Lower Austria (, ; ; ) is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria. With a land area of 19,186 km² and a population of 1.612 million people, it is the largest state in Austria, and in terms of population second only to the federal state of Vienna.