Austria
Modern Vienna, Vienna International Centre with the United Nations Office at Vienna
Austria (German: Österreich), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people[2] in Central Europe. It borders Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,872 square kilometres (32,383 sq mi), and is influenced by a temperate and alpine climate. Austria’s terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,797 metres (12,457 ft).[3] The majority of the population speaks German,[4] which is also the country’s official language.[1] Other local official languages are Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.[3]
Today, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states.[6][5] The capital—and with a population exceeding 1.6 million, Austria’s largest city—is Vienna.[3][6] Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $43,570. The country has developed a high standard of living, and in 2008 was ranked 14th in the world for its Human Development Index. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955,[7] joined the European Union in 1995,[3] and is a founder of the OECD.[8] Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995,[9] and adopted the European currency, the euro, in 1999.
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b “Austria”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 2009-05-31.
- ^ a b c “Total population – At 1 January”. Eurostat. 2009-01-01.
- ^ a b c d e f g “The World Factbook — Austria”. Central Intelligence Agency. 2009-05-14.
- ^ a b Statistik Austria, Die Bevölkerung nach Umgangssprache, Staatsangehörigkei und Geburtsland, page 75. PDF (German)
- ^ a b Lonnie Johnson 17
- ^ a b “Probezählung 2006 – Bevölkerungszahl 31.10.2006″ (in German) (PDF). Statistik Austria. 2006-10-31.
- ^ Jelavich 267
- ^ “Austria About”. OECD.
- ^ “Austria Joins Schengen”. Migration News. May 1995.
Bibliography
- Brook-Shepherd, Gordon (1998). The Austrians: a thousand-year odyssey. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0786705205.
- Johnson, Lonnie (1989). Introducing Austria: a short history. Riverside, Calif.: Ariadne Press. ISBN 0929497031.
- Jelavich, Barbara (1987). Modern Austria: empire and republic, 1815-1986. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-31625-1.
- Schulze, Hagen (1996). States, nations, and nationalism: from the Middle Ages to the present. Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell. ISBN 0631209336.
Links
- Austria entry at The World Factbook
- Austria entry at Encyclopædia Britannica
- Austria information from the United States Department of State
- Portals to the World from the United States Library of Congress
- Austria at UCB Libraries GovPubs
- Austria at the Open Directory Project
- Wikimedia Atlas of Austria
Government
- Federal Chancellery of Austria official government portal
- AEIOU Austria Albums (in German, English)
- Chief of State and Cabinet Members
Travel
- Austria.info Official homepage of the Austrian National Tourist Office
- Austria travel guide from Wikitravel
- Austria.mu Homepage of the Austrian Museums
- TourMyCountry.com Website on Austrian culture, cuisine and tourist attractions
- Austria on visiteurope.com Official homepage of the European Travel Commission
Miscellanea
- Austrian Law Information on Austrian Law
- World Intellectual Property Handbook: Austria
- History of Austria: Primary Documents from EuroDocs
- Guide to materials pertaining to Austria, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
English
- Austria News News from Austria
Photos
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