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AUSTRIA
Map of AUSTRIA
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Location:
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Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia |
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Geographic coordinates:
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47 20 N, 13 20 E |
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Area:
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total: 83,870 sq km
land: 82,444 sq km
water: 1,426 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than Maine |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 2,562 km
border countries: Czech Republic 362 km, Germany 784 km, Hungary 366 km, Italy 430 km, Liechtenstein 35 km, Slovakia 91 km, Slovenia 330 km, Switzerland 164 km |
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Coastline:
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0 km (landlocked) |
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Maritime claims:
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none (landlocked) |
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Climate:
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temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain and some snow in lowlands and snow in mountains; moderate summers with occasional showers |
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Terrain:
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in the west and south mostly mountains (Alps); along the eastern and northern margins mostly flat or gently sloping |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Neusiedler See 115 m
highest point: Grossglockner 3,798 m |
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Natural resources:
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oil, coal, lignite, timber, iron ore, copper, zinc, antimony, magnesite, tungsten, graphite, salt, hydropower |
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Land use:
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arable land: 16.59%
permanent crops: 0.85%
other: 82.56% (2005) |
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Irrigated land:
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40 sq km (2003) |
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Total renewable water resources:
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84 cu km (2005) |
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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total: 3.67 cu km/yr (35%/64%/1%)
per capita: 448 cu m/yr (1999) |
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Natural hazards:
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landslides; avalanches; earthquakes |
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Environment - current issues:
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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 |
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Environment - international agreements:
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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
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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Population:
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8,205,533 (July 2008 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 14.8% (male 621,326/female 592,131)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 2,783,531/female 2,753,389)
65 years and over: 17.7% (male 599,415/female 855,741) (2008 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun: Austrian(s)
adjective: Austrian |
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Ethnic groups:
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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) |
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Religions:
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Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 2%, none 12% (2001 census) |
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Languages:
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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) |
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: NA
female: NA |
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
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total: 15 years
male: 15 years
female: 16 years (2006) |
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Education expenditures - percent of GDP:
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5.4% (2005) |
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Republic of Austria
conventional short form: Austria
local long form: Republik Oesterreich
local short form: Oesterreich |
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Government type:
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federal republic |
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Capital:
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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 |
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Administrative divisions:
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9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland); Burgenland, Kaernten (Carinthia), Niederoesterreich (Lower Austria), Oberoesterreich (Upper Austria), Salzburg, Steiermark (Styria), Tirol (Tyrol), Vorarlberg, Wien (Vienna) |
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Independence:
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976 (Margravate of Austria established); 17 September 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 11 August 1804 (Austrian Empire proclaimed); 12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed) |
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National holiday:
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National Day, 26 October (1955); note - commemorates the passage of the law on permanent neutrality
Source: http://cia.gov
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