Its coast-line comprises the greater part of the eastern shore of the Adriatic, the bulk of the country receding to a great distance from the sea. It is irregularly bounded on the north by Saxony, Prussia and Russia: on the east by Russia and Rumania: on the south ( including Bosnia and Herzegovina) by Rumania, Serbia, and Montenegro; on the southwest by the Adriatic Sea and Italy, and on the west by Switzerland and Bavaria.

The former Turkish provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, though, in an official sense, merely occupied and administered by Austria-Hungary, and not reckoned as an integral part of the Empire, must be regarded now as virtually incorporated in it.

Nationalities

The population of Austria-Hungary embraces a greater number of races, distinct in origin and language, than that of any other European country except Russia. The Slavs are the most numerous race, amounting to over 46 per cent. of the whole population. Next in order come the Germans, then the Magyars, while the Wallachs (Romans) occupy the fourth place. The Slavs form the bulk of the population of Bohemia, Moravia, Galicia, Carniola, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, and the north of Hungary. The Slavs are split up into a number of nationalities differing greatly in language, religion, culture, and manners; so that their seeming preponderance in the monarchy is lost.

These nationalities include the Czechs (the most numerous of all) in Bohemia and Moravia, the Poles in Galicia, the Ruthenians in Galicia and Northern Hungary, the Croats and Serbs in Croatia and Slavonia, the Slovaks mainly in northwestern Hungary, the Slovens in Carniola, Syria, etc., the Morlaks in Dalmatia, and some Bulgarians. The Slavs constitute more than half of the
population of Cisleithania. The Germans number only about 25 per cent. of the total population. They are dispersed over the monarchy, predominating numerically in Upper and Lower Austria, Salzburg, Tyrol, Styria and Carinthia.

The Magyars, or Hungarians proper, constitute only about one-sixth of the population of the monarchy and less than 43 per cent. of that of the Kingdom of Hungary. One-seventh of the population of Transleithania consists of Rumans, who constitute the bulk of the people of Transylvania. The Rumans are also numerous in Bukowina. The other Romanic peoples of Austria-Hungary are the Italians, inhabiting the south of Tyrol, Istria, Trieste, and Dalmatia; the Ladins (Latins), occupying some valleys in Tyrol; and the Friauls about Gortz, north of Trieste. The number of Jews in the monarchy is not far from 2,000,000 which is about one-fifth of the total Jewish population of the globe. The Gypsies are estimated to number about 100,000. There are more than 10,000 Armenians scattered over the eastern half of the monarchy.

Army and Navy

Military service is obligatory on all citizens in Austria and in Hungary. The military system is organized on identical lines in both halves of the monarchy, and the common army is under the head of the common ministry of war. Austria and Hungary have their own national guards ( the Landwehr in one, the Honvedseg in the other) and the general levy (Landsturm, Nepfolkeles) of the nation. The common army and the special armies are reinforced by a supplementary reserve (Ersatzreserve, Pottartalek). The terms of service are, for the common army, 12 years, of which 3 years are spent in the line, 7 years in the reserve, and 2 years in the Landwehr; for the special armies, 12 years likewise, of which 2 or 3 years are passed in the line and 9 or 10 years in the Landsturm.

 All citizens between the ages of 19 and 42 who do not serve in the common army, the national guards, the supplementary reserve, or the navy, belong to the Landsturm, or general levy. Persons possessing certain educational qualifications are subject to only one year's active service in the military forces. The Austro-Hungarian navy is maintained chiefly for purposes of coast defense.

Religion

As to religion, the great bulk of the nation is Roman Catholic. By the census of 1890 there were 27,754,000 Roman Catholics; of Greeks and Armenians in union with the Church of Rome, 4,485,000; of Orthodox Greeks, 3,178,000. The Protestants of all denominations numbered 3,933,000; and of Israelites there were 1,868,000. The monarchy is divided into archbishoprics, bishoprics, Protestant superintendencies, and parishes. The statutes regulating the relations of State and Church insure the sovereign certain rights arising from the dignity of his office, but the law insures religious liberty and the independence of the Church from the State. There is no religious test as a qualification for the possession of civil and political rights and liberty of conscience is secure. The religious bodies have a legal right to manage their own affairs and to possess funds, estates, or endowments for the purposes of worship, instruction, or charity. But they must first secure their legal recognition from the minister of ecclesiastical affairs, which is granted to all sects whose doctrines and practices are not inimical to the laws of the State.

Emigration and Immigration

In the twenty-year period of 1878-1898 about 900,000 people emigrated from Austria-Hungary to North and South America, of which 818,310 went to North America, 41,210 to Brazil, and 25,000 to Argentina. According to the report of the United States Commissioner-General of Immigration, the number of immigrants coming to the United States from Austria-Hungary increased from 62,491 in 1898-99 to 114,847 in 1899-1900, the most numerous nationalities in order of importance in the latter year being Slovaks (29,000), Poles (22,000), Croatians and Slavonians (17,000), Jews (17,000), Hungarians (14,000), Germans (7,000), and Czechs or Bohemians (3000). Immigration is very small, and principally comes from Germany, Rumania, and Serbia.