Vienna is the capital of
Austria, and is also one of the nine states of
Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city; with a
population of about 1.7 million (2.3 million within
the metropolitan area), it is by far the largest
city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic,
and political center. It is the 10th largest city by
population in the European Union, and was listed by
Mercer Human Resource Consulting as having the 2nd
highest quality of living (as of 2008). Vienna is
host to many major international organizations such
as the United Nations and OPEC. Vienna lies in the
very east of Austria and is close to the Czech
Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. In 2001, the city
centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site
and in 2005 an Economist Intelligence Unit study of
127 world cities ranked it first equal with
Vancouver for the quality of life.