Republic of Austria
Republik Österreich
CAPITAL : Vienna (Wien)
FLAG : The flag consists of a white horizontal stripe between two red stripes.
ANTHEM : Land der Berge, Land am Ströme (Land of Mountains, Land on the River).
MONETARY UNIT : The euro replaced the schilling as the national currency in 2002. The euro is divided into 100 cents. There are coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 cents and 1 euro and 2 euros. There are notes of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 euros. As of May 2003, €1 = $1.0977 (or $1 = €0.911).
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES : The metric system is in use.
HOLIDAYS : New Year's Day, 1 January; Epiphany, 6 January; May Day, 1 May; Assumption, 15 August; National Day, 26 October; All Saints' Day, 1 November; Immaculate Conception, 8 December; Christmas, 25 December; St. Stephen's Day, 26 December. Movable religious holidays include Easter Monday, Ascension, Whitmonday, and Corpus Christi. In addition, there are provincial holidays.
TIME : 1 PM = noon GMT.
Climatic conditions depend on location and altitude. Temperatures range from an average of about -7 to -1° C (20 to 30° F ) in winter to about 18 to 24° C (65 to 75° F ) in July. Rainfall ranges from more than 102 cm (50 in) annually in the western mountains to less than 66 cm (26 in) in the driest region, near Vienna.
Austrians are a people of mixed Dinaric, Nordic, Alpine, and East Baltic origin. Germans constitute about 88% of the total population. Ethnic minorities include Croatians in the Burgenland, making up about 0.3% of the population, and Slovenes in southern Carinthia, accounting for about 0.2%. Other groups comprise the remaining 0.1%, including Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Serbians, and Italians.
The official language is German and nearly 99% of the inhabitants speak it as their mother tongue. People in Vorarlberg Province speak German with an Alemannic accent, similar to that in Switzerland. In other provinces, Austrians speak various Bavarian dialects. There are also Croatian, Slovene, and Hungarian speaking minorities, and small groups of Czech, Slovak, and Polish speakers in Vienna.
The Austrian army, which included the air service, numbered some 34,600 active personnel in 2002. Reserve strength was 72,000 ready with another 990,000 having military training but no commitment. Equipment included 160 main battle tanks and 52 combat aircraft. The 2001–02 defense budget was $1.5 billion or 0.8% of GDP. Austria provided support to ten peacekeeping and UN missions.
Fishing is not important commercially, and fish do not constitute a large part of the Austrian diet. Commercial catches consist mainly of carp and trout. The total catch in 1997 was 3,486 tons. Aquacultural production in 1997 was 3,021 tons, of which rainbow trout comprised 2,160 tons. A sizable segment of the population engages in sport fishing.
Austria has no territories or colonies.
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