Country · Europe
Austria
Republic of Austria
Austria is a country in Central Europe. About 8.8 million people live there, in an area of 83 871 square kilometres. Its capital city is Vienna.
Picture credit: Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 4.0) · D-Kuru (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Andrzej Otrębski (CC BY-SA 4.0) · https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Hubertl (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Austria?
Austria lies in Central Europe, on the continent of Europe.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 5 269 km from the equator.
Austria is landlocked: it has no coast at all, so you cannot reach the sea without crossing another country.
It shares a border with 8 countries: Czechia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland.
How big is Austria?
Austria covers 83 871 square kilometres.
That is about 2 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 113th largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 105.4 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Austria?
About 8.8 million people live in Austria.
That is the 97th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Austro-Bavarian German.
They pay with the Euro (€).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 78 years.
The land of Austria
The land of Austria sits on average 910 metres above sea level.
Because it is landlocked, anything that comes by ship has to cross one of its 8 neighbours to get here.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Austria different?
Dishes the country is known for: Wiener schnitzel and Tafelspitz.
Websites from here often end in .at.
Austria and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Austria.
It takes up about 0.06 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Europe the country ranks 20th of 45 by size, and 18th by population.
Austria and its neighbours
Germany, its largest neighbour, is about 4.3 times bigger.
Germany has more people: 82.9 million against 8.8 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 16 live wild in Austria: European brown hare, Alpine ibex, Chamois, Alpine marmot, Roe deer, Red deer and more. The highest mountain in the country is Grossglockner, at 3 798 metres. The longest river in the country is the Danube. The largest lake in the country is Lake Neusiedl.
European brown hare
Alpine ibex
Chamois
Alpine marmot
Roe deer
Red deer
Beech marten
Sand lizard
Grass snake
Common frog
Slow worm
Roman snail
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Austria compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 112 times as big as Austria: 9 372 610 km² against 83 871 km². See both on one map
- The United Kingdom is about 2.9 times as big as Austria: 242 900 km² against 83 871 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Austria?
The capital of Austria is Vienna. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Austria?
About 8.8 million people live in Austria, which makes it the 97th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Austria?
Austria borders Czechia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland — 8 neighbours in total.
How big is Austria?
Austria covers 83 871 square kilometres, making it the 113th largest country in the world. That is about 2 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Austria?
The highest mountain in Austria is Grossglockner, 3 798 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Austria?
The longest river in Austria is the Danube. Of its 2 850 kilometres, about 349 run through the country.
What is the largest lake in Austria?
The largest lake in Austria is Lake Neusiedl. The whole lake covers about 315 km², and part of it belongs to neighbouring countries.
Which continent is Austria in?
Austria is in Europe, in the part called Central Europe.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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