Austria

Austria

Austria or officially the Republic of Austria is a federal republic and a landlocked country located in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany in the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,855 square kilometers, with a population of about 8.7 million

Austria's political system is a semi-presidential parliamentary representative democracy that includes nine federal states and the capital (Vienna) which is the largest city, with a population of more than 1.7 million people. Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with nominal GDP per capita of about $ 46,330 (2012 Expectations). The country set a high standard of living in 2011 and was ranked 19th in the world in terms of the Human Development Index. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, joined the European Union in 1995, and is one of the founders of the Organization for Cooperation and Development. Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the European currency, the Euro, in 1999. The National Day in Austria falls on October 26.

Austria is a largely mountainous country due to its location in the Alps. Alpine east central, north and south alpine limestone limestone Alps are all partly in Austria. Of Austria's total area (84,000 km2 or 32,433 sq mi), only about a quarter of the lying can be considered low, and only 32% of the country is less than 500 meters (1,640 feet). The Alps in western Austria give way to the lowlands and plains in the eastern part of the country.

It can be divided into five regions, the largest of which is the Eastern Alps, which account for 62% of the country's total area. Austrian foothills at the base of the Alps and Carpathians account for about 12% and foothills in the east and surrounding areas in the vicinity of Pannoni low the amount of the country to about 12% of the total land area. It is located in the second largest mountain region (much less than the Alps) in the north. Known as the Austrian granite plateau, it is located in the central region of the Bohemian Mass and represents 10% of Austria. The Austrian part Vienna includes the remaining 4% basin.

Austria belongs to the European Central Governorate from the region around the northern kingdom. According to the WWF, the territory of Austria can be divided into four ecological regions: the European Central Mixed Forest, the Pannonian Mixed Forest, the Alpine mixed Pineal Forest and the broad-leaved forests of Western Europe.

Austria ranks twelfth on the list of the richest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita, has a developed social market economy, and a high standard of living. Until the 1980's, many of Austria's largest industrial companies had been nationalized; in recent years, privatization had reduced state holdings to a level comparable to other European economies. Labor movements are particularly strong in Austria and have a major impact on labor policy. Besides a very developed industry, international tourism is the most important part of the national economy.

Historically, Germany has been Austria's main trading partner, making it vulnerable to rapid changes in the German economy. Since Austria became a member state of the European Union, it has gained closer ties with other economies of the European Union, reducing economic dependence on Germany. In addition, EU membership has placed an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the European single market and its proximity to the aspiring EU economies. Growth in GDP has accelerated in recent years, reaching 3.3% in 2006.

Since the fall of communism, Austrian companies have been players and groupings very active in Eastern Europe. Between 1995 and 2010, 4,868 mergers and acquisitions had a known total value of 163 billion. The EUR announced with the participation of Austrian companies that the largest deals with the involvement of Austrian companies were: the acquisition of the Bank of Austria by Bayerisch Hippo und Vereinsbank for 7.8 billion. EUR In 2000, the acquisition of Porsche Holding Salzburg by Volkswagen Group for 3.6 billion. EUR In 2009, the acquisition of Comercială Banka Romana by ERSTE Group for 3.7 billion. EUR in 2005.

Austria gives priority to increasing the use of renewable energy sources (sun, wind, organic materials) in the context of adopting measures to reduce carbon dioxide, and it also encourages the rationalization of the use of heating and heating systems. In 1994, energy consumption shifted by 26% to renewable energy sources (14.3 the power of water, fuelwood and firewood together made up 12.1%. There were six hundred thousand (600,000) facilities and a working facility where wood was burned, including 20,000 sites for automatic heating of wood and more than 300 sites for heating systems with organic materials, 70 utilities used organic gas, until 1997. At the beginning of the same year, solar energy stations were installed throughout Austria, i.e. an area of ​​1.46 million square meters, and wind power plants with a power of 11.8 megawatts were installed.

Austria is considered the European water palace, as is Switzerland. Where the Austrian water sources are distinguished not only by their abundant quantities but also by their quality. The total annual water production is one billion cubic meters. The amount of groundwater is about a third of the total water source. 29 billion cubic meters flow from external tributaries. The annual water consumption is about 2.6 billion cubic meters. The consumption of drinking water is about 700 million metersCube annually. Groundwater and well water production also covers 99% of the need. Nitrates are the most important thing that affects groundwater. About 18% of the measurements showed that the permissible ratio was exceeded by about 45 mg / l. Agriculture (fertilization) is the main cause of this increase. Also, means of resisting agricultural pests containing tracers are harmful to water sources.

Austrian statistics in 2011 estimate that 81% or 6.75 million residents have no immigration background and more than 19% or 1.6 million people had at least one or more parents the immigration background. There are over 415,000 offspring of foreign-born immigrants residing in Austria, the vast majority of whom are naturalized.

350,000-400,000 Turks (including a minority of Turkish Kurds) comprise 4% of the total population, and today make up the largest single ethnic minority in Austria. 13,000 Turks were naturalized in 2003 and an unknown number arrived in Austria at the same time. While 2,000 Turks left Austria in the same year, 10,000 immigrated to the country, confirming a strong growth trend. Together, Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks and Slovaks make up about 7% of Austria's total population.