Demographic indicators

The fact that the period fertility is so low in Austria is due also to the ever rising age at childbirth (“delay” in births). The average fertility age in 2009 for instance was 29.7 years, i.e. 1.5 years higher than in 1999. This fertility age has been rising steadily since the mid-1970s; detailed studies show that a mother’s age at the birth of her first child has risen above average.

Of the 76 344 live births recorded in 2009, 29 988 were born out of wedlock, the rate of illegitimate births was therefore 39.3 per cent. The rate of illegitimate births has risen considerably during the past decades. It is not known how many of the unmarried mothers live in a consensual union; past data would seem to indicate that the parents of around 40-50% of all children born out of wedlock will eventually marry.

Mortality and life expectancy (incl. infant mortality)

Life expectancy 77.4 years for males and 82.9 years for females; infant mortality below 4 per thousand

77 381 deaths were recorded in Austria in 2009, which corresponds to a crude death rate of 9.3 deaths per 1 000 population. In 1999 the crude death rate was as high as 9.8 per 1 000 population; in the 1960s it was as high as 13 per 1 000 population.

In 2009 the life expectancy of an Austrian male at birth was 77.4 years, i.e. 2.6 years higher than in 1999. The life expectancy at birth for women has risen by 2.0 years since 1999, to a current figure of 82.9 years. The difference between female and male life expectancy has diminished since its highest level in 1982 (then 7.2 years), but it is still 5.5 years.

In time series one has to account for the fact that starting in 2009 deaths include Austrian residents dying abroad. The inclusion of these approximately 1 200 abroad deaths leads to slightly higher death rates resp. lower life expectancies.

Initially the increase in life expectancy over the past 100 years was achieved first and foremost through a drop in infant and childhood mortality; in recent decades the decrease in old-age mortality has contributed increasingly towards the rise in life expectancy. In 2009 the remaining life expectancy of a 60-year-old male in Austria was 21.2 years; for a 60-year-old woman, the figure was 25.1 years.

Infant mortality rate – infant deaths per 1 000 live births – was 3.8 per thousand in Austria in 2009. Since 1997 this figure has always been below the 5-per-thousand mark; since 2006 also below the 4-per-thousand mark. A detailed analysis shows that infant mortality is higher for male newborn children than for female newborns, and that legitimate newborn children have a lower infant mortality than live births outside of wedlock.

Marriages and divorces

4 marriages per 1,000 population, thereof 2/3 first marriages

35 469 marriages were celebrated in Austria in 2009, i.e. 4.2 marriages per 1 000 population. This crude marriage rate is the lowest ever recorded in Austria; by comparison, in Austria in the 1960s there were around 8 marriages per annum per 1 000 population.

The proportion of first marriages, i.e. marriages in which both the bride and groom are single, was 65.6% in Austria in 2009. This figure has seen only little variability the last years. The median age at the time of first marriage in 2009 was 31.8 years for males (an increase of 2.2 years compared with the 1999 figure) and 29.1 years for females (an increase of 2.0 years since 1999).

It should be noted that individual registry statistics cover only those marriages that occur in Austria. Marriages abroad (which presumably have a greater effect on resident people with a migration background) are not included in the data.

In 2009, 18 806 divorces were recorded in Austria, corresponding to 2.2 divorces per 1 000 population. The median duration of marriage for those that were divorced in 2009 was 10.1 years.

The total divorce rate in Austria in 2009 was 46.0%. This measure indicates the proportion of new marriages that will be eventually divorced if the currently observed duration-specific divorce rates remain constant in the future.

Please consult our German website for tables and charts containing further information.