Key Facts

GDP (ppp) per CAPITA

$40,200 (2008 est.)

Inflation Rate

3.2% (2008 est.)

Population

8,210,281 (July 2009 est.)

Country Risk Ratings

A2

Ease of Doing Business

27/181

Global Competitiveness

14/134

Country Map

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gE Network

There are 19 members in the
gE Network for this country.

Austria : Introduction

Once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria was reduced to a small republic after its defeat in World War I. Following annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent occupation by the victorious Allies in 1945, Austria's status remained unclear for a decade. A State Treaty signed in 1955 ended the occupation, recognized Austria's independence, and forbade unification with Germany. A constitutional law that same year declared the country's "perpetual neutrality" as a condition for Soviet military withdrawal. The Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995 have altered the meaning of this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the EU Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. In January 2009, Austria assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2009-10 term.

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Sources:
CIA World Factbook (September 2009)
U.S. Dept. of State Country Background Notes (February 2009)