Ethnicity, Language, & Religion of Austria
Ethnicity
Nearly all of Austria's population is ethnically Austrian, but this is very similar genetically to what is commonly referred to as "German." There are numerous ethnic and genetic variations within the German population, both inside and outside of Germany, but among the German-speaking people of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Luxembourg there are no genetic extremes as all are more closely related to each other than they are to other Germanic people, such as the Dutch.
Today there are a number of minority groups in Austria, particularly in Vienna. The largest of these groups are ethnic Turks and the people of what was formerly Yugoslavia (primarily Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, and Bosniaks).
Language
German is the only official national language in Austria; however Slovenian, Croatian, and Hungarian are official languages regionally. The dialect of German spoken in Austria is understood by other native German speakers, but it is a distinct dialect similar to the dialect spoken in Bavaria (Germany).