There were around 2.45 million people (or 27.2 percent of the population) with a migration background living in Austria in 2023, a 35.1 percent increase from 2015, according to Austria’s Federal Statistical Office, the Statistik Austria.

However, Austria’s definition of “migration background” is somewhat limiting, and the number of people with strong family ties to foreign countries is likely much higher. According to Statistik Austria, “People with a migration background are those whose parents were both born abroad. Persons who were themselves born abroad are categorised as “first generation”, while descendants born in Austria of parents with a foreign place of birth are assigned to the “second generation”.”.

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That means that both parents must have been born abroad for the person to be counted as “with a migration background”. According to this definition, persons with an Austrian father and a Croatian mother, for example, do not have a migration background.

Three out of four migrants feel that they belong to Austria

A 2024 survey by Statistik Austria revealed that most immigrants have a positive affiliation with Austria. Almost three-quarters (72.8 percent) feel a sense of belonging to Austria. The bond is particularly strong among people born in Syria (80.8 percent), Iran (80.5 percent), and Bosnia and Herzegovina (76.8 percent). The lowest perceived affiliation with Austria can be found among immigrants from Ukraine (59.0 percent). 

As the length of stay increases, the tendency to feel a sense of belonging to Austria strengthens. When asked whether they feel they belong more to Austria or their country of origin, 55.7 percent of immigrants who have lived in Austria for between one and less than five years choose Austria. This proportion rises to 70.4 percent with a stay of five to 15 years and to 81.0 percent with more than 15 years.

The use of the German language is often considered a significant factor in integration. The government survey asked immigrants about the instances when they speak German. According to the study,  12.9 percent of immigrants state that home communication occurs predominantly in German. Around a half (50.8 percent) communicate at home predominantly in their language of origin. 

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German is used significantly more often by immigrants as a language among friends – 24.5 percent speak mainly German in this context. In comparison, 25.4 percent communicate exclusively or predominantly in their language of origin. 

People who were born in Bosnia and Herzegovina (72.0 percent), Serbia (67.7 percent) or Iran (67.6 percent) are most likely to consider their present German language skills to be at least good. This proportion is lowest among immigrants from Ukraine (36.9 percent), Turkey (51.2 percent) and Syria (58.1 percent).

And who are the foreign citizens?

Statistik Austria also updated numbers on foreign citizens – those without Austrian citizenship – in the country. There are currently 1.8 million foreign nationals in Austria, with the largest group being Germans, followed by Romanians, Turks, Serbs, Hungarians and Croatians. 

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Then, there were citizens from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Syria, Ukraine, Poland, Afghanistan, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Italy, and the Russian Federation. 

Foreign citizens often have a migration background but, curiously, may not fit that definition if they have parents who were both born in Austria but neither has Austrian citizenship. On the other hand, many people with Austrian citizenship, especially those who are naturalised, have a migration background if they or both of their parents were born abroad.