Austria and Switzerland – country comparison

This article compares Austria and Switzerland, two neighboring landlocked countries in Europe. Let’s read.

Austria and Switzerland – country comparison

GDP

• Switzerland has a larger economy and a higher GDP per capita than Austria.

2025 (IMF)	Austria	Switzerland
Currency	Euro	Swiss Franc
GDP (nominal, USD)	$579.93 billion	$1.04 trillion
GDP per capita (nominal, USD)	$63.16 thousand	$115.62 thousand
GDP (PPP, international $)	$696.21 billion	$921.48 billion
GDP per capita (PPP, international $)	$75.83 thousand	$102.1 thousand

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Population

2025 estimate	Austria	Switzerland
Population	9.1 million	9 million
Population aged 0-14	14%	15%
Population aged 15-64	65%	65%
Population aged 65 and older	21%	20%
Total fertility rate, per woman	1.3	1.4

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Life

	Austria	Switzerland
Life expectancy at birth (2023/UN)	81.96	83.95
Human Development Index rank (2023)	22nd	2nd
Human Development Index value	0.930	0.970

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Overview

• Austria is slightly more than twice the size of Switzerland by land area.

• Austria and Switzerland have similar population sizes.

	Austria	Switzerland
Area	approximately 83,880 sq km	approximately 41,285 sq km
Population	9.1 million (2025 estimate)	9 million (2025 estimate)
Capital city	Vienna	Bern (de facto)
Largest city	Vienna	Zurich
Most spoken language	German	German
Most popular sport	Football (Soccer)	Football (Soccer)

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Geography

	Austria	Switzerland
Continent	Europe	Europe
Forest cover (2023)	47.2%	32.4%
Total number of time zones	1	1
Highest mountain	Grossglockner (3,798 m/12,461 ft)	Dufourspitze (4,634 m/15,203 ft)
Landlocked	Yes	Yes

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(Also read: Germany and Poland – country comparison)

Tourism

	Austria	Switzerland
International tourist arrivals	33.1 million (2025)	9.2 million (2022)
Number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites	12	13
Popular places to visit	Vienna, Salzburg, Hallstatt, Graz, Tyrolean Alps, Innsbruck, etc.	Zurich, Geneva, Bern, Zermatt, Lucerne, Interlaken, Appenzell, etc.