Vienna, the capital city of Austria, is home to around 1.757 million people within its city confines - making it the largest city in Austria and the 7th largest in the EU. This number is set to rise slightly to 1.767 by the end of 2014.
Vienna is situated in the far east of Austria and is very nearly the largest speaking German city in the world; Berlin currently holds that title. UNESCO designated Vienna a World Heritage Site in 2001.
Another point of interest about Vienna is that it plays host to many international events and celebrations. One of the most notable is the annual Life Ball, which is held to support people with HIV or AIDS. This even attracts many high profile guests including Whoopi Goldberg and Bill Clinton.
The 1.7 million predicted residents of Vienna make their homes across the 23 districts within the city. The “Inner Stadt” is home to the most of Vienna’s points of interest and historical buildings. It is surrounded by the “Ringstrasse,” which separates the center of Vienna with the surrounding districts. It is the southern and eastern areas of the city that are home to most of the industrial areas, with new buildings being more prevalent in the southern area.
The city is densely populated, as you would expect, this large city comes in with around 4,000 people residing per square kilometer. The population is not evenly spread; although this may not sound extreme, some districts are much more tightly packed than others.
The people of Vienna are very cosmopolitan with nearly 40% of them having migrant backgrounds- mostly from Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary. The variety of national backgrounds gives rise to a wonderful mix of surnames and languages in use in the country. Despite Austria being a strongly Roman Catholic country the actual number of Viennese stating Roman Catholic as their religion has dropped from 90% in 1961 to under 40% in 2010. Over a quarter say that they have no religion. Vienna retains, however, its long held reputation as a city of great culture – both musically and artistically. It has been home to many great composers and artists; the legacy remains of the many theaters, opera houses and galleries. These days, Vienna is voted 3rd best city to live in a world quality of life survey. It certainly remains a very popular tourist destination.
As well as the wonderful history, beautiful buildings and masses of famous past residents Vienna makes an important contribution to modern commercial industry. In 2001, Vienna came first in a global competition for “Innovative Cities.” A pointer to this victory could be the fact that Vienna has been used as an example for urban planners and regularly hosts conferences on the topic. The city has also been the top destination on the world for international conventions and congresses since 2005. Vienna boasts a flourishing economy being ranked the 5th richest region in Europe with a GDP of $52,306 per capita - with steady a growth forecast for the city’s future.
City | 2026 Pop.↓ | Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Vienna | 1,925,213 | -0.02% |
| Graz | 308,807 | 1.14% |
| Linz | 215,267 | 0.8% |
| Salzburg | 158,432 | 0.49% |
| Innsbruck | 133,033 | 0.4% |
| Klagenfurt am Worthersee | 105,950 | 0.66% |
| Villach | 66,210 | 0.7% |
| Wels | 66,070 | 0.9% |
| St. Polten | 60,699 | 1.56% |
| Dornbirn | 52,560 | 0.87% |
| Wiener Neustadt | 49,692 | 1.09% |
| Steyr | 38,078 | 0.11% |
| Feldkirch | 37,190 | 1.31% |
| Bregenz | 29,490 | 0.05% |
| Leonding | 29,314 | 0.24% |
| Klosterneuburg | 28,302 | 0.53% |
| Baden | 25,974 | 0.17% |
| Krems an der Donau | 25,639 | 0.65% |
| Traun | 25,459 | 0.45% |
| Wolfsberg | 24,923 | -0.15% |
