Austria | Geography | People | Economy | Wildlife and Tourism
Officially, the Republic of Austria is a beautiful landlocked country located in the Central European Region. It is Located on the Alps mountain range and has stunning countryside and welcoming people.
Geography of Austria
Austria is a small, mostly mountainous country with a total land area of 83,879 km². It is approximately between Germany, Italy and Hungary.
Technically, Austria is divided into 9 states and the capital and the largest city is Vienna which is located on the eastern side of the country.
The Austrian Alps mountain range dominates around 60% of the entire country mostly with Green hills and small rivers flowing throughout the lap of mountains.
The low-lying areas of eastern Austria are mostly covered by grassy hills and plains which is perfect for cattle-raising and dairy production where some of the classiest Austrian cheeses are produced.
There are many streams and fast flowing rivers that pass through the lap of Alps mountains but the Danube river has played a vital role in Austria’s economy and trade sector especially after construction of the Rhine-Main-Danube river canal in 1992.
Vienna, Graz, Linz, Innsbruck and Salzburg are the major cities in Austria.
They have managed to maintain sustainable development in rugged and difficult mountainous geography. Infrastructures are well developed and the whole country is like the “Green Gem of Europe”.
Demographics of Austria
Austria has a tiny population of just above 9 million and about 90% of people in Austria are ethnically Austrian, and 10% from other nations mostly from Germany, Hungary, Serbia, and Bosnia. Many Turkish people have been immigrating over the past few decades.
German is the most spoken language in Austria and it is spoken by almost everyone here. Point out that it’s Austrian-German, not German-German. They have their own standard dictionary apart from the German and Swiss dictionaries.
In terms of religion, around 74% of the total population of Austria belongs to Christianity.
Austria has a growing aging population. The percentage of the population aged 50 and over 65 was 37.1%, and 17.7 %.
Fact: Around ⅔ of the total population of Austria live in the City or closer to the City area.
Austrian people enjoy a very high quality of life. They have access to free education, very affordable healthcare “almost free” and a perfect social security system. Therefore they have a very high Human Development Index.
Economy of Austria
Austria has a highly developed social market economy and the 14th richest country in the world in terms of GDP Per Capita. Unemployment rate is also low at 5.77% and wages are really high.
Majority of the economy is dependent upon the service sector (74%) , the industry sector contributes (25.2%) and the agriculture sector contributes very little, around 0.8% of the total GDP of Austria.
The major production of Austria are Construction Materials, Machinery, Vehicles and Parts, Metals, Chemicals, Lumberton, Paper and Electronics. Whereas, Germany, US, Italy, Switzerland and France are the largest trading partners of Austria.
As a part of the European Union and European Economic Area, the economy of Austria is highly influenced by the European market where they have open borders and free trade with European Union countries.
Tourism in Austria
Vienna is a wonderful destination for tourism in Austria. There are centuries-old stone churches, palaces, opera houses, and historical monuments as well as modern highrises and skyscrapers.
Notable Places to Visit in Austria
The Vienna Hofburg
Castle of Festung Hohensalzburg
Salzburg City
The Spanish Riding School
Castle Liechtenstein
Innsbruck City
City of Graz
Schönbrunn Zoo
Medieval City of Kitzbuhel
SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser are the longest Ski area with nearly 300KM of Slopes.
As a member of the EU and Schengen Visa Free Zone, Austria’s borders are open for all European Countries and tourists with Schengen Visa.
and hundreds more.
There are dozens of medieval castles throughout the entire country which are reminiscent of European History as well.
Tourism is flourishing here, many people from all over the world come to enjoy beautiful cities and Ski in the white slopes of Austria. There are some top rated Ski-Resorts as well. Ski Arlberg and
Visiting Austria is always worth it. You can see some of the beautiful countryside between Alpine forests. Austria is best for nature lovers, culture lovers and peace explorers.
You can find some of the most welcoming people and extremely safest destinations in Austria. In fact, Austria is way more affordable than Switzerland.
Nature and Wildlife in Austria
Around 46% of the total of Austria is covered by forest, and less than 20% of the land is arable.
Because of its location in the Alps region, deciduous trees, such as beech, birch, and oak, on the lower slopes, and coniferous trees, such as spruce, pine, fir, and larch are commonly found in Austria.
Crops like Sugarcane, Wheat, Oats, Beetroots, Corn, Soybean and Sunflower are widely produced in the country.
Animals like Deer, Stag, Rabbit, Pheasant, Fox, Badger, Marten and Partridge are commonly found in Woodlands of Austria.
Do you know? Austria is one of the Cleanest countries in the World.
International Relations of Austria
Austria is really good at making friends despite thousands of wars with other countries in the past.
Austria is the cause or influence of both world wars. To this day Austria is incredibly neutral in their affairs and getting along with others.
Austria has close ties with other central and Balkan States like Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Italy has always been a huge trade partner of theirs whereas Germany is also a great ally of Austria. They share the same language but more specifically Bavaria region of south Germany is very similar in culture and traditions.
In fact, Austria is an active member of the United Nations and they host the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency and United Nations Drug Control Programme.
