VIENNA - Population
The population increases slight in the last decade
As the centre of a multiracial empire, Vienna had a population of over 2 million before the First World War. By 1951 'it had shrunk to 1 616 000, since many people had returned to live in the successor States of the Empire, the Jews (9% of the population) had been expelled during the Nazi period and - the main cause of the decline - the number of deaths had exceeded the number of births. The population then remained stable up to the mid-1970s, only to decline further to 1 302 000 by 1991. The influx of foreigners and the city development in the northern districts then produced a marked increase. At the census from 15 May 2001 were registered 1 550 123 inhabitants, representing 19% of the total Austrian population. Compared to the results of the 1991 census, the population has grown by less than 1%. This development puts Vienna on the last place amongst Austrian regions, apart from Steiermark. The number of deaths exceeded the number of births by 28 825 persons, but the increase in Vienna's population during this decade is due to the net migration of 39 100 persons.
The prolonged decline in births was particularly sharp in the capital: by the middle of the 1930s, fertility had fallen to 0.64 births per woman. Despite being just over twice that figure at present, it is still the lowest after Burgenland and Steiermark. Also in the last decade, like in many decades before, there have been more deaths than births. The birth rate was of 9.5 live births to 1000 inhabitants, very close to the national average. The infant mortality rate was of 5 deaths before the age of one for 1000 live births - the same as for Niederosterreich and the lowest in Austria after Voralberg.
Since 1991 the number of foreigners living in Vienna has grown by more than 26%. In May 2001 they represented 16% of Vienna's population, which is the highest share compared to all the other Bundesländer. According to the 2001 census, 10% of these were EU (including 5% Germans), 46% Yugoslavs, 16% Turks and 11% from the former Eastern Bloc countries (including 5% from Poland). Religious affiliation was 49.2% Roman Catholic, 7.8% Moslem, 6% Orthodox, 4.7% Protestant and 25.6% of no religious persuasion.
The age structure reflects the low level of fertility and the effects of migration. The results of the population census from 2001 show that in Vienna, the inhabitants of pre-school and school age (under 15) represented 14.7% of the population. This is the lowest share amongst the Austrian regions. However, compared to 1991, the number of inhabitants in this age group has grown with 6.3%. The number of persons between 15 and 60 years of age has increased in the last decade with 12 485, but their share in the region's population remained more or less the same (about 63%). With the decrease in the share of "seniors" (60 years and over) Vienna is a special case. In 2001 this group constituted 4.5 % less than in 1991. In all the other Bundesländer this share has increased compared to 1991. This made Vienna the fifth youngest region of the country in 2001.
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