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Facts & Figures

The Viennese speak an Austro-Bavarian German dialect. Around 40 percent of the population are Roman Catholic (Muslim 11%, Orthodox 8%, Protestant 4%, Jewish 0.5%, and around 31% claim no religious affiliation).

Vienna’s climate is temperate with continental and maritime influences. Each year there are 72 days with temperatures of over 25° C, and 50 days with temperatures below freezing (city center). Westerly weather systems prevail, the average air temperature is eleven degrees and precipitation is 600 mm/year.

Just 60 kilometers from the Slovak capital Bratislava, Vienna played a leading role in the establishment of the Centrope region in 2003 (together with the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia) and the expansion of international transportation links in the area. Vienna International Airport handles 230,000 flights and 22 million passengers per year. Major European trunk routes and interregional rail links pass through Vienna. The new main railroad station will see the capital play an even more important role in the trans-European rail network.

Vienna is also one of the four UN headquarters cities and the seat of numerous international organizations, including the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The Vienna region is one of the most affluent in the EU, with many international companies basing their Eastern European operations in the city. Countless international corporations have their headquarters and major subsidiaries in the city (including Heineken, UniCredit, Lafarge, Henkel, REWE Group, Beiersdorf, OMV, Wienerberger and Telekom Austria), which also has several universities and a stock exchange.

Over 45 percent of the city’s area is accounted for by gardens, parks, forests, and woodland, another 15 percent is farmland and 5 percent water. 35 percent of all journeys in the city are by public transportation – a European record. Vienna is also the only major capital with a significant wine-growing industry – cultivating mainly white wines on some 700 hectares – within the city limits.

At a glance

Area: 415 km2
Population: 1.9 million
Population density: 4,260 people/km2
Language: German
Height above sea level: 151m (Lobau) to 542 m (Hermannskogel
Currency: Euro
Time Zone: Central European time zone (CET = GMT/UCT +1)
Telephone: +43 1
Units of measure: metric system
Electricity: 230 volts
Unofficial anthem: the Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss


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