Austria

Map of Austria

Country	Republic of Austria
Capital	Vienna
Population	8,219,743 (July 2012 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth	1.05 male(s)/female
Religions	Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 2%, none 12% (2001 census)
Nationality	Austrian
National Holiday	National Day, 26 October (1955); note - commemorates the passage of the law on permanent neutrality
Independence	12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed); notable earlier dates: 976 (Margravate of Austria established); 17 September 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 11 August 1804 (Austrian Empire proclaimed)
Languages	German (official nationwide) 88.6%, Turkish 2.3%, Serbian 2.2%, Croatian (official in Burgenland) 1.6%, other (includes Slovene, official in Carinthia, and Hungarian, official in Burgenland) 5.3% (2001 census)
Literacy	age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: NA female: NA
Location	Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia
Geographic coordinates	47 20 N, 13 20 E
Map references	Europe
Area	total: 83,871 sq km land: 82,445 sq km water: 1,426 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Maine
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
Coastline	0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims	none (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
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m
Natural resources	oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower
Exports - commodities	machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs
Imports - commodities	machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products; foodstuffs
Land use	arable land: 16.59% permanent crops: 0.85% other: 82.56% (2005)
Irrigated land	1,170 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	84 cu km (2005)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	total: 3.67 cu km/yr (35%/64%/1%) per capita: 448 cu m/yr (1999)
Natural hazards	landslides; avalanches; earthquakes
Environment - current 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 between northern and southern Europe
Environment - international agreements	party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	landlocked; strategic location at the crossroads of central Europe with many easily traversable Alpine passes and valleys; major river is the Danube; population is concentrated on eastern lowlands because of steep slopes, poor soils, and low temperatures elsewhere