Exploring Austria's Nine States: A Regional Overview

Austria is a federal republic consisting of nine federal states, also known as Bundesländer. The European Commission refers to these as provinces. Each state has an elected legislature, the federal state parliament, and a federal state government headed by a governor. The nine states of Austria are:

- Carinthia

- Lower Austria

- Upper Austria

- Vienna

- Burgenland

- Styria

- Tyrol

- Salzburg

- Vorarlberg

The capital, Vienna, is both a city and a state

Vienna, the capital of Austria, is both a city and one of the country's nine federal states. It is Austria's primate city, with a population of just over two million inhabitants. Its larger metropolitan area has a population of nearly 2.9 million, representing nearly one-third of the country's population. Vienna is the cultural, economic, and political centre of the country, and the fifth-largest city by population in the European Union.

Vienna is Austria's most populous city and one of its nine federal provinces (Bundesländer). It is by far the country's largest municipality, covering 414 square kilometres. Vienna is completely surrounded by Lower Austria and lies around 50 km (31 mi) west of Slovakia and its capital, Bratislava. It is also around 60 km (37 mi) northwest of Hungary and 60 km (37 mi) south of Moravia in the Czech Republic.

Vienna is the seat of the Republic of Austria's highest authorities, including the federal parliament, head of state, federal government, and the highest courts. It is the economic and political centre of Austria, though it does not enjoy any particular privileges as a federal capital. As a federal province, Vienna has the right to its own legislation and provincial executive body. It designates 10 representatives to the second chamber of federal legislation, the Federal Assembly, also known as the Chamber of Provinces.

The mayor of Vienna has the rank of a federal state governor, while the city council also functions as a federal state parliament. However, under the municipal constitution, city and federal state business must be kept separate. While the city council and the federal state parliament have identical memberships, they hold separate meetings and have separate presiding officers. When meeting as a city council, the deputies can only deal with city affairs; when meeting as a federal state parliament, they can only address matters of the state.

The nine states are subdivided into districts and cities

Austria is divided into nine federal regions, or Bundesländer, which are further subdivided into two types of entities: Politischer Bezirk (district) and Statutarstadt (statutory city, or urban district). Vienna, for example, is the only city with just one subdivision. There are currently 99 districts, which are further subdivided into Gemeinden (communes).

The nine federal states of Austria are:

• Burgenland
• Carinthia (Kärnten)
• Lower Austria (Niederösterreich)
• Upper Austria (Oberösterreich)
• Vorarlberg
• Tyrol (Tirol)
• Salzburg
• Styria
• Vienna

The state of Lower Austria, for example, has 76 cities and 497 towns, while Upper Austria has 32 cities and 410 towns.

Tyrol is an interesting state geographically, as it consists of two sections separated by a strip of land belonging to Salzburg. The smaller part is commonly called Osttirol (East Tyrol) and is equivalent to the Politischer Bezirk of Lienz. There is also a small area of Tyrol, containing the town of Jungholz, which is connected to the rest of Tyrol at only a single point. The Austrian-German border forms an X here.

Each state has its own government and legislative authority

Austria is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of nine states, or Bundesländer. Each of these states has its own government and legislative authority.

The Austrian federal government is made up of the Federal Chancellor, the Vice Chancellor, and the Ministers. The Federal Chancellor is the head of the government, but they do not have the power to direct other members of the government. The Federal Chancellor is appointed by the Federal President, who is the head of state. The Federal President is elected by popular vote for a term of six years and can serve a maximum of two consecutive terms. The Federal President can dismiss the cabinet as a whole or dissolve the National Council and call new elections.

Each Austrian state has an elected legislature, the federal state parliament, and a federal state government (Landesregierung) led by a governor (Landeshauptmann or Landeshauptfrau). The governor is elected by the federal state parliament and is usually the leader of the majority party or coalition in the federal state parliament. The federal state parliament passes laws that stay within the limits of the constitution.

While Austrian federalism is largely theoretical, as the federal states are granted limited legislative powers, the federal state governor (Landeshauptmann) is in charge of the administration of much of the federal administrative law within the respective state, which makes this an important political position.

The nine states of Austria are:

• Carinthia (Kärnten)
• Lower Austria (Niederösterreich)
• Upper Austria (Oberösterreich)
• Vienna
• Burgenland
• Tyrol
• Vorarlberg
• Salzburg
• Styria

All states hold elections every 5 years, except Upper Austria

Austria is a federal republic consisting of nine federal states, also known as provinces. These states are:

• Carinthia (Kärnten)
• Lower Austria (Niederösterreich)
• Upper Austria (Oberösterreich)
• Tyrol
• Vorarlberg
• Salzburg
• Styria
• Vienna
• Burgenland

Each of these states has an elected legislature, the federal state parliament, and a federal state government (Landesregierung) headed by a governor (Landeshauptmann or Landeshauptfrau).

All Austrian states hold elections every five years, except for Upper Austria, which holds elections every six years. The next parliamentary election in Upper Austria is expected to take place in 2027.

The federal state constitution determines how the seats in the federal state government are assigned to political parties, with most federal states having a system of proportional representation based on the number of delegates in the federal state parliament. The governor is elected by the federal state parliament and is typically the leader of the majority party or coalition in the federal state parliament.

Austrian federalism is largely theoretical, as the federal states are granted limited legislative powers. Austria's constitution initially granted all legislative powers to the federal states, but many of these powers have since been taken away. Today, the federal states can pass laws that stay within the limits of the constitution, but most matters are regulated by national law.

The states have their own constitutions

Austria is a federal republic consisting of nine federal states, also known as provinces or regions. Each of these states has its own constitution, which determines how the seats in the federal state government are assigned to political parties. The majority use a system of proportional representation based on the number of delegates in the federal state parliament.

Each Austrian federal state has an elected legislature, the federal state parliament, and a federal state government (Landesregierung) headed by a governor (Landeshauptmann or Landeshauptfrau). The governor is elected by the federal state parliament and is usually the leader of the majority party or coalition in the federal state parliament.

The federal states have some legislative powers, including planning and zoning codes, nature protection, hunting, fishing, farming, youth protection, certain issues of public health and welfare, and the right to levy certain taxes. However, Austrian federalism is largely theoretical, as most legislative powers are held by the national government.

The nine federal states of Austria are:

• Carinthia (Kärnten)
• Lower Austria (Niederösterreich)
• Upper Austria (Oberösterreich)
• Vorarlberg
• Tyrol (Tirol)
• Salzburg
• Styria (Steiermark)
• Vienna (Wien)
• Burgenland

Frequently asked questions