Austria

Republic of Austria Republik Österreich (German)
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: "Bundeshymne der Republik Österreich" "National Anthem of the Republic of Austria"
Ethnic groups (2023)[3]		72.8% Austrians 27.2% other
Religion (2021)[4]	68.2% Christianity 55.2% Catholicism 4.9% Orthodoxy 3.8% Protestantism 4.3% other Christian 22.4% no religion 8.3% Islam 1.1% other
Demonym(s)	Austrian
Government	Federal semi-presidential republic[5][d]
• President	Alexander Van der Bellen
• Chancellor	Karl Nehammer
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Federal Council
• Lower house	National Council
Formation
• Name	1 November 996
• Duchy	17 September 1156
• Empire	11 August 1804
• Austria-Hungary	30 March 1867
• First Republic	10 September 1919
• Federal State	1 May 1934
• Anschluss	13 March 1938
• Second Republic	27 April 1945
• State Treaty	27 July 1955
Area
• Total	83,879[6] km2 (32,386 sq mi) (113th)
• Water (%)	0.84 (2015)[7]
Population
• April 2022 estimate	9,027,999[8] (97th)
• Density	107.6/km2 (278.7/sq mi) (106th)
GDP (PPP)	2024 estimate
• Total	$667.153 billion[9] (43rd)
• Per capita	$73,050[9] (14th)
GDP (nominal)	2024 estimate
• Total	$535.804 billion[9] (33rd)
• Per capita	$58,668[9] (17th)
Gini (2023)	28.1[10] low inequality
HDI (2022)	0.926[11] very high (22nd)
Currency	Euro (€) (EUR)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Calling code	+43
ISO 3166 code	AT
Internet TLD	.at

Austria,

After the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914, Emperor Franz Joseph declared war on Serbia, which ultimately escalated into World War I. The empire's defeat and subsequent collapse led to the proclamation of the Republic of German-Austria in 1918 and the First Austrian Republic in 1919. During the interwar period, anti-parliamentarian sentiments culminated in the formation of an Austrofascist dictatorship under Engelbert Dollfuss in 1934. A year before the outbreak of World War II, Austria was annexed into Nazi Germany by Adolf Hitler, and it became a sub-national division. After its liberation in 1945 and a decade of Allied occupation, the country regained its sovereignty and declared its perpetual neutrality in 1955.

Austria is a

The native name for Austria, Österreich, derives from the

Austria was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976. The word "Austria" is a Latinisation of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century.^[25] At the time, the Danube basin of Austria (Upper and Lower Austria) was the easternmost extent of Bavaria.

The area that is now Austria was settled in pre-Roman times by various

Present-day Petronell-Carnuntum in eastern Austria was an important army camp turned capital city in what became known as the Pannonia Superior. Carnuntum was home to 50,000 people for nearly 400 years.^[31]

After the

As a result,

Habsburgs

.

In the 14th and 15th centuries, the

Albert V of Austria was chosen as the successor to his father-in-law, Emperor Sigismund

. Although Albert himself only reigned for a year, henceforth every emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was a Habsburg, with only one exception.

The Habsburgs began also to accumulate territory far from the hereditary lands. In 1477, Archduke

Joanna the Mad, the heiress of Castile and Aragon, thus acquiring Spain and its Italian, African, Asian, and New World appendages for the Habsburgs.^[39][40]

In 1526, following the

Long War of 1593 to 1606. The Turks made incursions into Styria nearly 20 times,^[42] of which some are cited as "burning, pillaging, and taking thousands of slaves".^[43] In late September 1529, Suleiman the Magnificent launched the first siege of Vienna

, which unsuccessfully ended, according to Ottoman historians, with the snowfalls of an early beginning winter.

17th and 18th centuries

During the long reign of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor following the successful defence of Vienna against the Turks in 1683, under the command of the King of Poland John III Sobieski,^[44] the Great Turkish War resulted in most of Hungary being controlled by Austria. This arrangement was formalized in the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699.

Austria–Prussia rivalry began in Germany. Austria participated, together with Prussia and Russia, in the first and the third of the three Partitions of Poland

in 1772 and 1795 respectively.

From that time, Austria became the birthplace of classical music and played host to different composers including Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Franz Schubert.

19th century

See also: Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary

Austria later became engaged in a war with

Napoleon Bonaparte, meaning the end of the old Holy Roman Empire in 1806. Two years earlier,^[45] the Empire of Austria was founded. From 1792 to 1801, the Austrians had suffered 754,700 casualties.^[46] In 1814, Austria was part of the Allied forces that invaded France and brought to an end the Napoleonic Wars

.

It emerged from the

1848 revolutions aiming to create a unified Germany.^[47]

The various different possibilities for a united Germany were: a

Schleswig and Holstein. As they could not agree on how the two duchies should be administered, though, they fought the Austro-Prussian War in 1866. Defeated by Prussia in the Battle of Königgrätz,^[47] Austria had to leave the German Confederation and no longer took part in German politics.^[48][49]

After the defeated Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, the Ausgleich, provided for a dual sovereignty, the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary, under Franz Joseph I.^[50] The Austrian-Hungarian rule of this diverse empire included various groups, including Germans, Hungarians, Croats, Czechs, Poles, Rusyns, Serbs, Slovaks, Slovenes, and Ukrainians, as well as large Italian and Romanian communities.

As a result, ruling Austria-Hungary became increasingly difficult in an age of emerging nationalist movements, requiring considerable reliance on an expanded secret police. Yet, the government of Austria tried its best to be accommodating in some respects: for example, the Reichsgesetzblatt, publishing the laws and ordinances of Cisleithania, was issued in eight languages; and all national groups were entitled to schools in their own language and to the use of their mother tongue at state offices.

Many Austrians of all different social circles such as Georg Ritter von Schönerer promoted strong pan-Germanism in the hope of reinforcing an ethnic German identity and the annexation of Austria to Germany.^[51] Some Austrians such as Karl Lueger also used pan-Germanism as a form of populism to further their own political goals. Although Bismarck's policies excluded Austria and the German Austrians from Germany, many Austrian pan-Germans idolised him and wore blue cornflowers, known to be the favourite flower of German Emperor William I, in their buttonholes, along with cockades in the German national colours (black, red, and yellow), although they were both temporarily banned in Austrian schools, as a way to show discontent towards the multi-ethnic empire.^[52]

Austria's exclusion from Germany caused many Austrians a problem with their national identity and prompted the Social Democratic Leader Otto Bauer to state that it was "the conflict between our Austrian and German character".^[53] The Austro-Hungarian Empire caused ethnic tension between the German Austrians and the other ethnic groups. Many Austrians, especially those involved with the pan-German movements, desired a reinforcement of an ethnic German identity and hoped that the empire would collapse, which would allow an annexation of Austria by Germany.^[54]

A lot of Austrian pan-German nationalists protested passionately against minister-president

As the

On 21 October 1918, the elected German members of the Reichsrat (parliament of Imperial Austria) met in Vienna as the Provisional National Assembly for German Austria (Provisorische Nationalversammlung für Deutschösterreich). On 30 October the assembly founded the Republic of German-Austria by appointing a government, called Staatsrat. This new government was invited by the Emperor to take part in the decision on the planned armistice with Italy but refrained from this business.^[59]

This left the responsibility for the end of the war, on 3 November 1918, solely to the emperor and his government. On 11 November, the emperor, advised by ministers of the old and the new governments, declared he would not take part in state business any more; on 12 November, German-Austria, by law, declared itself to be a democratic republic and part of the new German republic. The constitution, renaming the Staatsrat as Bundesregierung (federal government) and Nationalversammlung as Nationalrat (national council) was passed on 10 November 1920.^[60]

The

After the war, inflation began to devalue the Krone, which was still Austria's currency. In the autumn of 1922, Austria was granted an international loan supervised by the

The

His successor Kurt Schuschnigg acknowledged the fact that Austria was a "German state" and he also believed that Austrians were "better Germans" but he wished that Austria would remain independent.^[80] He announced a referendum on 9 March 1938, to be held on 13 March, concerning Austria's independence from Germany.

On 12 March 1938, Austrian Nazis took over the government, while German troops occupied the country, which prevented Schuschnigg's referendum from taking place.^[81] On 13 March 1938, the Anschluss (lit. 'joining' or 'connection') of Austria was officially declared. Two days later, Austrian-born Adolf Hitler announced what he called the "reunification" of his home country with the "rest of the German Reich" on Vienna's Heldenplatz. He established a referendum which confirmed the union with Germany in April 1938.

Parliamentary elections were held in Germany (including recently annexed Austria) on 10 April 1938. They were the final elections to the Reichstag during Nazi rule, and they took the form of a single-question referendum asking whether voters approved of a single Nazi-party list for the 813-member Reichstag, as well as the recent annexation of Austria (the Anschluss). Jews, Roma and Sinti were not allowed to vote.^[82] Turnout in the election was officially 99.5%, with 98.9% voting "yes". In the case of Austria, Adolf Hitler's native soil, 99.71% of an electorate of 4,484,475 officially went to the ballots, with a positive tally of 99.73 percent.^[83] Although most Austrians favored the Anschluss, in certain parts of Austria, the German soldiers were not always welcomed with flowers and joy, especially in Vienna, which had Austria's largest Jewish population.^[84] Nevertheless, despite the propaganda and the manipulation and rigging which surrounded the ballot box result, there was massive genuine support for Hitler for fulfilling the Anschluss,^[85] since many Germans from both Austria and Germany saw it as completing the long overdue unification of all Germans into one state.^[86]

On 13 March 1938, Austria was annexed by the

Most of the resistance groups were soon crushed by the Gestapo. While the plans of the group around Karl Burian to blow up the Gestapo's headquarters in Vienna were uncovered,^[101] the important group around the later executed priest Heinrich Maier managed to contact the Allies. This so-called Maier-Messner group was able to send the Allies information about armaments factories where V-1 flying bombs, V-2 rockets, Tiger tanks, and aircraft (Messerschmitt Bf 109, Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, etc.) were manufactured, information which was important to the success of Operation Crossbow and Operation Hydra, both of which were preliminary missions before the launch of Operation Overlord. This resistance group, which was in contact with the American secret service (OSS), soon provided information about mass executions and concentration camps such as Auschwitz. The group's aim was to cause Nazi Germany to lose the war as quickly as possible and re-establish an independent Austria.^{[102][103][104]}

Vienna fell on 13 April 1945, during the Soviet Vienna offensive, just before the total collapse of the Third Reich. The invading Allied powers, in particular the Americans, planned for the supposed "Alpine Fortress Operation" of a national redoubt, that was largely to have taken place on Austrian soil in the mountains of the Eastern Alps. However, it never materialised because of the rapid collapse of the Reich.

The Austrian government, consisting of Social Democrats, Conservatives, and Communists resided in Vienna, which was surrounded by the Soviet zone. This Austrian government was recognised by the allies of World War II in October 1945 despite concerns that Karl Renner could be Stalin's puppet.^[109] On 26 July 1946 the Austrian Parliament passed its first nationalization law and approximately 70 mining and manufacturing companies were seized by the Austrian state. The Ministry of Property Protection and Economic Planning (Ministerium für Vermögenssicherung und Wirtschaftsplanung) was responsible for directing the nationalized industries under the directorship of Minister Peter Krauland (party ÖVP).^[110]

On 15 May 1955, after talks which lasted for years and were influenced by the

The status of Tyrol was a lingering problem between Austria and Italy. To this day, there are 20 different squares in Austrian cities called "Südtiroler Platz" (South Tyrolean Square) in memory of the supposed loss of the Austrian territories. Terrorist acts by the South Tyrolean independence movement have been documented in the 1950s and 1960s. A great degree of autonomy was granted to Tyrol by the Italian national government.

The political system of the

Since 1945, governing via a single-party government has occurred twice: 1966–1970 (ÖVP) and 1970-1983 (SPÖ). During all other legislative periods, either a grand coalition of SPÖ and ÖVP or a "small coalition" (one of these two and a smaller party) ruled the country.

Following a referendum in 1994, at which consent reached a majority of two-thirds, the country became a member of the European Union on 1 January 1995.^[116]

The major parties SPÖ and ÖVP have contrary opinions about the future status of Austria's military nonalignment: While the SPÖ in public supports a neutral role, the ÖVP argues for stronger integration into the EU's security policy; even a future NATO membership is not ruled out by some ÖVP politicians (ex. Werner Fasslabend (ÖVP) in 1997).^{[citation needed]} In reality, Austria is taking part in the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy, participates in peacekeeping and peace creating tasks, and has become a member of NATO's "Partnership for Peace"; the constitution has been amended accordingly.^[117] Since Liechtenstein joined the Schengen Area in 2011, none of Austria's neighbouring countries performs border controls towards it anymore.^[118]

Alexander Van der Bellen
President

Karl Nehammer
Chancellor

The

The president of Austria is the head of state. The president is directly elected by popular majority vote, with a run-off between the top-scoring candidates if necessary. The chancellor of Austria is head of the government. The chancellor is selected by the president and tasked with forming a government based on the partisan composition of the lower house of parliament.

The government can be removed from office by either a presidential decree or by

Austria's parliament consists of two chambers. The composition of the Nationalrat (183 seats) is determined every five years (or whenever the Nationalrat has been dissolved by the federal president on a motion by the federal chancellor, or by the Nationalrat itself) by a general election in which every citizen over the age of 16 has the right to vote. The voting age was lowered from 18 in 2007.^[121]

While there is a general threshold of 4% of the vote for all parties in federal elections (Nationalratswahlen) to participate in the proportional allocation of seats, there remains the possibility of being elected to a seat directly in one of the 43 regional electoral districts (Direktmandat).

The Nationalrat is the dominant chamber in the legislative process in Austria. However, the upper house of parliament, the

While the bicameral Parliament and the Government constitute the legislative and executive branches, respectively, the courts are the third branch of Austrian state powers. The Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof) exerts considerable influence on the political system because of its power to invalidate legislation and ordinances that are not in compliance with the Constitution. Since 1995, the European Court of Justice may overrule Austrian decisions in all matters defined in the laws of the European Union. Austria also implements the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, since the European Convention on Human Rights is part of the Austrian constitution.

After general elections held in October 2006, the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) emerged as the strongest party, and the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) came in second, having lost about 8% of its previous polling.^[123][124] Political realities prohibited any of the two major parties from forming a coalition with smaller parties. In January 2007 the People's Party and SPÖ formed a grand coalition with the social democrat Alfred Gusenbauer as Chancellor. This coalition broke up in June 2008.

Elections in September

In the legislative elections of 2013, the Social Democratic Party received 27% of the vote and 52 seats; the People's Party 24% and 47 seats, thus controlling together the majority of the seats. The Freedom Party received 40 seats and 21% of the votes, while the Greens received 12% and 24 seats. Two new parties, Stronach and the NEOS, received less than 10% of the vote, and 11 and nine seats respectively.^[126]

On 17 May 2016, Christian Kern from Social Democrats (SPÖ) was sworn in as the new chancellor. He continued governing in a "grand coalition" with the conservative People's Party (ÖVP). He took the office after the former chancellor, also from SPÖ, Werner Faymann's resignation.^[127]

On 26 January 2017, Alexander Van der Bellen was sworn in as the mostly ceremonial – but symbolically significant – role of Austrian president.^[128]

After the Grand Coalition broke in Spring 2017 a snap election was proclaimed for October 2017. The Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) with its new young leader Sebastian Kurz emerged as the largest party in the National Council, winning 31.5% of votes and 62 of the 183 seats. The Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) finished second with 52 seats and 26.9% votes, slightly ahead of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), which received 51 seats and 26 percent. NEOS finished fourth with 10 seats (5.3% of votes), and PILZ (which split from the Green Party at the start of the campaign) entered parliament for the first time and came in fifth place with 8 seats and 4.4% The Green Party failed with 3.8% to cross the 4% threshold and was ejected from parliament, losing all of its 24 seats.^[129] The ÖVP decided to form a coalition with the FPÖ. The new government between the centre-right wing and the right-wing populist party under the new chancellor Sebastian Kurz was sworn in on 18 December 2017,^[130] but the coalition government later collapsed in the wake of the "Ibiza" corruption scandal^[131] and new elections were called for 29 September 2019. The elections led to another landslide victory (37.5 percent) of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) which formed a coalition government with the reinvigorated (13.9 percent) Greens, which was sworn in with Kurz as chancellor on 7 January 2020.^[132]

On 11 October 2021, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz resigned, after pressure triggered by a corruption scandal. Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg of ÖVP succeeded him as chancellor.^[133] Following a corruption scandal involving the ruling People's Party, Austria got its third conservative chancellor in two months after Karl Nehammer was sworn into office on 6 December 2021. His predecessor Alexander Schallenberg had left the office after less than two months. ÖVP and the Greens continued to govern together.^[134]

A year after Karl Nehammer was sworn into office, Austria disagreed with Bulgaria's and Romania's accession to the Schengen Area.^[135] In the two countries, the Austrian veto caused considerable outrage. Because of the controversial vote, Romania withdrew its ambassador from Vienna.^[136] Citizens of Romania were advised by the government not to travel to Austria for skiing, and a boycott against Austrian companies like OMV and Raiffeisen is still ongoing.^[137]

The 1955

Austria began to reassess its definition of neutrality following the fall of the Soviet Union, granting overflight rights for the UN-sanctioned action against Iraq in 1991, and since 1995, it has developed participation in the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy. Also in 1995, it joined NATO's Partnership for Peace (although it was careful to do so only after Russia joined) and subsequently participated in peacekeeping missions in Bosnia. Meanwhile, the only part of the Constitutional Law on Neutrality of 1955 still fully valid is not to allow foreign military bases in Austria.^[138] Austria signed the UN's Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty,^[139] which was opposed by all NATO members.^[140]

Austria attaches great importance to participation in the

The manpower of the Austrian Armed Forces (Austrian German: Bundesheer) mainly relies on conscription.^[141] All males who have reached the age of eighteen and are found fit have to serve a six months compulsory military service, followed by an eight-year reserve obligation. Both males and females at the age of sixteen are eligible for voluntary service.^[19] Conscientious objection is legally acceptable and those who claim this right are obliged to serve an institutionalised nine months civilian service instead. Since 1998, women volunteers have been allowed to become professional soldiers.

The main sectors of the Bundesheer are Joint Forces (Streitkräfteführungskommando, SKFüKdo) which consist of Land Forces (Landstreitkräfte), Air Forces (Luftstreitkräfte), International Missions (Internationale Einsätze) and Special Forces (Spezialeinsatzkräfte), next to Joint Mission Support Command (Kommando Einsatzunterstützung; KdoEU) and Joint Command Support Centre (Führungsunterstützungszentrum; FüUZ). Austria is a landlocked country and has no navy.

In 2012, Austria's defence expenditures corresponded to approximately 0.8% of its GDP. The Army currently has about 26,000^[142] soldiers, of whom about 12,000 are conscripts. As head of state, the Austrian president is nominally the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. Command of the Austrian Armed Forces is exercised by the minister of defence, as of May 2020^[update]: Klaudia Tanner.

Since the end of the Cold War, and more importantly the removal of the former heavily guarded "Iron Curtain" separating Austria and its Eastern Bloc neighbours (Hungary and former Czechoslovakia), the Austrian military has been assisting Austrian border guards in trying to prevent border crossings by illegal immigrants. This assistance came to an end when Hungary and Slovakia joined the EU Schengen Area in 2008, for all intents and purposes abolishing "internal" border controls between treaty states. Some politicians have called for a prolongation of this mission, but the legality of this is heavily disputed. In accordance with the Austrian constitution, armed forces may only be deployed in a limited number of cases, mainly to defend the country and aid in cases of national emergency, such as in the wake of natural disasters.^[143] They may only exceptionally be used as auxiliary police forces.

Within its self-declared status of permanent neutrality, Austria has a tradition of engaging in UN-led peacekeeping and other humanitarian missions. The Austrian Forces Disaster Relief Unit (AFDRU), in particular, an all-volunteer unit with close ties to civilian specialists (e.g. rescue dog handlers) enjoys a reputation as a quick (standard deployment time is 10 hours) and efficient SAR unit. Currently, larger contingents of Austrian forces are deployed in Bosnia and Kosovo.^{[citation needed]} According to the 2024 Global Peace Index, Austria is the 3rd most peaceful country in the world.^[144]

Austria is a

Burgenland

Carinthia

Lower Austria

Upper Austria

Salzburg

Styria

Tyrol

Tyrol

Vorarlberg

Vienna

Federal state	Capital	Area (sq km)	Population (1 Jan 2017)	Density per km2	GDP (billion euros) (2022 Eurostat)	GDP per capita
Burgenland	Eisenstadt	3,965	291,942	73.6	10.454	34,900
Carinthia	Klagenfurt	9,536	561,077	58.8	24.755	43,600
Lower Austria	Sankt Pölten	19,178	1,665,753	86.9	71.757	41,900
Salzburg	Salzburg	7,154	549,263	76.8	33.330	58,900
Styria	Graz	16,401	1,237,298	75.4	56.152	44,600
Tyrol	Innsbruck	12,648	746,153	59.0	39.328	51,200
Upper Austria	Linz	11,982	1,465,045	122.3	76.780	50,700
Vienna		415	1,867,582	4,500	110.992	56,600
Vorarlberg	Bregenz	2,601	388,752	149.5	23.588	58,300
[145][146]

Austria is a largely mountainous country because of its location in the Alps.^[147] The Central Eastern Alps, Northern Limestone Alps, and Southern Limestone Alps are all partly in Austria. Of the total area of Austria (83,871 km² or 32,383 sq mi), only about a quarter can be considered low-lying, and only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft). The Alps of western Austria give way somewhat into low lands and plains in the eastern part of the country.

Austria lies between latitudes 46° and 49° N, and longitudes 9° and 18° E.

It can be divided into five areas, the biggest being the

The greater part of Austria lies in the cool/temperate

Austria is ranked 8th in Environmental Performance Index for year 2024.^[158] This Index combines various indicators around known issues around the world and measures how good they fit in among each countries on a scale. Austria scores good in parameters like Biodiversity, Air pollution, Water Resources etc.^[159]

Austria consistently ranks high in terms of

Austria indicated on 16 November 2010 that it would withhold the December instalment of its contribution to the EU bailout of Greece, citing the material worsening of the Greek debt situation and the apparent inability of Greece to collect the level of tax receipts it had previously promised.[165]

Since the

Tourism in Austria accounts for almost 9% of its gross domestic product.^[170] In 2007, Austria ranked 9th worldwide in international tourism receipts, with 18.9 billion US$.^[171] In international tourist arrivals, Austria ranked 12th with 20.8 million tourists.^[171]

In 1972 the country began construction of a nuclear power plant to produce electricity at Zwentendorf on the River Danube, following a unanimous vote in parliament. However, in 1978 a referendum voted approximately 50.5% against nuclear power, 49.5% for,^[172] and parliament subsequently unanimously passed a law forbidding the use of nuclear power to generate electricity although the nuclear power plant had already finished.

Austria currently produces more than half of its electricity by hydropower.^[173] Together with other renewable energy sources such as wind power, solar power, and biomass, the electricity supply from renewable energy amounts to 62.89 percent.^[174]

Compared to most European countries, Austria is ecologically well endowed. It's biocapacity (or biological natural capital) is more than double of the world average: In 2016 Austria had 3.8 global hectares^[175] of biocapacity per person within its territory, compared to the world average of 1.6 global hectares per person. By contrast, in 2016 they used 6.0 global hectares of biocapacity which amounts to Austria's ecological footprint of consumption. This means that Austrians use about 60% more biocapacity than Austria contains. As a result, Austria is running a biocapacity deficit.^[175]

Rail transport in Austria is primarily provided by the national carrier Austrian Federal Railways (Österreichische Bundesbahnen, ÖBB). It operates most commuter rail systems and long-distance trains.

Austria's population was estimated to be 9,170,647 as of April 2024 by

According to Statistic Austria, at the beginning of 2024, there were 1.8 million foreign-born residents in Austria, corresponding to 22.3% of the total population. There are more than 620,100 descendants of foreign-born immigrants.^[176]

Turks form one of the largest ethnic groups in Austria, numbering around 350,000.^[177] However, due to the recent migration trends, number of Romanian nationals surpassed the number of Turkish nationals in the country.^[178] Together, Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks, Macedonians, and Slovenes makeup about 5.1% of Austria's total population. The Council of Europe estimates that approximately 25,000 Romani people live in Austria.^[179]

The total fertility rate (TFR) in 2017 was estimated at 1.52 children born per woman,^[180] below the replacement rate of 2.1, it remains considerably below the high of 4.83 children born per woman in 1873.^[181] In 2015, 42.1% of births were to unmarried women.^[182] Austria had the 14th oldest population in the world in 2020, with the average age of 44.5 years.^[183] The life expectancy in 2016 was estimated at 81.5 years (78.9 years male, 84.3 years female).^[184]

Statistics Austria estimates that the population will grow to 10.55 million people by 2080 due to immigration.^[185]

Largest cities or towns in Austria Statistik Austria Census 2021
	Rank	Name	Federal state	Pop.	Rank	Name	Federal state	Pop.
Vienna Graz	1	Vienna	Vienna	1,926,960	11	Wiener Neustadt	Lower Austria	47,069	Linz Salzburg
	2	Graz	Styria	291,731	12	Steyr	Upper Austria	37,867
	3	Linz	Upper Austria	206,853	13	Feldkirch	Vorarlberg	34,842
	4	Salzburg	Salzburg	154,604	14	Bregenz	Vorarlberg	29,419
	5	Innsbruck	Tyrol	130,385	15	Leonding	Upper Austria	28,967
	6	Klagenfurt	Carinthia	102,527	16	Klosterneuburg	Lower Austria	27,560
	7	Villach	Carinthia	63,935	17	Baden	Lower Austria	25,759
	8	Wels	Upper Austria	63,182	18	Wolfsberg	Carinthia	25,114
	9	Sankt Pölten	Lower Austria	56,180	19	Traun	Upper Austria	24,896
	10	Dornbirn	Vorarlberg	50,340	20	Krems	Lower Austria	24,821

The official language of Austria has been

According to census information published by

The

Austria was historically a strongly Roman Catholic country as the centre of the

From the second half of the 20th century, the number of adherents and churchgoers has declined. Data for 2023 list 4,638,000 members of the Catholic Church, or around 50% of the total Austrian population, yet Sunday church attendance was only 347,000, or 3.7% of the total Austrian population.^[205] Additionally, the Lutheran church recorded a loss of 74,421 adherents between 2001 and 2016.

The 2001 census reported that about 12% of the population declared themselves

According to the Eurobarometer 2010,^[209]

• 44% of Austrian citizens "believe there is a God";
• 38% "believe there is some sort of spirit or life force"; and
• 12% "do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force".

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Education in Austria is entrusted partly to the Austrian federal states and partly to the national government. School attendance is compulsory for nine years, i.e. usually to the age of fifteen.

Primary education, or

.

Standard attendance times are 8 am to 12 pm or 1 pm, with hourly five- or ten-minute breaks. Children are given homework daily from the first year. Historically there has been no lunch hour, with children returning home to eat. However, due to a rise in the number of mothers at work, primary schools are increasingly offering pre-lesson and afternoon care.

Secondary education consists of two main types of schools, attendance at which is based on a pupil's ability as determined by grades from the primary school. The Gymnasium caters for the more able children, in the final year of which the Matura examination is taken, which is a requirement for access to university. The Hauptschule prepares pupils for vocational education but also for various types of further education (Höhere Technische Lehranstalt HTL = institution of higher technical education; HAK = commercial academy; HBLA = institution of higher education for economic business; etc.). Attendance at one of these further education institutes also leads to the Matura. Some schools aim to combine the education available at the Gymnasium and the Hauptschule, and are known as Gesamtschulen. In addition, a recognition of the importance of learning English has led some Gymnasiums to offer a bilingual stream, in which pupils deemed able in languages follow a modified curriculum, a portion of the lesson time being conducted in English.

As at primary school, lessons at Gymnasium begin at 8 am and continue with short intervals until lunchtime or early afternoon, with children returning home to a late lunch. Older pupils often attend further lessons after a break for lunch, generally eaten at school. At the primary level, all pupils follow the same plan of work. Great emphasis is placed on homework and frequent testing. Satisfactory marks in the end-of-the-year report ("Zeugnis") are a prerequisite for moving up ("aufsteigen") to the next class. Pupils who do not meet the required standard re-sit their tests at the end of the summer holidays; those whose marks are still not satisfactory are required to re-sit the year ("sitzenbleiben").

It is not uncommon for a pupil to re-sit more than one year of school. After completing the first two years, pupils choose between one of two strands, known as "Gymnasium" (slightly more emphasis on arts) or "Realgymnasium" (slightly more emphasis on science). Whilst many schools offer both strands, some do not, and as a result, some children move schools for a second time at age 12. At age 14, pupils may choose to remain in one of these two strands or to change to a vocational course, possibly with a further change of school. The Austrian university system had been open to any student who passed the Matura examination until recently. A 2006 bill allowed the introduction of entrance exams for studies such as Medicine. In 2001, an obligatory tuition fee ("Studienbeitrag") of €363.36 per term was introduced for all public universities. Since 2008, for all EU students, the studies have been free of charge, as long as a certain time limit is not exceeded (the expected duration of the study plus usually two terms tolerance).^[210] When the time-limit is exceeded, the fee of around €363.36 per term is charged. Some further exceptions to the fee apply, e.g. for students with a year's salary of more than about €5000. In all cases, an obligatory fee of €20.20 is charged for the student union and insurance.^[211]

Health

Main article: Healthcare in Austria

Even though Austria has a 0.9 health index and a life expectancy of 81 years,^[212] the country still faces numerous problems when it comes to health, one example being that 2 in 5 Austrians have a chronic condition. Cancer is a big problem in the country, as about 21,500 people died of this condition in 2019, having lung cancer as the primary cause of cancer deaths, probably linked to several risk factors in the country's population, as it is estimated that 40% of deaths in the country are caused by smoking, dietary risks, alcohol, low physical activity, and air pollution. One of the most costly health services in the EU is located in Austria. In 2019, health spending per capita ranked third in the EU. Health-related out-of-pocket expenditures are higher than the EU average.^[213]

Medical personnel

With 5.2 physicians per 1,000 inhabitants, Austria has among the highest physician density in OECD countries. Overall, the country has 271 hospitals with a total of 45,596 physicians (data from 2017), about 54% of which work (also or primarily) in hospitals. Although Austria has the second highest physician rate in the EU, a large share of physicians is tropical to retirement age (55 years and older), and may thus be at a higher risk of developing severe conditions in a specimen of COVID-19 infection.

The number of nurses in Austria has been subject to debate in recent years with regard to definitions of qualifications and their interpretation in cross-country comparisons. A new mandatory health professional registry was set up in 2018. However, due to the elapsing of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, compulsory registration has been suspended. This implies that professional activities in long-term superintendency are moreover possible without registration until the end of the pandemic by late spring 2022 (Transition without the pandemic is still to be defined).^[214]

Culture

Main article: Culture of Austria

Music

Main article: Music of Austria

Austria's past as a European power and its cultural environment generated a broad contribution to various forms of art, most notably among them music.

Johann Strauss Jr., as well as members of the Second Viennese School such as Arnold Schoenberg,^[221] Anton Webern,^[222] and Alban Berg. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart^[223] was born in Salzburg, then an independent Church Principality of the Holy Roman Empire, which later became part of Austria, and much of Mozart's career was spent in Vienna.^[224]

Vienna was for a long time an important centre of musical innovation. 18th- and 19th-century composers were drawn to the city due to the patronage of the Habsburgs, and made Vienna the European capital of classical music. During the

Baroque period, Slavic and Hungarian folk forms influenced Austrian music.^[224]

Vienna's status began its rise as a cultural centre in the early 16th century and was focused around instruments, including the lute. Ludwig van Beethoven spent the better part of his life in Vienna. Austria's current national anthem, attributed to Mozart, was chosen after World War II to replace the traditional Austrian anthem by Joseph Haydn.^[224][216]

Austrian Herbert von Karajan was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 35 years. He is generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, and he was a dominant figure in European classical music from the 1960s until his death.^[225]

Science and philosophy

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Further information:

Vienna circle, and List of Austrian scientists

Austria was the cradle of numerous scientists with international reputation. Among them are

quantum physicists are Anton Zeilinger and Peter Zoller renown for important developments in quantum optics and quantum information

.

In addition to physicists, Austria was the birthplace of two of the most noteworthy philosophers of the 20th century, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper. In addition to them, biologists Gregor Mendel and Konrad Lorenz as well as mathematician Kurt Gödel and engineers such as Ferdinand Porsche and Siegfried Marcus were Austrians. Bertha von Suttner became the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and the first Austrian laureate.

A focus of Austrian science has always been medicine and psychology, starting in

Theodore Billroth, Clemens von Pirquet, and Anton von Eiselsberg have built upon the achievements of the 19th-century Vienna School of Medicine. Austria was home to Sigmund Freud, founder of psychoanalysis, Alfred Adler, founder of Individual psychology, psychologists Paul Watzlawick and Hans Asperger, and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl. Austria was ranked 17th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024.^{[226][227][228]}

The

Paul Felix Lazarsfeld, and scientist Sir Gustav Nossal

.

Food and beverages

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Main article: Austrian cuisine

Tirol Austria