At one time, Austria was at the helm of the powerful Austro-Hungarian
empire. However, after defeating World War I, this center of power was
reduced to a small republic. In 1938, Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany,
and then was subsequently occupied by the victorious allies in 1945, which
pushed Austria into an unclear political status that lasted a decade. 1955
marked the signing of a State Treaty that ended the occupation and
recognized Austria's independence. It also prohibited unification with
Germany. In that same year, constitutional law was passed that declared
"perpetual neutrality" for Austria. This law was brought forth as a
condition for the withdrawal of the Soviet military from Austria.
Neutrality became part of the cultural identity experienced by Austrian,
and in the past two decades has increasingly come into question due to the
the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the entry of Austria into the
European Union (EU) in 1995. On the whole, Austria has experienced a great
deal of prosperity, and entered the European Monetary Union in 1999.
Austria's total land area is 83,858 square kilometres. Of this total
land area, 1,120 square kilometres is comprised of water, and 82,738 square
According to a July 2003 estimate, the population of Austria is
8,188,207. Citizens over the age of 65 account for 15.5% of this
population, with 490,979 males and 775,678 females. The 15-64 year old age
group accounts for 68.3% of the population, with 2,827,736 males and
2,768,480 females. Finally, the age 14 and under group accounts for 16.2%
of the population, with 678,944 males and 646,390 females. The median age
of the Austria population is 39.4 years, and the population is growing at a
rate of 0.22%. The current birth rate is 9.43 births/1000 population and
the death rate is 9.69 deaths/1000 population, according to 2003 estimates.
The conventional long form name of the count...