REPUBLIC OF AUSTRIA

•Official name: Republik Osterreich (Republic of Austria)
• Location: Central Europe
• International organisations: Council of Europe, European Union, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, United Nations, World Trade Organisation
• Borders: Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland
• Land area: 83,858 Km2
• Coastline: None
• Population: 8,400,000
• Annual GDP (PPP) per capita: US$39,400 (2009 CIA estimate). World ranking: 15
• Ethnicity: Nearly 90% of the population is of German stock. There are minorities of Croatians, Slovenes, Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks and Roma.
• Languages: German is the official language and is universally spoken.
• Religion: About 80% are at least nominally Catholic Christian, but religious practice has declined. There are small Protestant, Jewish and Moslem minorities.
• Form of government: Federal parliamentary democratic republic. Austria is divided into nine states, which have elected legislatures and considerable autonomy.
• Capital: Vienna (Wien)
• Constitution: The Constitution of the Republic of Austria came into effect on 10 November 1920, and was revived in 1945. It has been substantially amended in recent years.
• Head of state: The President, elected by direct universal suffrage for a six-year term. The President's functions are largely ceremonial. President Heinz Fischer took office on 8 July 2004.
• Head of government: The Chancellor, appointed by the President. The Chancellor is the leader of the largest party in the legislature and is accountable to it.
• Legislature: Austria has a bicameral legislature, the Parliament (Parlament). The National Council (Nationalrat) has 183 members, elected for four-year terms by proportional representation from each state. The Federal Council (Bundesrat) has 64 members, elected by the state legislatures.
• Electoral authority: The Interior Ministry administers national elections.
• Freedom House 2011 rating: Political Rights 1, Civil Liberties 1
• Transparency International Corruption Index: 79% (15 of 178 countries rated)
• Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom 2010 Index: 99.5% (7 of 178 countries rated)
• Heritage Foundation Economic Freedom 2010 Index: 71.9% (21 of 178 countries rated)

Political history

The German-speaking lands of Austria had no separate political existence before 1918; they were merely the family estates of the Habsburg Emperors (originally Dukes of Upper and Lower Austria), dating from the 14th century. From 1867 Austria (which then included what are now the Czech Republic, Slovenia and parts of Italy and Poland) was a constitutional state, but its legislature had no real power.

When the Habsburg Empire collapsed in 1918 German-speaking Austria should logically have been united with Germany, but the Allies would not allow this and Austria became an independent republic, with a model democratic Constitution. The Socialist leader Dr Karl Renner came to power, but was unable to establish a stable democratic government, mainly due to deep conflicts between socialists and Catholics. In 1933 Chancellor Engelburt Dollfuss established an authoritarian regime. In 1938 most Austrians welcomed the annexation of the country by Nazi Germany, led by the Austrian-born Adolf Hitler.

Austrian independence was revived under Allied occupation in 1945, and there has been no suggestion of unity with Germany since. In 1955 the Allied occupation ended under the Austrian State Treaty, which guaranteed its neutrality. Since 1955 Austria has been a stable democracy. With the end of the Cold War the State Treaty lapsed and Austria joined the European Union.

Austrian politics are still divided along socialist versus Catholic lines, but without the class conflict of the interwar years. The Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPO) is a party of the moderate left. Under its charismatic leader Bruno Kreisky it was in power from 1970 to 1999. Also on the left are The Greens. The Austrian People's Party (OVP) is a mainstream conservative party. Nationalist and anti-immigration sentiment is represented by the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZO) and the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO).

The rise of the extreme right has destablised Austrian politics. After the 1999 election the FPO joined a coalition government with the OVP, over the objections of Austria's partners in the European Union. At the 2002 election the FPO lost much of its strength, but remained in the government. The 2006 elections saw the SPO and the Greens gain ground, but not enough to form a government. The SPO then formed a "grand coalition" with the OVP, first under Alfred Gusenbauer and since 2008 under Werner Faymann. At the 2007 election the BZO and the FPO polled 29% of the vote between them, forcing the continuation of the SPO-OVP coalition.

Updated October 2011