Country Profiles: Austria

Austria is located in Europe. Originally the center of power for the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria dwarfed in size after being defeated in World War I. After being annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938 and occupied by Allies in 1945, Austria finally gained independence in 1955. With an area of 83,871 sq km, Austria is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Maine.

Austria shares a border with Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, and Switzerland. It is mostly mountainous in the west and south (Alps) and flat or gently sloping in the east and north.





People who live in Austria are known as Austrians, which is the adjective used to describe items from that country. German is the official language (88.6%), but Turkish (2.3%), Serbian (2.2%), and Croatian (1.6%) are also spoken. Most Austrians are Catholic (73.6%), but there are Protestants (4.7%) and Muslims (4.2%) in Austria too.


Austria's official name is the Republic of Austria. The capital is Vienna, and Austria is divided into 9 states. The current president of Austria is Heinz Fischer. More information about the leaders of Austria's government can be found here. The currency in Austria is the euro (abbreviated EUR), which stands at .755 EUR per USD as of 2010.





All of this information was gathered from the CIA World Factbook. For more information, check out these resources...

Federal Chancellery of Austria

Austria, CIA World Factbook

Background Notes: Austria, U.S. Department of State

Austria 2010 Country Report on Human Rights Practices, U.S. Department of State.

You can also check out the Country Studies tab on our Fed Docs libguide here for more resources on all of the countries.



Sonnet Ireland
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