Austria is a country.
Austria ( listen ) , is a federal republic and a landlocked country of over 8.7 million people in Central Europe . The terrain is highly mountainous , lying within the Alps ; only 32 % of the country is below 500 m , and its highest point is 3798 m . The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty , when the vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire .