Austria

Family Demographics in Austria

Women in Austria have an average of 1.38 children. The main fertility age is now 29.4 years of age; women's mean age at first birth is 27.7 years of age. According to the census in 2001, there were 3,483,719 women aged 15 years or older living in Austria, of which 29.6 percent do not have any children; 21.4 percent have one child; 27.6 percent have two children; 12.4 percent have three children; 5 percent have four children; 2.1 percent have five children; and 1.9 percent have six or more children.

In 2007, 20,516 marriages ended in divorce in Austria. On average, the number of children from the couples that divorced was 1.03. Divorces in 2007 involved altogether 15,031 children under the age of 18. Currently, there are approximately 352,000 single parents in Austria; about 143,000 of these single mothers have children below 15 years of age.

Education levels in Austria have been rising in the past two and a half decades. Differences between men and women are diminishing, but they still persist. In 2006, education levels in the population aged 25–64 were distributed as follows: 12.6 percent of men and 23.7 percent of women had compulsory school only 74 percent of men and 62.6 percent of women had a secondary education level, and 13.4 percent of men and 13.7 percent of women had a tertiary education level.

Support for Mothers and Families

For pregnant women who are employed, maternal protection, or Mutterschutz, starts eight weeks before the expected date of birth. During this time, mothers receive lying-in benefit, or Wochengeld, and are not allowed to be employed. Furthermore, working parents can take up to two years of parental leave, which encompasses protection against dismissal. Parents receive a parental leave benefit (Kinderbetreuungsgeld), which is currently not linked to employment status. Parents can share parental leave, but fathers' use of paternal leave is low.

Irrespective of employment status and earnings, parents also receive a national family subsidy (Familienbeihilfe) for each of their children. There are several other financial aids targeted at families, such as subsidies paid by the federal provinces for families with low income. The new Austrian government that formed in late 2008 planned crucial changes in the field of parental leave. Among them were plans for one month of paid leave for fathers after the birth of a child, and earning-related parental leave benefits.

Prenatal care in Austria is regulated in the Mutter-Kind-Pass-Verordnung (mother-child-passport-decree). When a pregnancy is stated by a medical doctor, the pregnant woman is handed the so-called Mutter-Kind-Pass (mother-child-passport). This document lists the medical checkups that a pregnant woman and her child are supposed to have, from pregnancy to the child's fifth birthday. Having had the most important examinations in time is a prerequisite for receiving the full amount of the Kinderbetreuungsgeld parental leave benefit. This way, the state tries to encourage women to make use of prenatal and pediatric care. Prenatal care, as regulated in the mother-child-passport, consists of five medical examinations during pregnancy. Additionally, two ultrasound examinations are recommended. The examinations regulated in the Mutter-Kind-Pass are covered by Austrian health insurance. As a rule, they are cost-free for women.

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