Austrians Voted Overwhelmingly in Favour of Retaining Compulsory Military Service - Sunday Jan 20,2013

Austrians have voted overwhelmingly in favour of retaining compulsory military service.

With all votes in the referendum counted, except postal ballots, 59.8% voted to keep the draft with 40.2% against, the interior ministry said

Austrian men must serve 6 months in the army or 9 months in civilian service when they reach 18.Some 22,000 Austrian men are currently conscripted into the military each year.

Mandatory Conscription in Europe

Nato members:

• Denmark
• Estonia
• Greece
• Norway
• Turkey

Non-Nato members:

• Belarus
• Cyprus
• Finland
• Moldova
• Russia
• Switzerland
• Ukraine

Note
Increasingly few European countries demand compulsory military service. France abandoned conscription in 1996, and Germany in 2011.