Syrians have grown into one of the largest communities in Austria over the past ten years. According to Statistics Austria, they recently represented the eighth largest group of immigrants. Specifically, there are just over 95,000 Syrians living in Austria. Since 2015, they have been the population group with the largest increase. Back then, there were only just over 11,000 people from Syria residing here.

Nearly 100,000 Syrians Currently Live in Austria

At the beginning of the millennium, Syrians were hardly represented in Austrian society at all. The corresponding community comprised only about 2,000 people.

However, the increasing violence in Syria triggered a strong movement of refugees in the middle of the last decade, with Austria becoming one of the main destination countries. Especially recently, Syrians have consistently been the group with the most asylum applications in Austria. Of the 21,275 asylum applications submitted in the first ten months of this year, 12,134 were from Syrians.

The chance of receiving asylum in Austria is also high. This year, from January to October, 11,366 applications were approved, with only 4,647 being denied. Included in the negative decisions are also several that still led to subsidiary protection.

Syrian Refugees Are Very Young

The strong movement of refugees to Austria is also reflected in the naturalisation statistics. In the first three quarters, 1,699 people from Syria received Austrian citizenship. This represents 17.5 percent of all naturalised individuals, making Syrians the largest group.

It is particularly noticeable that Syrians living in Austria are very young. The average age is 25.7 years, while that of Austrians is 45.2 years. Only Afghans also have an average of under 30 years. Partly, this is probably also due to the fact that the birth rate among Syrian women is very high, with an average of three children. The employment rate among Syrian women is low, with only about a quarter being employed. Male Syrians are also unemployed more often than average.

Syrian Community Strongly Concentrated in Vienna

It is also noteworthy that the Syrian community is strongly concentrated in Vienna. About half of the citizens of this country of origin live in the federal capital.

According to the "Statistical Yearbook Migration and Integration", almost 81 percent of Syrians feel a sense of belonging to Austria. This is significantly higher than the average for people who have moved to Austria (73 percent). The attachment to the home country is not excessively high at 51 percent.

However, despite the difficult situation in Syria, there were also people who left Austria in the past years. Last year, 1,356 departures were registered. However, this number also includes people who may have migrated to other countries.

(APA/Red)

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