Flag of Austria - Fast facts

Government: Federal Republic Area: 83,858 sq km Population: 8,139,000 Capital: Vienna Language: German

Currency: EUR Religion: Roman Catholic Climate: moderate, continental Time zone: +1 GMT Member of EU: Yes

Geography

Austria is located in Central Europe. Austria is a predominantly mountainous country with a total area of 83,855 km2. Its border is formed by eight other European countries, namely Italy, Switzerland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia. Vienna is the capital of Austria and lies on the Danube River and is partly surrounded by the hills of the Vienna Woods (Wienerwald).

Austria is divided into nine federal provinces (Bundesländer):

• Vienna (Wien)
• Lower Austria (Niederösterreich)
• Upper Austria (Oberösterreich)
• Salzburg (Salzburg)
• Carinthia (Kärnten)
• Tyrol (Tirol)
• Vorarlberg (Vorarlberg)
• Styria (Steiermark)
• Burgenland (Burgenland)

Population

Austria's population just exceeds eight million. 20% of the total population of Austria live in Vienna. A reported 93% of Austrians are German-speaking. Austria has a diverse ethnic mix that includes six officially recognized ethnic groups: Croats, Czechs, Hungarians, Roma/Sinti, Slovaks and Slovenes.
Approximately 73% of the population of Austria regards itself as Roman Catholic, there are also 11 other officially recognised religions in Austria.

Austrian weather

Austria enjoys a moderate continental climate featuring all four distinct seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. Summers are generally warm and pleasant with cooler nights, Winters are sunny, with reliable and frequent snowfalls.
The weather is changeable throughout the year. However, in summer rainfalls are usually heavy and of short duration only. Winters are rather cold in the North-East and can be lightened up by the frequent and heavy foehn winds ( a warm and dry wind, especially in Vienna) in some valleys in the Alps.