Population: Austria

According to latest national census (1991) Austria has a population of 7,795,786. According to the latest population statistics (1999) Austria has a population of 8.09 million, which represented an increase of some 300,000 since 1991.

In 1999 3.9 million (48.5%) of the population were male, 4.1 million (51.5%) female. For those born in 1999 average life expectancy for men was 75, for women 81.

98% of Austria’s population is German-speaking. Members of the six ethnic groups officially recognized in Austria are found in five Austrian provinces. Burgenland is home to Croats and Hungarians, many of whom have migrated to Vienna. Slovenes are found in the Gail, Rosen and Jaun valleys of southern Carinthia and in some villages in the southern part of Styria. Many Czechs and Slovaks live in Vienna and in Lower Austria, particularly in the Marchfeld and Tullnerfeld regions. Romany and Sinti, who were recognized as ethnic groups in 1993, live above all in Burgenland and to some extent in Vienna.

The Ethnic Groups Act of 1976 only recognizes indigenous (”autochthonous”) ethnic groups, which term applies to those who have lived in Austria for at least three generations and who are Austrian citizens.