Austria Population, People, Languages and Religions

Austria Country Overview

Where is Austria located? The Republic of Austria is located in Central Europe. The democratic state has been a member of the European Union since 1995. The time zone map shows that Austria is located in a world time zone called “Central European Time”. In this time zone there is a time difference of 1 hour to the world clock (UTC). Clocks in Austria are ahead of the world clock by this hour (UTC+1) In the summer, this difference increases to 2 hours, since the time is then one hour ahead of daylight saving time.

Bordering Countries of Austria

According to abbreviationfinder, Austria is a landlocked country located in Central Europe with a total land border length of 2,498 km. It is bordered by several countries including Germany to the north, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the east, Hungary to the southeast, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west.

Germany is Austria’s closest neighbor to the north and has been an important trading partner for many years due to their shared cultural heritage. The two countries have close ties that date back centuries when they were both part of the Holy Roman Empire. This relationship has continued throughout the years as both countries have worked together on various issues such as economic growth, regional stability, and cultural exchange in their area.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia are two separate countries that share a common history as they used to be part of Czechoslovakia before it split into two independent countries in 1993. The two countries share strong diplomatic ties with Austria as well as strong economic ties due to their proximity and shared border.

Hungary is located southeast of Austria and shares an important historical connection due to their shared history under the Austro-Hungarian empire. The two countries have maintained close diplomatic ties since then which has helped ensure peace between them even during times of political unrest or conflict in other parts of Europe.

Slovenia and Italy are located south of Austria while Switzerland and Liechtenstein are located west of Austria. Both Slovenia and Italy have strong economic ties with Austria given their proximity while Switzerland has been an important trading partner for many years due to its banking industry which serves as a major financial hub for Europe. Liechtenstein also maintains close trade relations with Austria given its location between Germany, Switzerland, and Austria itself.

Population Distribution

As of 2023, the latest population of Austria is 8,859,449, based on our calculation of the current data from UN (United Nations).

People in Austria

8.8 million people live in Austria. 91 percent of them are Austrians. 5.1 percent of the population came to Austria mainly as a result of the war in Yugoslavia and are therefore Croats, Slovenes, Serbs and Bosnians. Croats live mainly in Burgenland, Slovenes mainly in Carinthia and Styria.

2.5 percent of the population are Germans. 2.2 percent are of Turkish descent. In the 1960s, they were specifically recruited to work in Austria.

Every woman in Austria has an average of 1.5 children. The population has been growing for years despite the low birth rate, which is due to the fact that more people are immigrating to the country. The average age is 44.5 years. Life expectancy is 84.7 years for women and 79.2 years for men.

58 out of 100 Austrians live in the city. That is rather little – in Germany it is 77 out of 100 residents. The largest city in Austria is by far the capital Vienna, where 1.8 million people live. This is followed by Graz (286,000), Linz (204,000), Salzburg (153,000), Innsbruck (132,000) and Klagenfurt with 100,000 residents.

The population density is 105 residents per square kilometer. In Vienna, however, it is significantly higher. It is expected that more than two million people will be living in the city by 2029.

Languages in Austria

The official language in Austria is German. Austrian German is not a dialect, but a variant of German. In everyday life, however, many Austrians speak a dialect such as Alemannic or Bavarian. The Viennese dialect is also part of Bavarian. One speaks Viennese in Vienna and the surrounding area. Here, for example, people like to add a -erl to a word. This can serve as a miniaturization, but it can also be an expression of special sympathy.

In addition to Austrian, Croatian and Slovenian are additional official languages ​​in some regions. In some municipalities in Burgenland, Hungarian is an official language with equal rights.

Austrian German

Austrian German differs from the German spoken in Germany. There are differences not only in pronunciation, but especially in vocabulary and grammar.

When it comes to names, the surname is usually mentioned first, followed by the first name and the specific article. Mitzi Huber becomes “the Huber Mitzi” and Franz Gruber becomes “the Gruber Franz”.

Religions in Austria

60 percent of the population are Catholics. 3.5 percent belong to a Protestant church. The proportion of members of both groups has been falling for years. 2.2 percent belong to an Orthodox Church. The number of its members is increasing.

Among the non-Christian churches, Islam occupies the largest position: almost seven percent of the population are Muslim. Smaller minorities are Jehovah’s Witnesses, Buddhists and Jews.