Languages of Austria Austro-Bavarian grammar differs from Standard German. A number of minority languages are spoken in Austria, some of which have official status. Turkish is the largest minority language, in a situation mirroring that of Germany, spoken by 2.3% of the population. Serbian is the second largest minority language, with usage by 2.2% of the population. Burgenland Croatian, an official language in Burgenland, is spoken by 2.5% of Austrians, and Burgenland Croats are recognized as a minority and have enjoyed special rights following the Austrian State Treaty ("Staatsvertrag") of 1955. While little spoken today, Hungarian has traditionally held an important position in
States of Austria arable terrain. The other five states, in contrast, are located in the Alps and thus are comparatively unsuitable for agriculture. Their terrain is also relatively unfavourable to heavy industry and long-distance trade. Accordingly, the population of what now is the Republic of Austria has been concentrated in the former four states since prehistoric times. Austria's most densely populated state is the city-state of Vienna, the heart of what is Austria's only metropolitan area. Lower Austria ranks only fourth with regard to population density even though it contains Vienna's suburbs; this is due to large areas of land being predominantly agricultural.