Austria  , officially the  Republic of Austria  is a  landlocked   East Alpine  country in the southern part of  Central Europe . It is composed of nine  federated states , one of which is  Vienna , Austria's capital and its largest city. It is bordered by  Germany  to the northwest, the  Czech Republic  to the north,  Slovakia  to the northeast,  Hungary  to the east,  Slovenia  and  Italy  to the south, and  Switzerland  and  Liechtenstein  to the west. Austria occupies an area of 83,879 km 2  (32,386 sq mi) and has a population of nearly 9 million  people . While  German  is the country's  official language ,many Austrians communicate informally in a variety of  Bavarian dialects . Austria initially emerged as a  margraviate  around 976 and developed into a  duchy  and  archduchy . In ...