Population of Austria by gender 1910-2020

Between 1910 and 1923, as the First World War brought an end to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Republic of Austria was established, the population in the region of present-day Austria fell by more than 100,000 people. When this decline is separated by gender, it becomes clear that the number of men fell by almost 140,000 between these years, primarily consisting of fatalities from the war. A similar trend can be observed before and after the Second World War, in which more than 350,000 Austrians perished, and this is again reflected in the difference in male and female populations between 1934 an 1950. In 1950, there were almost half a million more females than males in Austria, which had a total population of almost seven million at the time.

Both populations grew from the 1950s until the late 1970s, but the populations then fell and plateaued throughout the 1980s due to a reduction in the number of foreign workers coming to the country, and the legalization of abortion and greater access to contraception (there was also a period known as the 'pill-drop-off' in the 1960s, where the birth rate decreased dramatically). By the late-1980s the population began to grow again, and the male to female ratio is growing much closer over time; however, it has never been as close as it was before the First World War, and in 2020, there are over 125,000 more females in Austria than males.