AUSTRIA
Geography: Slightly smaller than Maine, Austria includes much of the mountainous territory of the eastern Alps (about 75% of the area). The country contains many snowfields, glaciers, and snowcapped peaks, the highest being the Grossglockner (12,530 ft; 3,819 m). The Danube is the principal river. Forests and woodlands cover about 40% of the land.
Government: Federal republic.
History: Settled in prehistoric times, the central European land that is now Austria was overrun in pre-Roman times by various tribes, including the Celts. After the fall of the Roman Empire, of which Austria was part, the area was invaded by Bavarians and Slavic Avars. Charlemagne conquered the area in 788 and encouraged colonization and Christianity. In 1252, Ottokar, king of Bohemia, gained possession, only to lose the territories to Rudolf of Hapsburg in 1278. Thereafter, until World War I, Austria's history was largely that of its ruling house, the Hapsburgs. Austria emerged from the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as the continent's dominant power. The Ausgleich of 1867 provided for a dual sovereignty, the empire of Austria and the kingdom of Hungary, under Franz Joseph I, who ruled until his death on Nov. 21, 1916. The Austrian-Hungarian minority rule of this immensely diverse empire, which included German, Czech, Romanian, Serbian, and many other lands, became increasingly difficult in an age of emerging nationalist movements. When Archduke Francis Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo in 1914, World War I, as well as the destruction of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, began.
During World War I, Austria-Hungary was one of the Central powers with Germany, Bulgaria, and Turkey, and the conflict left the country in political chaos and economic ruin. Austria, shorn of Hungary, was proclaimed a republic in 1918, and the monarchy was dissolved in 1919. A parliamentary democracy was set up by the constitution of Nov. 10, 1920. To check the power of Nazis advocating union with Germany, Chancellor Engelbert Dolfuss in 1933 established a dictatorship, but he was assassinated by the Nazis on July 25, 1934. Kurt von Schuschnigg, his successor, struggled to keep Austria independent, but on March 12, 1938, German troops occupied the country, and Hitler proclaimed its Anschluss (union) with Germany, annexing it to the Third Reich.
History: Settled in prehistoric times, the central European land that is now Austria was overrun in pre-Roman times by various tribes, including the Celts. After the fall of the Roman Empire, of which Austria was part, the area was invaded by Bavarians and Slavic Avars. Charlemagne conquered the area in 788 and encouraged colonization and Christianity. In 1252, Ottokar, king of Bohemia, gained possession, only to lose the territories to Rudolf of Hapsburg in 1278. Thereafter, until World War I, Austria's history was largely that of its ruling house, the Hapsburgs. Austria emerged from the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as the continent's dominant power. The Ausgleich of 1867 provided for a dual sovereignty, the empire of Austria and the kingdom of Hungary, under Franz Joseph I, who ruled until his death on Nov. 21, 1916. The Austrian-Hungarian minority rule of this immensely diverse empire, which included German, Czech, Romanian, Serbian, and many other lands, became increasingly difficult in an age of emerging nationalist movements. When Archduke Francis Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo in 1914, World War I, as well as the destruction of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, began.
During World War I, Austria-Hungary was one of the Central powers with Germany, Bulgaria, and Turkey, and the conflict left the country in political chaos and economic ruin. Austria, shorn of Hungary, was proclaimed a republic in 1918, and the monarchy was dissolved in 1919. A parliamentary democracy was set up by the constitution of Nov. 10, 1920. To check the power of Nazis advocating union with Germany, Chancellor Engelbert Dolfuss in 1933 established a dictatorship, but he was assassinated by the Nazis on July 25, 1934. Kurt von Schuschnigg, his successor, struggled to keep Austria independent, but on March 12, 1938, German troops occupied the country, and Hitler proclaimed its Anschluss (union) with Germany, annexing it to the Third Reich.
Map of Austria
President:
Heinz Fischer (2004)
Chancellor:
Werner Faymann (2008)
Land area: 31,942
sq mi (82,730 sq km); total area: 32,382 sq mi (83,870 sq
km)
Population (2014 est.): 8,223,062
(growth rate: 0.01%); birth rate 8.76/1000; infant mortality rate:
4.16/1000; life expectancy: 80.17
Capital and largest city (2011 est.):
Vienna, 1.72 million
Other large cities: Graz,
219,500; Linz, 185,300; Salzburg, 145,500; Innsbruck, 115,600
Monetary units: Euro (formerly
schilling)
National name: Republik
Österreich
Ethnicity/race:
Austrians 91.1%, former Yugoslavs 4% (includes
Croatians, Slovenes, Serbs, Bosniaks), Turks 1.6%, German 0.9%, other
or unspecified 2.4% (2001)
Religions:
Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 2%, none 12% (2001 census)
National Holiday:
National Day, October 26
Literacy rate: 98%
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2013 est.):
$361 billion; per capita $42,600. Real growth rate: 0.4%.
Inflation: 2.1%. Unemployment: 4.9%. Arable land:
16.25%. Agriculture: grains, potatoes, sugar beets, wine,
fruit; dairy products, cattle, pigs, poultry; lumber. Labor
force: 3.737 million (2013 est.); agriculture and forestry 5.5%,
industry and crafts 26%, services 68.5%. Industries:
construction, machinery, vehicles and parts, food, metals, chemicals,
lumber and wood processing, paper and paperboard, communications
equipment, tourism. Natural resources: oil, coal, lignite,
timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten,
graphite, salt, hydropower. Exports: $165.6 billion
(2013 est.): machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper
and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles,
foodstuffs. Imports: $167.9 billion (2013 est.):
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil
and oil products; foodstuffs. Major trading partners: Germany,
Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands, U.S., France (2013).
Communications: Telephones: main lines in
use: 3.342 million (2012); mobile cellular: 13.59 million (2012).
Broadcast media: Austria's public broadcaster,
Osterreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), was the main broadcast source until
commercial radio and TV service was introduced in the 1990s; cable and
satellite TV are available, including German TV stations (2008). Internet hosts:
3.512 million (2012). Internet users: 6.143 million
(2011).
Transportation: Railways:
total: 6,399 km (3,552 km electrified) (2011). Highways:
124,508 km; (including 1,719 km of expressways)
(2012). Waterways: 358 km (2011). Ports and harbors:
Enns, Krems, Linz, Vienna. Airports: 52 (2013).
International disputes: none.
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