Austria

Capital: Vienna
Population: 8,602,112
Conventional Name: Republic of Austria
Chief of State: President Heinz Fischer
Head of State: Chancellor Werner Faymann
National Anthem: Bundeshymne (Federal Hymn)
Lyrics/Music: Paula Von Preradovic/Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Or Johann Holzer (Disputed)

Facts about Austria

  • The Austrian flag, as we know it today, is one of the oldest national flag in the world. It dates from 1191, when Duke Leopold V fought in the Battle of Acre during the Third Crusade.
  • An Austrian, Josef Madersperger, invented the sewing machine in 1818.
  • About half of Austrian men are overweight (50.8%, the highest rate in the EU), but only 8.6% of them are obese (4th lowest in the EU-27). In contrast only 20.3% of Austrian women are overweight (lowest rate in the 27 member states), including 8.6% who are obese (also the lowest rate EU wide).
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Hollywood actor and current governor of California, grew up as an Austrian citizen.
  • ​The father of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, was Austrian.
  • About one fourth of the population of Austria lives in the capital, Vienna.
  • Among Europeans, Austrian people work the longest, with an average of 45 hours per week.