The European Union

Austria

Year Founded: The origins of Austria date back to the ninth century, when the territory of Upper and Lower Austria became increasingly populated. The name "Ostarrichi" is first documented in an official document from 996.

Population: Austria's population estimate in October 2006 was 8,292,322. The population of the capital, Vienna, exceeds 1.6 million (2.2 million with suburbs) , representing about a quarter of the country's population and is known for its vast cultural offerings and high standard of living.

Language: The mother tongue of the population by prevalence, is German (88.6%) followed by Turkish (2.3%) , Serbian (2.2%) , Croatian (1.6%) , Hungarian (0.5%) and Bosnian (0.4%)

Ethnic Make-up: An estimated 13,000 to 40,000 Slovenes in the Austrian state of Carinthia (the Carinthian Slovenes) as well as Croats (around 30,000)^[51] and Hungarians in Burgenland were recognized as a minority and have enjoyed special rights following the Austrian State Treaty (Staatsvertrag) of 1955.

Political System: Austria became a federal,parliamentarian, democratic republic through the Federal Constitution of 1920.

The head of state is the Federal President, who is directly elected by popular vote. The chairman of the Federal Government is the Federal Chancellor, who is appointed by the president. The government can be removed from office by either a presidential decree or by vote of no confidencein the lower chamber of parliament, the Nationalrat.

Year Entered the European Union: Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, and joined the European Union in 1995.

Representative of the European Union: Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states. The major parties SPÖ and ÖVP have contrary opinions about the future status of Austria's military neutrality: While the SPÖ supports a neutral role, the ÖVP argues for stronger integration into the EU's security policy.

Type of Economy: Austria is one of the 10 richest countries in the world in terms of GDP (Gross domestic product) per capita, has a well-developed social market economy, and a high standard of living. Until the 1980s, many of Austria's largest industry firms were nationalised; in recent years, however, privatisation has reduced state holdings to a level comparable to other European economies. Labour movements are particularly strong in Austria and have large influence on labour politics. Next to a highly-developed industry, international tourism is the most important part of the national economy.

Currency: In Austria, the euro was introduced in 2002. As a preparation for this date, the minting of the new euro coins started as early as 1999, however all Austrian euro coins introduced in 2002 have this year on it; unlike other countries of the Eurozone where mint year is minted in the coin.

Before adopting the Euro in 2002 Austria had maintained use of the Austrian schilling which was first established in December 1924.

Current Exchange rate for American Currency: 1 Euro = 1.3561 U.S. Dollars/ 19.2182 MXN (peso)

GDP: 2008 Estimate 371.219 billon, Per capita: 44,851 (IMF)

Percentage of Trade within the European Union: --Not information yet--

Unemployment Rate: 3.7% (2008 est.)

Chief Exports: Machinery and equipment, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, and foodstuffs.

Key Imports: Machinery and equipment, chemicals, metal goods, oil and oil products, and foodstuffs.

Major Religions: At the end of the twentieth century, about 74% of Austria's population were registered as Roman Catholic,^[53] while about 5% considered themselves Protestants. About 12% of the population declare that they have no religion, around 340,000 are registered as members of various Muslim communities, About 180,000 are members of Eastern Orthodox Churches, more than 20,000 are active Jehovah's Witnesses^[54] and about 8,100 are Jewish.

Surrounding Countries: It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north,Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland andLiechtenstein to the west.

Literacy Rate: 99.0%

Interesting Facts: 

-About half of Austrian men are overweight, while around one-fifth of Austrian women are overweight.

-Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria.

-Austrian flag is one of the oldest national flags in the world.