Children and young people in Austria are at a greater risk of poverty and social exclusion than the general population. According to Statistics Austria 2025 (data from EU-SILC 2024), almost one in four children and young people under 18 and one in six between 18-34 are affected. The risk is closely linked to factors such as low educational attainment, migrant (non-EU/EFTA) background, unemployment, difficult family circumstances, and disability, particularly where multiple factors intersect (see Chapter 4.1). 

In 2024, around 143,000 children and young people under 18 experienced material and social deprivation, and in 2021 more than one third lived in households receiving minimum income or social assistance (Youth Report 2023: 128). Young adults leaving care are especially vulnerable to homelessness. In 2021, around 2,500 young people aged 14–24 were registered as homeless or at risk, with almost half living in Vienna.

Although Austria's youth unemployment rate was below the EU average in 2023, structural inequalities persist. That same year, around 79,000 young people aged 15–24 were classified as NEET (not in education, employment or training), with those from a migrant background being significantly overrepresented, and those from outside Austria being almost twice as likely to be unemployed as their Austrian peers (Youth Report 2023 (Jugendbericht 2023): 24; Integration Report 2024: 24–33; Youth and Work in Austria 2024: 13 ff.). Despite these challenges, Austria promotes social inclusion through its welfare system and the Austrian Youth Strategy, coordinating action at national, regional, and local levels (see Chapters 1.3 and 4.2).