Austria

Austria Photo Gallery

Austria Realty

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Flag Description of Austria:The Austrian flag, originally adopted in 1918, was officially adopted (again) in 1945, after being banned during World War II. Stripes of red and white have been a collective emblem of Austria for over 800 years, and their first usage on the flag occur.

Wars of ancient history were about possessions, territory, power, control, family, betrayal, lover's quarrel, politics and sometimes religion. But we are in the Modern era and supposedly more educated and enlightened . Think about this. Don't just brush off these questions. Why is RELIGION still involved in WARS? Isn't religion supposed to be about PEACE? Ask yourself; What religion always campaign to have its religious laws be accepted as government laws, always involved in wars and consistently causing WARS, yet insists that it's a religion of peace? WHY?? There are only two kinds of people who teach tolerance: The Bullies. They want you to tolerate them so they can continue to maliciously deprive you. Do not believe these bullies teaching tolerance, saying that it’s the path to prevent hatred and prejudice. The victims who are waiting for the right moment to retaliate. They can’t win yet, so they tolerate.

Background of Austria

Austria has a well-developed social market economy with a high standard of living and close ties to other EU economies, especially Germany's.

Geography of Austria

• Location: Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia
• Geographic coordinates: 47 20 N, 13 20 E
• 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: 2,524 km
• border countries: Czech Republic 402 km, Germany 801 km, Hungary 321 km, Italy 404 km, Liechtenstein 34 km, Slovakia 105 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
• Land use: arable land: 16.25%
• permanent crops: 0.77%
• other: 82.98% (2011)
• Irrigated land: 1,170 sq km (2007)
• Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): total: 3.66 cu km/yr (18%/79%/3%)
• per capita: 452.4 cu m/yr (2008)
• 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
• 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

Demographics of Austria

• Population: 8,223,062 (July 2014 est.)
• Age structure: 0-14 years: 13.6% (male 573,146/female 546,596),15-24 years: 11.6% (male 488,564/female 468,891),25-54 years: 42.9% (male , 1,766,729/female 1,756,880) ,55-64 years: 12.7% (male 515,913/female 528,988), 65 years and over: 19.2% (male 670,750/female 906,605) (2014 est.)
• Dependency ratios: total dependency ratio: 49.1 %, youth dependency ratio: 21.6 %,elderly dependency ratio: 27.6 %, potential support ratio: 3.6 (2014 est.)
• Median age: total: 44.3 years, male: 43.2 years, female: 45.3 years (2014 est.)
• Population growth rate: 0.01% (2014 est.)
• Birth rate: 8.76 births/1,000 population (2014 est.)
• Death rate: 10.38 deaths/1,000 population (2014 est.)
• Net migration rate: 1.76 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2014 est.)
• Urbanization: urban population: 67.7% of total population (2011), rate of urbanization: 0.48% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
• Major cities - population: VIENNA (capital) 1.72 million (2011)
• Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female, 0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female , 15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female , 25-54 years: 1.01 male(s)/female, 55-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female, 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female, total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2014 est.)
• Mother's mean age at first birth: 28.5 (2011 est.)
• Infant mortality rate: total: 4.16 deaths/1,000 live births, male: 5.01 deaths/1,000 live births, female: 3.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2014 est.)
• Life expectancy at birth: total population: 80.17 years, male: 77.25 years, female: 83.24 years (2014 est.)
• Total fertility rate: 1.43 children born/woman (2014 est.)
• Contraceptive prevalence rate: 69.6%

note: percent of women aged 18-46 (2009)

• HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.3% (2009 est.)
• HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 15,000 (2009 est.)
• HIV/AIDS - deaths: fewer than 100 (2009 est.)
• Drinking water source: improved-urban: 100% of population, rural: 100% of population, total: 100% of population

unimproved- urban: 0% of population, rural: 0% of population, total: 0% of population (2012 est.)

• Nationality: noun: Austrian(s), adjective: Austrian
• Ethnic groups: Austrians 91.1%, former Yugoslavs 4% (includes Croatians, Slovenes, Serbs, and Bosniaks), Turks 1.6%, German 0.9%, other or unspecified 2.4% (2001 census)
• Religions: Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 2%, none 12% (2001 census)
• 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: definition: age 15 and over can read and write, total population: 98%, male: NA, female: NA
• School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): total: 16 years, male: 15 years, female: 16 years (2011)
• Education expenditures: 5.9% of GDP (2010)
• Maternal mortality rate: 4 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)
• Health expenditures: 10.6% of GDP (2011)
• Physicians density: 4.86 physicians/1,000 population (2010)
• Hospital bed density: 7.6 beds/1,000 population (2010)
• Obesity - adult prevalence rate: 20.9% (2008)
• Gender Parity of Austria
• Austria's Infant and child mortality
• Austria's Percentage of pupils starting grade 1 who reach last grade of primary

Government of Austria

• Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Austria
• conventional short form: Austria
• local long form: Republik Oesterreich
• local short form: Oesterreich
• Government type: federal republic
• Capital: name: Vienna
• geographic coordinates: 48 12 N, 16 22 E
• time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
• daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
• Administrative divisions: 9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Karnten (Carinthia), Niederoesterreich (Lower Austria), Oberoesterreich (Upper Austria), Salzburg, Steiermark (Styria), Tirol (Tyrol), Vorarlberg, Wien (Vienna)
• 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)
• National holiday: National Day, 26 October (1955); note - commemorates the passage of the law on permanent neutrality
• Constitution: several previous; latest adopted 1 October 1920, revised 1929, replaced May 1934 (authoritarian-corporate constitution), replaced by German Weimar constitution in 1938 following German annexation; latest reinstated 1 May 1945 (1920 constitution with 1929 revisions); amended many times, last in 2008 (2013)
• Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts by the Constitutional Court
• International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
• Suffrage: 16 years of age; universal
• Executive branch:

chief of state: President Heinz FISCHER (SPOe) (since 8 July 2004)

head of government: Chancellor Werner FAYMANN (SPOe) (since 2 December 2008); Vice Chancellor Michael SPINDELEGGER (OeVP) (since 21 April 2011)

cabinet: Council of Ministers chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor

elections: president elected for a six-year term (eligible for a second term) by direct popular vote and formally sworn into office before the Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung; presidential election last held on 25 April 2010 (next to be held on 25 April 2016); chancellor formally chosen by the president but determined by the coalition parties forming a parliamentary majority; vice chancellor chosen by the president on the advice of the chancellor

election results: Heinz FISCHER reelected president; percent of vote - Heinz FISCHER 79.33%, Barbara ROSENKRANZ 15.24%, Rudolf GEHRING 5.43%

note: government coalition - SPOe and OeVP

• Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly or Bundesversammlung consists of Federal Council or Bundesrat (62 seats; delegates appointed by state parliaments with each state receiving 3 to 12 seats in proportion to its population; members serve five- or six-year terms) and the National Council or Nationalrat (183 seats; members elected by popular vote for a five-year term under a system of proportional representation with partially open party lists)
• elections: National Council - last held on 29 September 2013 (next to be held by September 2018)
• election results: National Council - percent of vote by party - SPOe 27.1%, OeVP 23.8%, FPOe 21.4%, Greens 11.5%, Team Stronach for Austria 5.8%, NEOS - The New Austria 4.8%, other 5.6%; seats by party - SPOe 53, OeVP 46, FPOe 42, Greens 22; Team Stronach for Austria 11, NEOS - The New Austria 9
• Judicial branch: highest court(s): Supreme Court of Justice or Oberster Gerichtshof (consists of 85 judges organized into 17 senates or panels of five judges each); Constitutional Court or Verfassungsgerichtshof (consists of 20 judges including 6 substitutes; Administrative Court or Verwaltungsgerichtshof - 2 judges plus other members depending on the importance of the case)
• judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges nominated by executive branch departments and appointed by the president; judges serve for life; Constitutional Court judges nominated by several executive branch departments and approved by the president; judges serve for life; Administrative Court judges recommended by executive branch departments and appointed by the president; terms of judges and members determined by the president
• subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal (4); Regional Courts (20); district courts (120); county courts
• Political parties and leaders: Alliance for the Future of Austria or BZOe [Josef BUCHER]

Austrian People's Party or OeVP [Michael SPINDELEGGER] Communist Party of Austria or KPOe [Mirko MESSNER] Freedom Party of Austria or FPOe [Heinz Christian STRACHE] The Greens [Eva GLAWISCHNIG] NEOS - The New Austria [Matthias STROLZ] Social Democratic Party of Austria or SPOe [Werner FAYMANN] "Team Stronach for Austria" [Frank STRONACH]

• Political pressure groups and leaders: Austrian Trade Union Federation or OeGB (nominally independent but primarily Social Democratic)

Federal Economic Chamber Labor Chamber or AK (Social Democratic-leaning think tank) OeVP-oriented Association of Austrian Industrialists or IV Roman Catholic Church, including its chief lay organization, Catholic Action

• other: three composite leagues of the Austrian People's Party or OeVP representing business, labor, farmers, and other nongovernment organizations in the areas of environment and human rights
• International organization participation: ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CD, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, G-9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIFIL, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
• Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Hans Peter MANZ (since 2 December 2011)

chancery: 3524 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008-3035

telephone: [1] (202) 895-6700

FAX: [1] (202) 895-6750

consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York

• Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Alexa L. WESNER (since 6 September 2013)

embassy: Boltzmanngasse 16, A-1090, Vienna

mailing address: use embassy street address

telephone: [43] (1) 31339-0

FAX: [43] (1) 3100682

• National anthem: name: "Bundeshymne" (Federal Hymn)

lyrics/music: Paula von PRERADOVIC/Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART or Johann HOLZER (disputed)

note: adopted 1947; the anthem is also known as "Land der Berge, Land am Strome" (Land of the Mountains, Land on the River); Austria adopted a new national anthem after World War II to replace the former imperial anthem composed by Franz Josef HAYDN, which had been appropriated by Germany in 1922 and was now associated with the Nazi regime

• Group: All, OREA, Europe/French Dependencies, European Union, Europe

Disclaimer

This is not the official site of this country. Most of the information in this site were taken from the U.S. Department of State, The Central Intelligence Agency, The United Nations, [1],[2], [3], [4], [5],[6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14],[15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24],[25], [26], [27], [28], [29], [30],[31], [32], [33], [34], and the [35].

Other sources of information will be mentioned as they are posted.