Vorarlberg’s migrant population share falls to 28.6 percent

The share of people with a migration background in Vorarlberg fell to 28.6 percent last year, according to figures reported by ORF and published in the Migration and Integration yearbook. The rate was 29.9 percent the year before.

About 116,400 people with a migration background lived in Vorarlberg in 2025. Around 84,200 of them were born abroad. Almost half of Vorarlberg’s foreign-born population originally came from an EU country. A further 11.6 percent came from the non-EU countries of the former Yugoslavia, while 16.8 percent came from Turkey.

Vorarlberg had Austria’s second-highest share of residents with a migration background, behind Vienna, where the figure was 51.3 percent. The national average was 28.2 percent. Salzburg ranked third at 26.8 percent, followed by Tyrol at 24.2 percent. Burgenland had the lowest share, at 15.2 percent.

The highest proportion of foreign-born residents was recorded in the Kleinwalsertal valley, which can only be reached from Germany, where the figure exceeded 40 percent. In the towns of Bregenz, Lochau and Bludenz, the share was above 30 percent.

Germans are largest immigrant group

An average of 2.55 million people in Austria had a migration background last year, an increase of more than one million since 2010. Romanians were the largest immigrant group during that period, with 116,000 people, followed by Syrians. Germans were the largest non-Austrian nationality overall, with about 242,000 people. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian citizens have become the ninth-largest group in Austria.

A Statistics Austria survey of 5,400 people found that Ukrainians felt the strongest connection to their country of origin and were also the least likely to speak German. Syrians and Afghans reported the strongest sense of belonging to Austria.

More people moved to Vorarlberg than left

Last year, 9,499 people moved to Vorarlberg, including 7,001 from abroad. At the same time, 9,166 people left the state, resulting in a net increase of 333 residents.

There were 2,498 arrivals from Austria’s other eight provinces, while 2,712 Vorarlberg residents moved to another part of the country.

Across Austria, the employment rate among immigrants was 74 percent, only slightly below the 79 percent recorded among people without a migration background. However, just 59 percent of women from non-EU countries were active in the labour market. The rate was particularly low among people from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, at 29 percent.

At the highest end of the education scale, immigrants were more highly qualified than people without a migration background. At the same time, immigrants were significantly more likely to have only basic qualifications. Last year, 23 percent had no more than a compulsory school-leaving certificate.