Who gets what?

1.1 billion: Costs for social welfare are exploding

Almost 200,000 people in Austria were dependent on support

(Bild: APA/Barbara Gindl)

Almost 200,000 people were dependent on minimum benefits or social assistance in the previous year. The costs for this amounted to 1.1 billion euros. Vienna - where by far the most recipients live - accounted for 73 percent of these costs. And the outlook also looks catastrophic.

The annual accounts of all federal states for last year's social assistance and minimum benefits are now available. And the figures must set alarm bells ringing among those responsible. In 2023, the federal states already spent 1.1 billion euros on support services such as living expenses, housing and health care. That is an increase of 13.1 percent or around 128 million euros compared to 2022. A sharp rise - because recipients have "only" risen by 3.7 percent in the same period. Where does the money go?

Almost 200,000 recipients throughout Austria 
Across Austria, 196,973 people needed support in the previous year. However, the number did not increase in all federal states. In Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Upper Austria and Tyrol, the number actually fell. Vienna had the highest number of recipients in 2023. 72 percent of all welfare cases live in the federal capital. The city of Vienna transferred over 806 million euros for them alone last year. Styria follows in second place, spending just under a tenth, i.e. around 80 million euros.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com)

Austrians in the minority
What is striking: overall, recipients with a red-white-red passport are already in the minority. According to Statistics Austria, only 41.3 percent are Austrian citizens. Vorarlberg, Tyrol and Vienna bring the average down. Vienna is particularly significant here. Of the 142,001 people on minimum benefits, 52,402 are entitled to asylum and 10,173 to subsidiary protection. In comparison: in the rest of Austria, only 16,680 persons entitled to asylum and 905 persons entitled to subsidiary protection were dependent on social assistance or minimum benefits in the previous year.

Costs for 2024 could be significantly higher
And the forecast for the current year does not look very rosy: Vienna has only just increased the 900 million euros budgeted for this year for minimum benefits by over 200 million euros - so it will need as much in 2024 as the whole of Austria in 2023.