Country Fact Sheet: Austria

Austria’s present boundaries encompass 83,870 square kilometers and were established in 1919 at the Treaty of St. Germain. Its strategic location contains the north/south routes between Germany and Italy and the southwest routes into Western Europe. The capital city is Vienna, with a population of 1.68 million, and the primary language is German. Austria’s total population is about 8.21 million and is growing at 0.052% with 67% living in urban areas. The people are governed by a federal parliamentary democracy and are predominately Roman Catholic. Austria joined the European Union in 1995 and adopted the Euro as currency in 1999.

Austria’s primary trading partners are the European Union, namely Germany, along with Switzerland, the U.S. and China. Exports include iron and steel products, timber, paper, textiles, machinery and foodstuffs. Imports consist primarily of machinery and equipment, fuels, vehicles, chemicals and foodstuffs. Austria’s GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) is $325 billion and is growing at a real rate of 1.6% with an inflation rate of 3.7%. Austria ranked 32^th out of 183 countries in the World Bank Group’s Ease of Doing Business Ranking.