The Austro-Hungarian Empire, also known as Austria-Hungary, Dual Monarchy or k.u.k. Monarchy or Dual State, was a dual-monarchic union state in Central Europe from 1867 to 1918, dissolved at the end of World War I.
The dual monarchy was the successor to the Austrian Empire (1804–1867) on the same territory, originating in the compromise between the ruling Habsburg dynasty and the Hungarians.
As a multi-national empire and great power in an era of national awakening, it found its political life dominated by disputes among the eleven principal national groups.
Its economic and social life was marked by a rapid economic growth through the age of industrialization and social modernization through many liberal and democratic reforms.