Austria

Austria 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. Following the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995, some Austrian's have called into question this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999.

Austria Information

• Population: 8,174,762 (July 2004 est.)
• Nationality: noun: Austrian(s) adjective: Austrian
• Location:: Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia
• Religions:: Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 0.1%, none 17.4%
• Ethnic Groups:: German 88.5%, indigenous minorities 1.5% (includes Croatians, Slovenes, Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Roma), recent immigrant groups 10% (includes Turks, Bosnians, Serbians, Croatians) (2001)
• Land Boundaries:: total: 2,562 km border countries: Czech Republic 362 km, Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 35 km, Slovakia 91 km, Slovenia 330 km, Switzerland 164 km
• Area: total: 83,870 sq km water: 1,426 sq km land: 82,444 sq km
• Coast Line: 0 km (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: in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping
• Maritime Claims: none (landlocked)
• Land Use: arable land: 16.91% permanent crops: 0.86% other: 82.23% (2001)
• Environmental 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 be
• Natural Resources: oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower
• Highways: total: 200,000 km paved: 200,000 km (including 1,633 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2000)
• Railways: total: 6,021 km (3,552 km electrified) standard gauge: 5,565 km 1.435-m gauge (3,430 km electrified) narrow gauge: 34 km 1.000-m gauge (28 km electrified); 422 km 0.760-m gauge (94 km electrified) (2003)
• Ports & Harbours: Enns, Krems, Linz, Vienna
• Airports: 55 (2003 est.)