Vorarlberg enjoys the greatest scenic diversity within limited confines in the entire East Alps. The distance between Lake Constance and the plains of the Rhine valley across medium-altitude and high-alpine zones to the glaciers of the Silvretta range is a mere 90 km.

- Surface: 2.601 km2 (= 3 % of the Austrian surface)

- Useful Surface: 5% of the land surface are settlement areas, 17.6% agricultural areas, 26.6% Alps and 33.8% forests.

- Cities:
By size: Dornbirn, Bregenz (state capital), Feldkirch, Bludenz, Hohenems

- Inhabitants: 379 522 EW (= 4 % of the Austrian population)
Vorarlberg is Austria's only federal state in which the Alemannic dialect is spoken. In the late 19th century, industrialization brought a wave of immigrant workers, mainly Italians, to Vorarlberg, followed by South Tyroleans, Sudeten Germans and Turkish guest workers in the 20th century.

- Is there an archetypical Vorarlberger?:
"Fortunately, or unfortunately, the typical Vorarlberger does not exist", muses Alfons J. Kopf in his photographic anthology "Vorarlberg Impressions“. Still, the people of Vorarlberg are said to be industrious and parsimonious. Achievement is highly rated; creativity, commitment and a healthy self-awareness have characterized Vorarlberg throughout its history.

- Economy:
For several years, the Vorarlberg economy has been performing well above the Austrian average. Whereas the all-Austrian GDP in 2004 rose by a "mere" 2.0% in real terms, Vorarlberg recorded an increase of 2.9%. This comes as a surprise, particularly as the major trading partners in Germany, Switzerland and Italy have not been faring well. Owing to this robust economic performance, Vorarlberg was able to boost its gross regional product in 2004 to 11.5 billion EUR according to calculations by the Economic Policy Department of the Vorarlberg Chamber of Trade. This translates into a nominal increase of 5.0% (Austria as a whole +4.0%). The regional product per inhabitant in Vorarlberg is 31,000 EUR, exceeding the national average by 8%.

- Religion:
78 % of the population is Roman Catholic, which puts Vorarlberg in line with all-Austrian average (73.6%), 7,817 Vorarlberg inhabitants are Protestant (2.2 %). The second largest religious denomination is Islam which accounts for a share of 8.4 % (mainly Turks).

- Tourism:
Vorarlberg records more than 8 million overnight stays each year. Family-run businesses make up the overwhelming share, ahead of international hotel chains.