Austrians continue to be critical of integration. Immigration and the integration of refugees continue to be viewed critically in this country. For almost two thirds of those surveyed in the current integration barometer, Austria cannot cope well with the influx of refugees. 61 percent rate living with immigrants poorly. Attitudes towards women (54 percent) are seen as the central challenge, followed by concerns about political Islam and radicalization (52 percent).
The integration barometer is carried out by opinion researcher Peter Hajek on behalf of the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF). 1,000 Austrian citizens aged 16 and over were surveyed about the coexistence of people with and without a migration background. Since 2015, the integration barometer has continuously provided representative data on social mood trends.
The biggest concern for Austrians at the moment is inflation at 42 percent, followed by bottlenecks in health care and nursing at 33 percent. In third place are the high tax burden and the integration of refugees and immigrants at 32 percent each.
While 61 percent rate the coexistence of Austrians with refugees, immigrants and Muslims as “fairly or very bad”, there is still a high level of solidarity with displaced people from Ukraine, it said. 60 percent of those surveyed find living with this group to be “very or somewhat good”.
In addition to the most frequently mentioned challenges such as attitudes towards women and political Islam, those surveyed also cited the exploitation of the social system, lack of German language skills, propensity for violence and crime, and the emergence of neighborhoods in which a particularly large number of immigrants live as further problems. Over 90 percent of people in the country still see knowledge of laws and values as well as their recognition, employment and a good knowledge of the German language as crucial for successful integration.
