| Introduction | Austria | = Fields = World Records = Dictionary = Bar graph = Distribution map = Fields History = Definitions |
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Flag description:
 | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and red |
Background:
 | Once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian Empire, Austria was reduced to a small republic after its defeat in World War I. Following annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent occupation by the victorious Allies in 1945, Austria's status remained unclear for a decade. A State Treaty signed in 1955 ended the occupation, recognized Austria's independence, and forbade unification with Germany. A constitutional law that same year declared the country's "perpetual neutrality" as a condition for Soviet military withdrawal. The Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995 have altered the meaning of this neutrality. A prosperous, democratic country, Austria entered the EU Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. |
| = Fields = World Records = Dictionary = Bar graph = Distribution map = Fields History = Definitions | |
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This page was last updated on 5 May, 2008 |
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