A chronology of key events:
1918 - End of the Hapsburg empire.
1919 - Treaty of St Germain defines Austria's boundaries.
1934 - Government crushes Socialist uprising. All political parties abolished except the Fatherland Front.
1934 July - Imprisonment of Nazi conspirators leads to attempted Nazi coup. Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss assassinated, succeeded by Kurt von Schuschnigg.
Anschluss
1938 - The Anschluss (union): Austria incorporated into Germany by Hitler.
German troops cross into Austria in 1938
World War II - Austria's armed forces, under German control, fight on Eastern Front.
1945 - Soviet troops liberate Vienna. Austria occupied by Soviet, British, US and French forces.
Elections result in People's Party and Socialist Party coalition.
1946-47 - Denazification laws passed. Reconstruction begins.
Neutrality
1949 - Former Nazis allowed to participate in general election.
1955 - Treaty signed by UK, France, US and USSR establishes an independent but neutral Austria - a convenient buffer between the West and the Soviet bloc. Austria joins the United Nations.
1970 - Government formed under Chancellor Bruno Kreisky who dominates political scene for more than a decade.
1986 - Ex-UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim elected president, despite controversy over role in German army in World War II.
Rise of the right
1995 - Austria joins EU. Coalition collapses over budget disagreements and strict convergence criteria for European monetary union.
1999 October - Far-right Freedom Party led by Joerg Haider wins 27% of vote in national elections, equal second with centre right People's Party. Social Democrats remain largest party.
2000 February/March - International outcry as People's Party head Wolfgang Schuessel forms coalition government with Freedom Party. EU imposes diplomatic sanctions.
2000 September - EU ends seven months of diplomatic isolation after report concludes that it is counterproductive.
2001 January - Deal signed on compensating Jews whose assets were seized by Nazis. Government and companies to pay $360m into settlement fund.
2001 November - Chancellor Schuessel and Czech government move to settle dispute over Temelin nuclear power plant by agreeing tough measures to improve safety and monitor impact on environment.
2002 August - Devastating floods as Danube bursts banks following torrential rain.
2002 November - Wolfgang Schuessel's People's Party makes sweeping gains in elections, largely at expense of Freedom Party.
2003 May - Pension reform plans spark first nationwide strike action in several decades.
2003 October - Package of asylum laws introduced, widely seen as among the most restrictive in Europe.
2005 May - Parliament ratifies the EU constitution.
2006 October - Social Democrats narrowly defeat the ruling conservative People's Party in elections. After weeks of bargaining, the two parties agree on a coalition.
National soul-searching
2008 April - National outrage and soul-searching at case of Josef Fritzl, who imprisoned his daughter in a cellar for 24 years and fathered children with her. Tougher law on sexual abuse planned.
2008 September - Social Democrats emerge as largest party in snap election, but both it and the People's Party suffer heavy losses while resurgent far-right parties take 29%.
2008 October - The leader of the far-right Alliance for the Future of Austria, Joerg Haider, is killed in a car crash.
2008 December - New coalition government of the Social Democrats and People's Party sworn in.
2011 July - Otto von Habsburg - the last crown prince of Austria - is buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna amid much of the pomp associated with the days of the empire.
2013 January - Referendum. Austrians vote to keep compulsory military service.
Migrant crisis
Tens of thousands of migrants crossed into Austria - mostly en route to Germany - in 2015
2015 October - Austria says it plans to erect barriers at a border crossing with Slovenia after tens of thousands of migrants are estimated to have entered the country - mainly en route for Germany.
2016 February - Austria imposes a cap on the number of migrants and refugees allowed to enter the country, after receiving 90,000 asylum applications in 2015.
2016 December - Liberal Alexander Van der Bellen defeats far-right Freedom Party candidate Norbert Hofer in the re-run of the presidential election.
2017 January - Ruling coalition agrees to ban Islamic full-face veils in courts, schools and other public spaces.
2017 October - Federal elections see a strong swing to the right. Conservative People's Party leader Sebastian Kurz becomes chancellor of coalition government with the far-right Freedom Party.
2019 May - Coalition collapses over Freedom Party scandal
2020 January - People's Party leader Sebastian Kurz forms a coalition government with the Green Party after elections in September.
2020 November - Jihadist gunmen kills four people in central Vienna.
