Geography and population

Austria covers an area of 83,878 square kilometres with a population of 9,219,113 residents (as of 1 January 2026; preliminary results), including 1,890,740 foreign citizens (20.5 % of total population). In 2024, an average of 2,51 million people with migration background lived in Austria, that is 27,8% of the entire population.

Austria is bordered by Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Italy.

Austria is a federal state comprised of nine provinces; each province has its own capital:

 (S: Statistik Austria, 1.1.2026, preliminary results)

Economy

In 2025 the GDP rose by 0.6 % in real terms, according to preliminary calculations. The GDP at current prices was about € 512 bn in 2025, equalling a value of € 53,500 until 54,000 per inhabitant. (source: Statistik Austria).

The Austrian economic structure is mainly dominated by small and medium enterprises. The most important industrial branches are:

• Food industries
• Machine and steel industry
• Chemical and vehicle industry
• Electric and electronic industry
• Wood and paper industry

Climate

Austria has a typical central European transitional climate, i.e. warm summers, cold winters and adequate precipitation.

Additionally, there are two distinct climatic regions in Austria:

• The east shows a Pannonian climate (warm to hot summers, relatively low precipitation and cold winters).
• The central Alpine region has the characteristic features of the Alpine climate (more precipitation in summer compared to the east and long winters with heavy snowfall).

Further information and useful links

Links

• Statistik Austria (English)