Austria

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Austria is a landlocked state that is located in the central part of Europe. It is characterized by its mountainous Alps as well as its iconic lakes. It borders a total of seven states with the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia to the northeast, Hungary to the east, Slovenia to the south, Italy to the southwest, Switzerland to the west and Germany to the northwest.

Austria, officially known as the Republic of Austria, is known for its iconic mountains as well as its significant role in European history. Before being conquered by the Roman empire, Austria was home to the Bavarians. After the fall of the Roman Empire the Austrian territory has shifted ownership many times. From the 13th century until the 20th century, Austria has been ruled by the Hapsburgs which also controlled the kingdom of Hungary as well as areas that are now considered as territories of Germany, Romania, Serbia and the Czech Republic. After the outbreak of the first world war, Austria sided with Germany, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria which formed the central powers. After losing the first world war in 1918, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was dissolved a year later into two separate states. Its new founding was short lived when Nazi Germany assimilated Austria in its empire. Austria regained its independence after second world war.

In terms of surface area, Austria is ranked as the 113th largest state with a total surface of 84,290 km² or 32,544 mi.². It is slightly larger than the United Arab Emirates and slightly smaller than Azerbaijan.

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

It has a water surface area of 1433 km² or 553 mi.² which ranks Austria is the 97th largest state by surface water.

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Austria is home to several major river basins, most notably the Rhine River and the Danube River. The water originates as snowfall that falls in the Alps Mountain range during winter and melts during spring time. In total, 1.7% of its surface area consists of water. This places Austria 78th state with the largest share of water. Even though these are significant amounts of water, almost all of the Austrian drinking water originates from underground. This is due to the low contamination levels as well as the easy treatment to turn this water into potable drinking water.

Due to its central European location, Austria enjoys a continental climate with moist summers and dry winters. It is the 179th warmest state in the world with an average temperature of 6.67 degrees Celsius or 44°F.

Temperature

On average, the temperature during the summer period reaches a temperature of 12.2°C or 53.96°F.

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Its average lowest temperature occurs during the winter months from December until February. The average lowest temperature is around 2.9°C or 37.2°F which ranks Austria as the 22nd coldest state in the world.

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

On average, Austria receives around 100 cm or 39.3 inch of rainfall annually which ranks it as the 98th state with the highest precipitation. There are, however, large fluctuations depending on the altitude. With the precipitation of more than three times higher in higher altitudes compared to the lower altitudes.

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

The Austrian capital, Vienna, is home to one and a half million citizens. The capital that is closest to Vienna is Bratislava which is only 40 km or 25 miles away. The capital that is furthest removed from Vienna is Wellington New Zealand with a distance of 18,154 km or 11,280 miles.

The Austrian economy is a market based economy which has developed into a stable economy over the last seven decades. Its largest contributors to its GDP are the services sector, industry and agriculture. During the financial crisis of 2008, the Austrian economy contracted only slightly and regained its economic growth in 2010. Its main economic partner by far is Germany which accounts for roughly 30% of total imports and exports from Austria. Other trading partners are the United States, Italy and China.

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Austria is a member of 18 international economic organizations. This ranks Austria as the 24th most economically interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

African development Bank
Asian Development Bank
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
Bank for International Settlements
Financial Action Task Force
Inter-American Development Bank
International Energy Agency
nternational Development Law Organization
International Monetary Fund
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

World Bank Group
World Customs Organization
World Trade Organization
TRACECA Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia
International Energy Agency
Energy Charter Treaty
Energy Community
Nuclear Energy Agency

The Austrian GDP is estimated to be around US$435 billion which ranks the Austrian economy as the 29th largest in the world corresponding to around 0.5% of total global GDP.

On average, the GDP per capita is US$48,466 which ranks the GDP per capita as the 16th largest in the world.

The figure below displays the average amount that inhabitant of other states earn for every 1$ that an average Dominican citizen makes.

It is ranked 30th when it comes to GDP per surface area with around US$516,000 per square kilometer or US$1.3 million per square mile.

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

The purchase power parity per capita is US$54,517 per capita which ranks Austria as the 17th state with the highest purchasing power of its citizens.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of the Dominican Republic with the rest of the world.

The graph on the left displays the purchasing power parity of the rest of the world in relation to the purchasing power of 1$ in Austria.

Being the 76th largest state in terms of population size, Austria is home to around 8.5 million citizens The official language of Austria this German, which is spoken by 89% of its citizens. The second largest language that is spoken in Austria is Hungarian representing around 5.3% of its population. The other languages are Serbian Croatian and Turkish.

Population

Population density

The population density of Austria amounts to around 106 people per square kilometer or 275 people per square mile. This ranks Austria as the 77th most densely populated states in the world.

Emigration

It is estimated that around 6.4% of Austrians live abroad. In total this number is estimated to be around 570,000 people which ranks Austria as the state with the 102nd largest emigration numbers or around 0.22% of total global emigration.

Immigration

Due to its stable and prosperous economy, Austria has been an interesting state to emigrate to. The regions of which these immigrants came from our mainly Asia, Australia, the United Kingdom and Africa. Due to the large immigration to Austria, it is estimated that nearly 20% of the total population is not native. This ranks Austria as the 35th state with the highest immigration which corresponds to roughly 1.7 million people or 0.7% of total global immigration.

Literacy

Around 97.6% of the Austrian population is literate. However, this number is relatively lower in the adult population where around 83% is able to read on an average level.

Health

Almost all Austrians are covered by publicly funded healthcare. This has been mainly funded by the Austrian government and is regarded to be of high standard. Therefore, Austria is ranked as the 14th most healthiest state with an average life expectancy of 82 years with women averaging around 84 years a man averaging around 79.8 years.

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

The Austrian government provides freedom of religion towards the larger religions in the world. It is ranked as the 71st most multi religious state in the world.

It is estimated that around 78% of Austrians adhere to the Christian faith. This is mainly represented by the Catholic denomination that accounts for roughly 57% of all Christians. Due to this share of the Christian population in Austria, it is ranked as the 61st most Christian state in the world

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

In the 1500s, Austria has been partly conquered by the Ottoman Empire which was mainly Islamic. After the expulsion of the Ottoman Empire in the 1700s, Muslims were expelled from Austrian territory. At present, around 6.2% of the Austrian population adheres to Islam. These followers mainly originate from Turkey and the Balkan and arrived in the 1960s as migrant labor workers.

The main adherents to Buddhism originated from Vietnam and China as well as ethnic Austrians that have converted to Buddhism. Austria is the only state within the European Union that recognizes Buddhism as a full religion. It Is estimated that around 0.2% of the Austrian population adheres to Buddhism. This corresponds to roughly 10,000 people.

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism came to Austria in the 1980 with the arrival of Indians. Even though Austria formally recognizes Hindu societies, it does not formally recognize Hinduism. Around 0.06% of the Austrian population adheres to Hinduism.

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

The history of Judaism throughout the territory of Austria has been turbulent. Throughout the centuries there were periods where Jews have been on equal footing with the inhabitants. Other historical moments show that Jews have been exiled or deported from these territories with the most notable being the Holocaust under Nazi Germany occupation. This has led to the extermination of many Jews and the rapid decline of the Jewish population within Austria. At present, the Jewish population represents around 0.16% of the total Austrianpopulation.

Other religions (share of the total population)

Around 0.1% of the Austrian population adheres to a non-mainstream religion. These mainly consist of pagan religions in the form of Druids as well as adherents of witchcraft.

Non-religious (share of the total population)

The share of Austrians that do not adhere to any religion is around 9%.

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

In total, Austria spends US$3.2 billion or 0.75% of its GDP on its military. This represents around 0.17% of total global military spending and ranks Austria as the 52nd state with the highest spending on its military.

The Austrian military, also known as the federal Army or Bundesheer consists of land and air forces with its land forces divided in specialized land forces. After the first world war Austria lost its connection to the sea to Italy and has since then became a landlocked state. Therefore, Austria does not have a Navy. The Commander-in-Chief is the Austrian president with the Minister of Defense as the main executor of military tasks.

Military membership

In total, Austria is a member of 11 international military organizations. This makes Austria on the 22nd most militarily interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Common Security and Defense Policy
Permanent Structured Cooperation
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
Conference on Disarmament
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Wassenaar Arrangement
Nuclear Suppliers Group
Australia Group
Missile Technology Control Regime
International Atomic Energy Agency

Military membership

International wars

Since the 1500s, Austria has participated in 27 international wars. These are:

Little War in Hungary 1530-1551
Thirty Years' War 1618-1648
War of the Spanish Succession 1701-1714
Rákóczi's War of Independence 1703-1711
Comacchio war [de] 1708-1709
War of the Quadruple Alliance 1718-1710
War of the Polish Succession 1733-1738
Polish succession war 1733-1739
Seven Years' War 1756-1763

Kettle War 1784-1784
War of the First Coalition 1791-1797
Denisko uprising 1797-1797
War of the Second Coalition 1798-1801
Napoleonic Wars 1803-1815
" Hundred Days war 1815-1815"
Egyptian–Ottoman War 1839–41
First Italian War of Independence 1848-1849
Hungarian War of Independence 1848-1849

Serb Uprising of 1848–1849
Second Italian War of Independence 185
Franco-Mexican War 1861-1867
Second Schleswig War 1864-1864
Austro-Prussian War 1866-1866
Boxer Rebellion 1899-1901
World War I 1914-1918
Russian Civil War 1917-1911

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

In total, Austria is a member of 15 international political organizations. This ranks Austria as the 39th most politically interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Member states of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
European Union
the Council of Europe
Central European Initiative
Energy Community
European Cooperation in Science and Technology
Union for the Mediterranean
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
UNIDROIT
International Criminal Court
Interpol
Permanent Court of Arbitration
Western European and Others Group
World Organisation for Animal Health

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Since 1920, Austria has had a new constitution that centers around the forming of coalitions between the federal states. This makes it less likely that a dictatorship will take hold within the territory of Austria.

Democracy/Dictatorship

Austria is a federal representative democracy and is known to have a parliamentary democracy which is represented by different political parties. In total, Austria consists of nine federal states or provinces which are controlled by the capital of Vienna.