While the title of this post may sound a little strange, I will guarantee you most of the people searching for the term “Where is Austria?” probably have a vague idea where the country is located, or have no idea at all.
After all, not only do millions of people confuse Austria and Australia (no, we don’t have any kangaroos except this strange one), but the vast majority probably couldn’t find Austria on a map.
And, I say that as one of those people. Before I moved to Vienna back in 2016, that is.
I mean, sure, I knew Austria was a small European country somewhere in Central Europe but, if you had handed me an unlabeled European map, I might have struggled to find it.
So, if you are one of those people as clueless as I was, and desperate to find out the answer to “Where is Austria?”, here is what you need to know.
Especially because, according to Google, some people are actually asking “What country is Austria located in?”.
Yikes!
Where is Austria located?
Austria is a relatively small country in Europe. Both in land mass and in population.
With around 8.9 million people, give or take a few, Austria is a landlocked country (ie: next to zero oceans) that has its borders adjoining Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to its east, Slovenia and Italy to its south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. (see the official explanation)
The size of the country is similarly small — just 83,878 square kilometres (aka 32,385 sq mi) — a land mass that is dwarfed by other European countries like Russia, Ukraine, Sweden, Germany, Italy, France and Spain that are much larger.
Compared to all 48 European countries, with Russia being the largest by land mass and Vatican City being the smallest, Austria is at #19.
Compared to the first U.S. state I lived in — Ohio — Austria is smaller in land mass. Three million more people live in Ohio too.
By the way, Austria is also one of the most mountainous countries in Europe, with only 32% of its entire land mass below 500 metres (1,640 ft).
So, where is Austria located?
So, now you have read this, the next time you need to know where Austria is located, for a trip you are planning here, to find it on a map or to win a bet with a friend, now you can answer correctly.
Right?