Political Status
26th October : National Day
(vote for permanent neutrality,
in 1955)
Austria is a Federal Republic with a multiparty regime.
The President of the Republic is Thomas Klestil, who started his first mandate on 24th May 1992.

Geographical situation

Austria is situated in the centre of Europe.
It covers a total surface of 83,949 square kilometers.
Austria has no access to the sea, it is surrounded by Germany (784 kms of shared borders) and the Czech Republic ....

Economy & statistics
Joining the European Union has been extremely beneficial to Austria.
From 1995 to 1999 40% of the Austrian population profited from the European structural funds, to an amount of 1.64 billion euros.

Agriculture
The agricultural sector in Austria is characterized by small farms, 65% of which are managed part time.
In this mountainous country, only 42% of the territory is agricultural land.
It is mainly stockbreeding, pigs and cattle, but there are also 55,000 hectares of vineyards.

Other sectors
Tourism is one of the biggest employers in the country and generates a yearly income of 80 billion francs.
Austria is a major tourist centre, attracting 17.352 million tourists in 1998.
It enjoys a double tourism : skiers in the winter, with its many mountain ranges, and nature lovers, hikers and cultural tourism in the summer.

Population
Austria has a population of 8.1 million inhabitants on a total surface of 83,849 square kilometers, giving a population ....

Main towns
Vienna is the capital of Austria.
According to the Corporate Resources Group, on a survey done on 120 towns, the Austrian capital comes in third position for its quality of living.

Climate
The Austrian climate is continental. Spring and autumn are the most pleasant seasons, May and June and particularly September.

Formalities
Entry formalities :
Visitors from the European Union need to have a valid identity card or a passport, which can be valid or out of date for less than 5 years.

Working in Austria
Language
It is advisable to take German lessons.
The kind of job you could get will depend on how well you speak the language.
There are several language institutes in France which can help you to quickly learn the language or improve your level.