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Since 2015, the proportion of migrants in the Austrian population has risen by around 38 percent. With this increase, criticism of coexistence between locals and migrants has also grown. However, most immigrants feel a powerful sense of belonging to Austria.
This is according to data presented on Wednesday by Integration Minister Claudia Plakolm (ÖVP) and Stephan Marik-Lebeck from Statistics Austria. According to this data, an average of around 2.51 million people with a migrant background lived in Austria in 2024.
This includes “first-generation” persons (born abroad) and “second-generation” persons (born in Austria, both parents born abroad). This means that in 2024, the proportion of people with a migration background was 27.8 percent of the total population. Compared to 2015 (1.81 million), this represents an increase of around 696,100 people, or 38.4 percent.
More and more people rate coexistence poorly
The 2025 Migration Report also surveyed people’s assessment of coexistence. The results show that criticism among those born in Austria has grown significantly since 2022: while only 25.1 percent rated this aspect as “rather poor/very poor” at that time, 46.2 percent were critical in 2025. Only 20.9 percent rated coexistence as “very good/rather good.”
Immigrants have a significantly more positive opinion of the coexistence between Austrians and migrants. 57.9 percent see it as “very good” or “rather good,” while only 13.7 percent see it as “rather poor/very poor” (see chart).
The infographic shows the development of the population with a migration background in Austria from 2015 to 2024, as well as the assessment of coexistence between Austrians and migrants. The number of people with a migration background is expected to rise from 1.81 million in 2015 to 2.51 million in 2024. When it comes to coexistence, 57.9% of immigrants rate it as very good or rather good, compared to 20.9% of those born in Austria. 46.2% of those born in Austria rate coexistence as relatively poor or very poor. Source: Statistics Austria.
Three-quarters feel they belong to Austria
The 2025 Migration Survey also examined immigrants’ sense of belonging. More than three-quarters (75.7%) of respondents feel they belong to Austria. The bond is powerful among immigrants from Syria (83.6 percent), Bosnia and Herzegovina (79.8 percent), and Somalia (78.3 percent). The lowest sense of belonging to Austria is found among those born in Ukraine (64.7 percent).
Just under half (46.6%) of those born abroad still feel a connection to their country of origin. The proportion is particularly low among those born in Afghanistan (37.2 percent) and Russia (32 percent).
For Integration Minister Plakolm, this is “an excellent result at first glance.” But feeling a sense of belonging is not everything. “It’s also important to contribute. That means learning the language, finding a job, supporting your family, and adhering to values—and not creating parallel societies. “Those who want to remain distant and live in parallel societies cannot be part of society,” said Plakolm, calling for a willingness to integrate.
Integration must succeed, “otherwise support among the population will dwindle,” she said, referring to the critical view of coexistence held by those born in Austria. Plakolm also pointed to government measures such as values courses and the possibility of sanctions for failure to meet integration targets.
The majority does not speak German at home
The key to integration is language. The integration report paints the following picture: 45.1 percent of immigrants stated that they communicate predominantly or exclusively in their native language at home. In comparison, 16.4 percent communicate solely or predominantly in German. Thirty percent communicate with friends exclusively or predominantly in German, while 48.7 percent speak German in combination with another language.
The number of asylum applications has fallen significantly from the high level in 2022, from 112,272 to 25,360 in 2024. Compared to previous years, however, the rate is still higher: between 2018 and 2019, there were between 12,886 and 14,775 applications. Minister Plakolm was pleased with the decline, saying that the trend would continue this year. “This development also gives us the breathing space we urgently need to make integration a success,” she said.
Without migration, the population would shrink significantly
Without immigration, however, Austria’s population would shrink significantly, as Statistics Austria expert Marik-Lebeck emphasized during the presentation. Since there are more deaths than births in Austria, the population has been growing exclusively through migration for many years. Marik-Lebeck expects the population to exceed ten million by 2069, taking into account expected migration movements. Without migration, the population would decline to 6.9 million, returning it to the 1950 level.
More than a quarter of the population has a migration background, and the vast majority of them feel …
Looking at the group of people with non-Austrian citizenship (1.85 million in January 2025), the largest group comes from Germany (239,500), followed by Romanian (155,700), Turkish (124,800), and Serbian (122,500) citizens. Since the beginning of 2020, the most substantial growth in absolute terms has been among people with Ukrainian (+76,300), Syrian (+53,300), German (+39,500), Romanian (+32,300), and Croatian (+25,800) citizenship.
- source: krone.at/picture: pixabay.com
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