Population, Mid-Year 2019: 8,955,000
Projected Population Mid-Year 2030: 9,176,000
Percentage of Population Under Age 25 Years, Mid-Year 2019: 25%
Percentage of Population 65 Years Or Over, Mid-Year 2019: 19%

Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Population Prospects 2019: Data Booklet (ST/ESA/SER.A/424).

Share Of The Population Aged Over 65, 2019: 18.8%
Projected Share Of The Population Aged Over 65, 2050: 27.6%
Share Of The Population Aged Over 80, 2019: 5%
Projected Share Of The Population Aged Over 80, 2050: 11.2%
Adults Aged 65 And Over Rating Their Own Health As Fair, Poor, Or Very Poor, 2019 (%): 55.1%
Estimated Prevalence Of Dementia Per 1,000 Population, 2021: 18.5
Projected Prevalence Of Dementia Per 1,000 Population, 2050: 33.4
Share Of Adults Aged 65 And Over Receiving Long-Term Care: NA
Share Of Long-Term Care Recipients Aged 65 And Over Receiving Care At Home: NA
Long-Term Care Workers Per 100 People Aged 65 And Over, 2019: 4
Long-Term Care Beds In Institutions And Hospitals Per 1,000 Population Aged 65 And Over, 2019: 49.1
Long-Term Care Expenditure (Health And Social Components) By Government And Compulsory Insurance Schemes As Share Of GDP, 2019: 1.5%

Source: OECD (2021), Health at a Glance 2021: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/ae3016b9-en.

Formal Long-Term Care Workers At Home (FTE) (2017): 13,195.1
Formal Long-Term Care Workers In Institutions (FTE) (2017): 34,697.6
Long-Term Care Recipients In Institutions Other Than Hospitals (2017): NA
Long-Term Care Recipients At Home (2017): NA

Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. OECD.Stat. Last accessed April 22, 2022.

“The Austrian social and long-term care (LTC) system remains separated from the health care system in terms of legislation, competencies and financing. Whereas organization and financing of the health care sector follow the logic of the SHI [Social Health Insurance], provision of social care and long-term care services are under the responsibility of the state governments, resulting in substantial differences regarding coverage, structural quality regulations and quality assurance mechanisms across Austria (Leichsenring et al., 2014; Riedel and Kraus, 2010). At federal level, since 2018, LTC is in the competency of the BMASGK. It is a novelty in the Austrian context that health and LTC are under the responsibility of the same ministry.

“With the introduction of the care allowance (Pflegegeld) in 1993, the Austrian LTC system took a shift towards more universalist principles yet maintaining its strong reliance on family carers (Österle and Bauer, 2012). It also increased the purchasing power of care recipients, triggering a rise in the availability of home and residential care services in all nine Länder, albeit to different degrees (Leichsenring 2017; Österle and Bauer, 2012). In addition, it also facilitated the emergence of the “24-hour care sector”.”

Source: Bachner F, Bobek J, Habimana K, Ladurner J, Lepuschütz L, Ostermann H, Rainer L, Schmidt A E, Zuba M, Quentin W, Winkelmann J. Austria: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2018; 20(3): 1 – 256.

“The Austrian care allowance scheme provides non-means-tested cash benefits to people in need of care residing in Austria. As opposed to other countries, recipients in Austria are free to choose how to spend the allowance (Riedel and Kraus 2010; Ungerson, 2004). By law, the allowance is defined as a “flat-rate contribution to compensate for expenditures incurred due to care needs”, meant to facilitate help and support and enable independent living for people with LTC needs (Bundespflegegeldgesetz, 1993).

“In 2016, around 5% of the Austrian population (455 354 people) and approximately 18% of the population aged 60 years and older received the care allowance (Table 5.3). Two thirds of recipients were women. The allowance is paid in seven different levels according to the number of estimated hours of care needed by recipients. It ranges from a monthly amount of €157.30 to €1,688.90 and is not subject to taxation. Since introduction, the care allowance has been updated only four times, which led to a 25% decrease in purchasing power between 1993 and 2016, referring to the consumer price index (own calculations based on Rainer and Theurl (2015)).

“Entitlement to the cash benefit is given when permanent care or support are expected to be necessary for at least six months and more than 65 hours per month (BMASK, 2016). Care needs are assessed in an extensive examination by care professionals (e.g. nurses) that feeds into a medical doctor’s expert opinion (Riedel and Kraus, 2010). Eligibility criteria have been tightened in the past few years in favour of those with more severe care needs (Leichsenring 2017; Rodrigues, 2010). Availability of informal care is not part of the official assessment procedure. More than half of care allowance recipients were classified in the two lowest care levels in 2016.”

Source: Bachner F, Bobek J, Habimana K, Ladurner J, Lepuschütz L, Ostermann H, Rainer L, Schmidt A E, Zuba M, Quentin W, Winkelmann J. Austria: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2018; 20(3): 1 – 256.

Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems in the US and sixteen other nations.

Page last updated April 23, 2022 by Doug McVay, Editor.