Demographic indicators

The fact that the period fertility is so low in Austria is also due to the ever rising age at childbirth (“postponement” of births). The mean fertility age in 2010 was 29.8 years, i.e. 1.6 years higher than in 2000. The mean fertility age has risen steadily since the mid-1970s; detailed studies show that the mean fertility age at the birth of the first child has risen above average and is currently 28.2 years.

Of the 78 742 live births recorded in 2010, 31 611 were born out of wedlock, the rate of illegitimate births was therefore 40.1 per cent. With respect to first births, the figure is even 52.0 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; based on current marriage rates one can expect that for about half of all children born out of wedlock their parents will eventually marry.

Mortality and life expectancy (incl. infant mortality)

Life expectancy 77.7 years for males and 83.2 years for females; infant mortality below 4 per thousand

77 199 deaths were recorded in Austria in 2010, which corresponds to a crude death rate of 9.2 deaths per 1 000 population. Since 1998 the crude death rates has been below 10 per 1 000 population; in the 1960s it was as high as 13 per 1 000 population.

In 2010 the life expectancy of an Austrian male at birth was 77.7 years, i.e. 2.6 years higher than in 2000. The life expectancy at birth for women has risen by 2.1 years since 2000, to a current figure of 83.2 years. The difference between female and male life expectancy has diminished since its highest ever 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. Inclusion of these approximately 1 100 abroad deaths per year leads to slightly higher death rates resp. lower life expectancies from 2009 on than one would otherwise observe.

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 however the decrease in old-age mortality has contributed increasingly towards the rise in life expectancy. In 2010 the remaining life expectancy of a 60-year-old male in Austria was 21.5 years; for a 60-year-old woman, the figure was 25.3 years.

The infant mortality rate – infant deaths per 1 000 live births – was 3.9 per thousand in Austria in 2010. Since 1997 this figure has always been below the 5-per-thousand mark, since 2006 even below the 4-per-thousand mark. A detailed analysis shows that infant mortality is higher for male newborns than for female newborns, and that legitimate newborns face slightly lower infant mortality than children born out of wedlock.

Marriages and divorces

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

37 545 marriages were celebrated in Austria in 2010, i.e. 4.5 marriages per 1 000 population. This means some increase since the lowest ever recorded figures in 2008-2009, but in a long-term comparison the current value is still very low: For instance, in the 1960s the annual marriage rate was around 8 marriages per 1 000 population.

The proportion of first marriages, i.e. marriages in which both the bride and groom are single, was 65.6 per cent in Austria in 2010. This figure has seen only little variability the last years. The median age at the time of first marriage in 2010 was 31.9 years for males (an increase of 2.1 years compared with the 2000 figure) and 29.3 years for females (an increase of 2.0 years since 2000).

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 2010, 17 442 divorces were recorded in Austria, corresponding to 2.1 divorces per 1 000 population. The median duration of marriage for those that were divorced in 2010 was 10.5 years.

The total divorce rate in Austria in 2010 was 43.0 per cent. 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.