Overview of Human Rights in Austria

Austria is a democratic country. Citizens regularly elect their representatives in free and fair elections. Constitutional powers are shared between a popularly-elected president and parliament. The judiciary is also independent. Due to Austria’s highly-developed, market-based economy and high levels of tourism, its citizens are afforded a high standard of living. While the government generally works to respect the human rights of its citizens, there are a few areas of concern. In recent years, reports have surfaced of police abuse, anti-Semitic incidents, government sanctioned discrimination against Muslims and members of unrecognized sects, increased incidences of right wing extremism, xenophobia, and human trafficking.  That said, Austria has a generally good record of human rights today.

Human Development Index (HDI) Rank: 14th out of 177

Note: Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite index that measures the level of well-being of nations in the world. It uses factors such as poverty, literacy, life-expectancy, education, gross domestic product, and purchasing power parity to assess the average achievements in each nation. It has been used in the United Nation’s Human Development Report since 1993.