Austria
Geography - People - Economy - Government - Communications - Transportation - Military - Transnational IssuesCountry information - Austria
Country name - conventional long form : Republic of Austria
Country name - conventional short form : Austria
Country name - local long form : Republik Oesterreich
Country name - local short form : Oesterreich
Country name - former :
Country code : AU
Government type : federal republic
Capital - name : Vienna
Capital - time difference : UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
National holiday : National Day, 26 October (1955); note - commemorates the passage of the law on permanent neutrality
Population : 8,205,533 (July 2008 est.)
Nationality - noun : Austrian(s)
Nationality - adjective : Austrian
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)
Currency (code) : euro (EUR)
Currency code : EUR
Major infectious diseases - degree of risk :
Major infectious diseases - note :
Austria is located Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia. The climate is temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain and some snow in lowlands and snow in mountains; moderate summers with occasional showers. The terrain is in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping.
Background
This entry usually highlights major historic events and current issues and may include a statement about one or two key future trends.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. The Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995 have altered the meaning of this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the EU Economic and Monetary Union in 1999.
