities: machinery and equipment motor vehicles and parts paper and paperboard metal goods chemicals iron and steel textiles foodstuffs
Partners: Germany 29.4% US 6.4% Italy 6.1% Switzerland 5.7% France 4.4% Slovakia 4.2% (2015)

Imports:
Rank: 30
Commodities: machinery and equipment motor vehicles chemicals metal goods oil and oil products natural gas; foodstuffs
Partners: Germany 41.5% Italy 6.3% Switzerland 6% Czech Republic 4.2% (2015)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 56

Debt external:
Rank: 18

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 22

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 19

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100%
Production: 59 billion kWh (2014 est.)
Production rank: 43
Consumption: 69.75 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Consumption rank: 40
Exports: 19.31 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Exports rank: 10
Imports: 29.37 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Imports rank: 8
Installed generating capacity: 24.22 million kW (2014 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 35
Generation sources fossil fuels: 32.8% of total installed capacity (2014 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 175
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2014 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 45
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 56% of total installed capacity (2014 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 39
Generation sources other renewable sources: 11.1% of total installed capacity (2014 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 32

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 16,500 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 67
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 97
Crude oil imports: 165,300 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 36
Crude oil proven reserves: 47.5 million bbl (1 January 2016 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 79

Refined petroleum
Products production: 200,900 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products production rank: 55
Products consumption: 264,600 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products consumption rank: 46
Products exports: 50,640 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 57
Products imports: 117,300 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 46

Natural gas
Production: 1.321 billion m³ (2014 est.)
Production rank: 62
Consumption: 7.845 billion m³ (2014 est.)
Consumption rank: 50
Exports: 2.529 billion m³ (2014 est.)
Exports rank: 36
Imports: 10.12 billion m³ (2014 est.)
Imports rank: 26
Proven reserves: 7.9 billion m³ (1 January 2016 es)
Proven reserves rank: 80

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 76.2 million Mt (2014 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 48

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 3,609,900
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 42
Fixed lines rank: 45
Mobile cellular total: 13.471 million
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 155
Mobile cellular rank: 71

Telephone system
General assessment: highly developed and efficient
Domestic: fixed-line subscribership has been in decline since the mid-1990s with mobile-cellular subscribership eclipsing it by the late 1990s; the fiber-optic net is very extensive; all telephone applications and Internet services are available; broadband is available in major cities
International: country code - 43; earth stations available in the Intelsat Eutelsat satellite systems

Broadcast media: worldwide cable and satellite TV are available; the public incumbent ORF competes with three other major several regional domestic and up to 400 international TV stations; TV coverage is in principle 100% but only 90% use broadcast media; Internet streaming not only complements but increasingly replaces regular TV stations (2016)

Internet
Country code: .at
Users total: 7.273 million
Users percent of population: 83.9%
Users rank: 53

Military expenditures:
Rank: 115

Military service age and obligation: registration requirement at age 17 the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; 18 is the legal minimum age for compulsory military service (6 months) or optionally alternative civil/community service (9 months); males 18 to 50 years old in the militia or inactive reserve are subject to compulsory service; in a January 2012 referendum a majority of Austrians voted in favor of retaining the system of compulsory military service (with the option of alternative/non-military service) instead of switching to a professional army system (2015)

National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 11
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 130
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 14,718,641
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 351.379 million mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: OE (2016)

Airports: 52 (2013)
Rank: 90
With paved runways total: 24
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 5
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With paved runways under 914 m: 13
With unpaved runways total: 28
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 24

Heliports: 1 (2013)

Pipelines: gas 4,736 km; oil 663 km; refined products 157 km (2013)

Railways
Total: 5,268 km
Standard gauge: 5,268 km 1.435-m gauge (2014)
Rank: 35

Roadways
Total: 133,597 km
Paved: 133,597 km (2016)
Rank: 39

Waterways: 358 km (2011)
Rank: 89

Merchant marine
Registered in other countries: 3 (2010)
Rank: 134

Ports and terminals
River port: Enns Krems Linz Vienna

Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: 17,458 (Afghanistan); 15,526 (Russia); 14,894 (Syria) (2015)
Stateless persons: 828

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and South American cocaine destined for Western Europe; increasing consumption of European-produced synthetic drugs