Current statistics

Burgenland’s social policy receives a good report card

Burgenland is one of the exemplary federal states when it comes to childcare for three to five-year-olds.

(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

Statistics Austria gives Burgenland a good report card. As a current report for the year 2023 shows, the easternmost federal state is not only better off than other federal states in terms of the risk of poverty, but also in terms of childcare.

The average at-risk-of-poverty rate in Austria is just under 15 percent. In Burgenland, on the other hand, it is significantly lower, at just under nine percent. In comparison: Vorarlberg has a figure of 16.8 percent, while the risk of poverty in the federal capital is almost 25 percent - higher than in any other federal state.

Ahead of Salzburg when it comes to work-life balance
When it comes to childcare, the easternmost federal state is also one of the positive examples. "Burgenland has caught up enormously here and is in second place behind Vienna in the work-life balance indicator with 73 percent and far ahead of third place, Salzburg with 48 percent," explains SPÖ parliamentary group chairman and social spokesperson Roland Fürst.

The right priorities
For him, these figures are proof that the state, with Governor Hans Peter Doskozil at the helm, is taking the right measures in terms of economic and social policy. These include, for example, the housing and energy price cap, as well as free kindergarten, the minimum wage and free tutoring.

Support for families
Free access to education, especially in elementary education, helps families in particular enormously. "A family with two kindergarten children in Burgenland saves an average of around 2500 euros compared to a family with two children in Lower Austria. This of course helps enormously in coping with daily life," emphasizes the social spokesman.