Name of country: Republic of Austria

Establishment of diplomatic relations:

• 5 January 1956 (Federal Republic of Germany)
• 21 December 1972 (German Democratic Republic)

Form of government: Republic, parliamentary democracy

Austria and Germany are close partners in Europe. The two countries have close and wide-ranging contact at political level. They exchange experiences with one another in a spirit of mutual trust and work together to find solutions for numerous challenges, in fields including national security, climate change, demographics and migration.

Germany and Austria are also important trading partners, with trade worth over 125 billion euro. Their transport infrastructure and energy grids are closely intertwined. Thousands of German companies have branch offices and production facilities in Austria, while almost 400,000 German nationals are registered as living there. Austria is also one of the most popular tourist destinations for Germans.

Cultural exchange with Austria is more intensive and wide-ranging than with almost any other country. Many German culture professionals work in Austria, while Austrian artists enrich the German cultural scene. Numerous German-Austrian film and TV co-productions, some of which have won awards, testify to the excellent cooperation in this area as well.

The same goes for science and higher education. Austria and Germany invest in research and cutting-edge technologies in areas such as artificial intelligence and quantum science, and in climate-friendly solutions for industry and society. There are around 890 university cooperation arrangements between the two countries. Austria is very popular among German students, who make up the largest group of foreign students enrolled there, at around 40%.

The two countries’ media markets are closely linked – German publishing houses hold shares in Austrian media companies, and there are co-productions in radio, television and film as well as cooperation between the TV channels 3sat and arte.