Size and Population
Austria is located in Central Europe and is about the size of Maine. It runs 36o miles across from west to east and 183 miles north to south. That’s about twice the size of Switzerland! Over 95% of the population speaks German, but it is an Austrian dialect. The population is very homogenous and about two-thirds of them are urbanized. The population is over 8 million. Half are men and half are women. Due to Austria’s low birth rate, they have an aging population. The major cities are Vienna (1.6 m), Salzburg (145,000) and Innsbruck (120,000). Vienna was the center of the Austro- Hungarian Empire (1867-1918).