Lexi Webster
Austria's population is approximately 9.16 million as of 2024, with 58.57% of the population, or 5,337,973 people, living in urban areas. The federal capital, Vienna, is the municipality with the largest population, with 1.92 million residents as of 2021, meaning that a fifth of Austria's population lives in the capital. The second and third most populous cities are Graz and Linz, with 291,000 and 207,000 residents, respectively. Austria's population is also characterized by its diversity, with 19.6% of the population, or approximately 1.8 million people, being foreign citizens as of 2024. The country has seen significant net migration gains, with 97% of its total population growth between 2011 and 2021 attributed to immigration.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Population | 9,159,993 residents (as of 1 January 2024) |
| Population Density | 109 people per square km (as of 2022) |
| Urban Population | 58.57% (5,337,973 people in 2025) |
| Median Age | 43.6 years |
| Fertility Rate | 1.43 births per woman (2022) |
| Life Expectancy | 81.82 years (2021) |
| Foreign Citizens | 1,801,184 (19.6% of total population as of 1 January 2024) |
| Foreign Born | 19% (as of 2018) |
| Native German Speakers | 88.6% (as of 2001) |
| Roman Catholics | 58.8% (as of 2016) |
| Muslims | 700,000 (as of 2016) |
| Ethnic Turks | 350,000 (as of 2023) |
| GDP per Inhabitant | €49,300 (2023) |
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What You'll Learn
Population growth
Austria's population growth has been largely influenced by immigration trends and birth rates. As of 2024, Austria's population stood at approximately 9.1 million people, with a significant number, around 1.8 million, or 19.6% being foreign citizens. This figure has seen a steady increase since the early 1990s, with a sharp rise at the beginning of the decade attributed to increased immigration. By 1994, foreigners accounted for about 8.4% of the population, and this number has continued to grow, reaching 17.1% by 2021. This growth in foreign residents is particularly notable in Vienna, where over 30% of the population is of foreign origin.
Austria's population growth rate is heavily influenced by immigration. Between 2011 and 2021, 97% of the country's total population growth was due to net migration gains. This trend is expected to continue, especially with the ageing population. The number of seniors aged 65 and above is increasing, and with the Baby Boom Generation approaching retirement, the working-age population is also ageing.
The birth rate in Austria has fluctuated over the years, impacted by historical events such as World War I, the Anschluss, and the post-World War II era. The current birth rate is relatively low, with the base of the population pyramid being narrow, indicating a smaller proportion of children under 15. However, there is a notable trend of newborns with foreign-born mothers, with 32% in 2023, indicating the influence of immigration on the younger generations.
While the population of native Austrians has been stagnant since World War I and in decline since the 1970s, the overall population growth in Austria is sustained by immigration. The country's population density, urbanisation, and cultural diversity are all shaped by the influx of foreign residents, contributing to the dynamic nature of Austria's demographic landscape.
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Urban population
Austria's population is predominantly urban, with 58.57% of the population living in urban areas as of 2025. This equates to approximately 5,337,973 people. The overall population of Austria as of 2024 was 9,159,993 residents, including 1,801,184 foreign citizens (19.6% of the total population). In 2023, an average of 2.4 million people with a migration background lived in Austria, representing 26.7% of the total population.
Austria's urban population is concentrated in several cities and towns, with the capital, Vienna, being the most populous. Vienna had approximately 1.92 million residents as of 2021, accounting for about a fifth of the country's total population. This makes Vienna the most populous municipality in Austria.
Other significant urban areas in Austria include Graz, Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck, and Klagenfurt. Graz, the second-largest city, had a population of 291,000 as of 2021. Linz, the third-largest city, had a population of 207,000, while Salzburg and Innsbruck had 155,000 and 131,000 residents, respectively. Klagenfurt, the sixth-largest city, had a population of 102,000.
The urban population in Austria is characterised by its diversity, with a significant number of foreign residents. In 2023, 32% of newborns had mothers with foreign nationalities, and 34.7% had foreign-born mothers. As of 2023, German speakers comprise 88.8% of the foreign resident population, with 94% speaking Austrian German and 6% speaking Alemannic. Ethnic Turks, including Turkish Kurds, constitute the largest single ethnic minority group, with approximately 350,000 people, or 3% of the total population.
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Religious demographics
Austria has a diverse religious landscape, with freedom of religion enshrined in its constitution. While the country has historically been strongly Catholic, in recent decades, there has been a decline in Christianity and a proliferation of other religions, particularly in Vienna.
According to a 2021 national survey by Statistics Austria, 68.2% of the country identified as Christian, with 80.9% of those being Catholics, 7.2% Orthodox Christians (mostly Eastern Orthodox), 5.6% Protestants, and 6.2% other Christians. The Austrian Catholic Church, however, puts this figure at 56.9% as of 2018. The Orthodox Christian population has been growing, with the 2021 census recording 4.9% of the population, up from 2.2% in 2001. Protestantism, meanwhile, has been declining, with 3.8% recorded in the 2021 census, down from 6% in 1971. The Lutheran Protestant Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria has about 300,000 members (3.4%), while the Reformed Church in Austria, a Calvinist body, has roughly 13,590 members.
Islam is the second-largest religion in Austria, with 8.3% of the population identifying as Muslim in the 2021 census, up from 0.2% in 1971. This increase is largely due to immigration from countries like Turkey, the Balkans, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East. The number of Muslims in Austria was estimated to be 686,599 or 7.9% of the population as of 2016.
Around 12% of the population does not belong to any faith, according to the 2001 census, though this figure rose to 22.4% in the 2021 census.
Austria officially recognizes several religious groups, including the Catholic Church, Protestant Church, Greek Oriental Church, Serbian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox Church, Jewish Religious Association, Islamic Religious Community, Austrian Buddhist Religious Association, and Jehovah's Witnesses.
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Language demographics
German is the official language of Austria and is spoken by 88.6% of the population. The variety of German used in Austria is influenced by the Austro-Bavarian dialect, which is the main dialect outside the western state of Vorarlberg. In Vorarlberg, the main dialect is Alemannic, or Swiss German, which is spoken by about 300,000 people. Austrian Germans use the standard German orthography, while Alemannic and Austro-Bavarian are primarily spoken languages with no official orthography. However, there are literary efforts, especially in poems, to capture the sound of the pronunciation in the spelling.
Austro-Bavarian and Alemannic are the most widely spoken languages in Austria after German. Other minority languages with significant numbers of speakers include Turkish (3% of the population), Croatian (2.5%), Serbian (2.2%), and Hungarian (1,000 speakers in Burgenland, plus an unknown number elsewhere). In addition, several other languages are recognised as official languages of autonomous population groups in some regions, including Slovenian, Hungarian, and Croatian. According to the European Commission, other recognised minority languages include Czech, Slovak, Romany, and sign language.
The Austrian State Treaty of 1955 granted special rights to Burgenland Croats and Carinthian Slovenes, who number around 25,000 and 14,000, respectively. The Slovenes form a closely-knit community, and their rights are protected by law and generally respected in practice. In 2001, Slovene was used by 12,686 Austrians as a vernacular, and it is reported that 0.3% of Austrians can speak Slovene.
Austria is home to a large number of foreign-born residents, who made up 19% of the population in 2018, the second-highest proportion in the EU after Luxembourg. The most common countries of origin for foreign residents in 2023 were Germany, Turkey, the former Yugoslavia, and EU member states.
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Population density
Austria's population density is heavily concentrated in urban areas, with 58.57% of the population living in urban regions as of 2025. This equates to approximately 5,337,973 people. The overall population of Austria as of 2024 was 9,159,993 residents, including 1,801,184 foreign citizens, making up 19.6% of the total population. In 2023, an average of 2.4 million people with migration backgrounds lived in Austria, accounting for 26.7% of the entire population.
The federal capital, Vienna, is the municipality with the largest population in Austria. At the beginning of 2021, Vienna had 1.92 million residents, accounting for a fifth of the country's total population. This is followed by other provincial capitals such as Graz with 291,000 residents, Linz with 207,000 residents, Salzburg with 155,000 residents, Innsbruck with 131,000 residents, and Klagenfurt with 102,000 residents.
The population of Austria has grown significantly over the past century. Around 1900, the population within its present-day borders was close to 6 million. The country's population surpassed 7 million in the late 1950s and reached 8 million in 2000. By the beginning of 2021, the population had further increased to 8.93 million inhabitants.
The population growth in Austria is largely driven by net migration gains. Between January 1, 2011, and January 1, 2021, 97% of the country's total population growth of 557,500 people was attributed to net migration, with 539,905 people. The natural population growth during this period was comparatively low. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of births was lower than the number of deaths, resulting in a negative natural population growth.
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Frequently asked questions
As of 2024, Austria's population is approximately 9,159,993, including 1,801,184 foreign citizens.
58.57% of the population is urban, which equates to around 5,337,973 people.
Vienna is the most populous city in Austria, with 1.92 million residents as of 2021.
Foreign citizens make up 19.6% of the total population as of 2024.
The median age in Austria is 43.6 years.
