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. Today, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states. The capital and largest city, with a population exceeding 1.7 million, is Vienna.
Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $46, 330.
Austria is officially referred to as the Republic of Austria, a country that is politically considered a federal republic and has a population of over eight million people citizens.
Austria is bordered on its north side by Germany and the Czech Republic; Slovakia and Hungary on its east side; Italy and Slovenia to the south and Liechtenstein and Switzerland to the west. Nine federal states subdivided into districts comprise Austria's 84,000 square kilometers of land (33,000 square miles), with Vienna being its capital and largest city.
A member of the United Nations and the European Union, Austria adopted the Euro as its official currency in 1999.
Austria's Climate
Most of Austria lies in a temperate to cool zone influenced in the summer by warm winds coming from the west. Because the majority of Austria is overshadowed by the Alps, the climate is predominately an"alpine"climate--rather cold during the winter months (0 to -10 Celsius or 32 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit) and relatively warm in the summer (25 to 40 Celsius or 77 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit). On average, Austria recieves around 660 mm (26 inches) of rain, snow or ice each year, with an average monthly rainfall amount of 55 mm, or around two inches.
Essential Facts About Austria
- Nearly 90 percent of Austria's citizens speak German, followed by Serbian/Bosnian/Croatian (four percent); Turkish (two percent); Hungarian (one-half percent) and Polish (one-half percent)
- Most Austrians who are religious are Roman Catholic
- Nineteen Austrians have been given the Nobel Prize for Medicine, Physiology, Chemistry or Physics. This currently stands as one of the highest award numbers per capita for any country in the world.
- Renewable resources supply Austria with over 60 precent of its power, primarily solar and wind power.
- At nearly 650 years old, the University of Vienna is Austria's largest and oldest university.