976 (Margravate of Austria established); 17 September 1156 (Duchy of Austria founded); 11 August 1804 (Austrian Empire proclaimed); 12 November 1918 (republic proclaimed)
Religions
Roman Catholic 95%, other 5%
Roman Catholic 73.6%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, other 3.5%, unspecified 2%, none 12% (2001 census)
Languages
Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)
German (official nationwide) 88.6%, Turkish 2.3%, Serbian 2.2%, Croatian (official in Burgenland) 1.6%, other (includes Slovene, official in Carinthia, and Hungarian, official in Burgenland) 5.3% (2001 census)
Exports
petroleum, bananas, cut flowers, shrimp, cacao, coffee, hemp, wood, fish
machinery and equipment, motor vehicles and parts, paper and paperboard, metal goods, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs
External Debt
$10,050,000,000 $
$883,500,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
the US dollar is used; the sucre was eliminated in 2000
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6734 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.900%
0.800%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
1
3
Location
Western South America, bordering the Pacific Ocean at the Equator, between Colombia and Peru
Central Europe, north of Italy and Slovenia
Area
283,561 km sq
83,871 km sq
Coastline
2,237 km
0 km
Climate
tropical along coast, becoming cooler inland at higher elevations; tropical in Amazonian jungle lowlands
temperate; continental, cloudy; cold winters with frequent rain and some snow in lowlands and snow in mountains; moderate summers with occasional showers
