Public sector employment as a share of total employment in Austria
Austria: Public sector employment as a share of total employment was 25.6% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Public sector employment as a share of total employment in Austria, 2004–2020
Source: World Bank (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, public sector employment as a share of total employment in Austria stood at 25.6%. That is the highest value across all 17 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 6.0% on the previous year and up 13.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public sector employment as a share of total employment in Austria peaked at 25.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 21.0%, in 2008.
Austria ranks 18th of 79 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.
Public sector employment as a share of total employment in Austria, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 24.7% | — |
| 2005 | 24.5% | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 22.7% | -7.5% |
| 2007 | 24.1% | +6.3% |
| 2008 | 21.0% | -12.9% |
| 2009 | 21.6% | +2.7% |
| 2010 | 22.6% | +4.9% |
| 2011 | 22.1% | -2.5% |
| 2012 | 23.3% | +5.7% |
| 2013 | 22.1% | -5.3% |
| 2014 | 24.1% | +9.1% |
| 2015 | 24.5% | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 24.1% | -1.8% |
| 2017 | 23.8% | -1.0% |
| 2018 | 24.1% | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 24.2% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 25.6% | +6.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 23.1% | 21.0% | 24.7% | 6 |
| 2010s | 23.5% | 22.1% | 24.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 25.6% | 25.6% | 25.6% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Austria
More work & labour data for Austria
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.2039 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.2126 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.1955 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.71 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.5124 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 6,294 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 2,584 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 3,691 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 3,708 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 7,399 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public sector employment as a share of total employment in Austria?
- Public sector employment as a share of total employment in Austria was 25.6% in 2020, according to World Bank (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest public sector employment as a share of total employment recorded in Austria?
- The highest recorded value was 25.6% in 2020.
- What is the lowest public sector employment as a share of total employment recorded in Austria?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.0% in 2008.
- How does Austria rank for public sector employment as a share of total employment?
- Austria ranks 18th out of 79 countries with data for 2020.
- Is public sector employment as a share of total employment rising or falling in Austria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Austria data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Public sector employment as a share of total employment. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of all employed people who are paid employees of the public sector, including government, the armed forces, public services, and state-owned enterprises.