Introduction

Austria is a landlocked country with around 8.9 million inhabitants. Geographically it is located in Central Europe, in the north it borders with the Czech Republic and Germany, in the east with Hungary and Slovakia, in the south with Slovenia and Italy and in the west with Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The territory of Austria comprises around 84,000 square kilometres.

Austria is a democratic republic and afederal state consisting of nine provinces. These, in turn, are divided into districts and municipalities. The administration is, accordingly, split into tasks of the Federal Government, the provinces and also the districts and municipalities. Austria is a constitutional state, the most important foundations are the Austrian Federal Constitution and the law of the European Union. On account of its extensive social legislation, Austria is also called a social state.

Austria is a social market economy. The vocational education and training system is strongly linked with the economy.

The official language in Austria is German, other regional official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian and Slovenian. Recognised minority languages are Hungarian, Slovenian, Burgenland Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Romani and sign language.