Austria lies in the heart of  Europe, south of Germany and the Czech Republic, west of Slovakia and Hungary, north of Slovenia and Italy, east of  Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is a democratic republic which has been a member of the European Union since 1995. Thus, the nationwide language is German with Slovene, Croatia and Hungarian being the regional languages.

Austria is one of the 12 richest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita; it has a well-developed social market economy and a high standard of living. Austria is a highly developed industrialized nation. The foremost industries are foodstuffs, luxury commodities, mechanical engineering, steel construction, chemicals and vehicle manufacturing. Tourism is also the hugely important part of the national economy. Due to its social stability, excellent cultural image and professional suppliers, Austria ranks among the top 10 destinations worldwide for meetings and incentives.