Territory in central Europe, ruled since 1955 by the Republik Österreich
Austria (German: Österreich), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich), is a landlocked country of over 8.8 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to 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 83,879 km². The terrain is highly mountainous, lying within the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 m, and its highest point is 3,798 m. The majority of the population speaks local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian and Slovene.
Geographical type: Territory
Latitude: 47.33° N — Longitude: 13.33° E
Area: 83,879 km²
ISO 3166-2 code: AT
Notable Places
- Vienna - Capital of Austria
Birthplace of
Gottfried Haberler, in Purkersdorf, on 20 Jul 1900
Deathplace of
Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, in Kramsach, Tirol, on 27 Aug 1914
Measures of Freedom
Austria: Country Profile, Freedom in the World, 2025Status: Free, Aggregate Score: 93/100, Political Rights: 37/40, Civil Liberties: 56/60
Austria has a democratic system of government that guarantees political rights and civil liberties. The country has historically been governed by grand coalitions of the center-left Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and the center-right Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP). In recent years, the political system has faced pressure from the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), a right-wing, populist party that openly entertains nationalist and xenophobic sentiments.
Economic Freedom Summary Index, Economic Freedom of the World, 25 Sep 2025
2023 overall score: 7.57, rank: 33
2023 overall score: 7.57, rank: 33
Human Freedom Index [PDF], The Human Freedom Index 2023: A Global Measurement of Personal, Civil, and Economic Freedom
2021: 8.24, Rank: 24, Personal freedom: 8.64, Economic freedom: 7.69
2021: 8.24, Rank: 24, Personal freedom: 8.64, Economic freedom: 7.69
Articles
Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk: A Sesquicentennial Appreciation, by Richard M. Ebeling, The Freeman, Feb 2001
Broad biographical essay, including Böhm-Bawerk relationships with Menger, Mises and Schumpeter, and his two major works
Broad biographical essay, including Böhm-Bawerk relationships with Menger, Mises and Schumpeter, and his two major works
In January 1914 there appeared three articles in one of the leading newspapers in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, by Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, ... a three-time minister of finance. He warned his readers that the Austrian government was following a policy of fiscal irresponsibility. During the preceding three years, government expenditures had increased by 60 percent, and for each of these years the government’s deficit had equaled approximately 15 percent of total spending. The reason, Böhm-Bawerk said, was that the Austrian parliament and government were enveloped in a spider's web of special-interest politics.
Related Topics: Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, Capital Goods, Austrian Economics, Carl Menger, Minimum Wage Laws, Ludwig von Mises, Prices, Joseph Schumpeter, Wages
Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk:Capital, Interest, and Time, by Roger W. Garrison, 15 Great Austrian Economists, Jan 1999
Biographical and bibliographical essay; chapter 8
Biographical and bibliographical essay; chapter 8
[Böhm-Bawerk's] later years were dominated by his duties as the Austrian Minister of Finance, a position he held, though not continuously, throughout the 1890s and beyond–and for which he is fittingly honored by having his likeness on Austria's one-hundred schilling note. After serving in this capacity and assuming other governmental duties, he returned to teaching in 1904. With a chair at the University of Vienna, he became a colleague of Wieser ... Students who passed through the university during the last decade of Böhm-Bawerk's career ... included Joseph Schumpeter and Ludwig von Mises.
Ludwig von Mises, socialism's greatest enemy, by Jim Powell, LibertyStory.net, 2000
Lengthy biographical essay on Mises, including details on Menger and Böhm-Bawerk; alternate version of "Planned Chaos" chapter of The Triumph of Liberty (2000)
Lengthy biographical essay on Mises, including details on Menger and Böhm-Bawerk; alternate version of "Planned Chaos" chapter of The Triumph of Liberty (2000)
Before the war, Austria-Hungary controlled over 250,000 square miles ... and had a population of 51 million. Afterwards, the Allied Powers broke up the empire, created new nations and left Austria with 32,000 square miles. Austria had about 6.5 million people, almost a third living in Vienna ... The Austrian inflation was severe—average prices up almost 50% a month ... "Ignaz Seipel became Chancellor of Austria. Dr. Seipel, a Roman Catholic priest, honest and conscientious but naive about finance, was not the usual politician. Mises helped convince Seipel that inflation had to be stopped ..."
The introductory paragraph uses material from the Wikipedia article "Austria" as of 18 Sep 2018, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.