Turks in Austria

Turks in Austria

Total population
(185,592 (Turkish citizens) 350,000-500,000 (including descendants))
Regions with significant populations
Burgenland Carinthia Lower Austria Salzburg Styria Tyrol Upper Austria Vorarlberg Vienna
Languages
Turkish German
Religion
Predominantly Sunni Islam, minority Irreligious

Turks in Austria (German: Türken in Österreich; Turkish: Avusturya Türkleri) are people of Turkish ethnicity living in Austria who form the second largest ethnic group in the country after Austrians.

History

Turkish Citizens in Austria
Year	Population	Year	Population
1951	112	2000	126,995
1961	217	2001	127,226
1971	16,423	2002	127,018
1981	59,900	2003	122,931
1991	118,579	2004	116,882
1997	132,737	2005	113,635
1998	131,729	2006	108,808
1999	127,533	2007	109,716

Turkish people were recruited to Austria as Gastarbeiter (guest workers) for the construction and export industries following an agreement with the Turkish government in 1964. From 1973 the policy of encouraging guest workers ended and restrictive immigration laws were introduced, first with the 1975 Aliens Employment Act, setting quotas on work permits, and then the 1992 Residence Act, which set quotas for residency permits without the right to work. A more restrictive system was put in place in 1997 and further limits imposed in 2006.

Since the 1970s Turks living and working in Austria have focused on family reunification and on seeking Austrian citizenship, for which they need to have lived in Austria for 10 years.

Turkish day in Vienna, Austria (2009).

Population

According to the 2001 census, there was 183,445 Turkish nationals living in Austria. According to the Minority Rights Group International many of the Turks living in Austria have been naturalized and the full community is estimated to number between 200,000 and 300,000. Turks are the largest single immigrant group, the leading group seeking Austrian citizenship, and account for the majority of Muslims.According to BBC the number of Turks in Austria are estimated to be around 350,000.

Demographics

See also: Demographics of Austria

Turkish Citizens in Austria
States of Austria	1971	1981	1991	2001
Austria	16,423	59,900	118,579	127,226
Burgenland	33	238	630	1,280
Carinthia	23	173	595	1,192
Lower Austria	3,479	10,125	18,129	19,911
Upper Austria	1,261	5,665	13,233	17,226
Salzburg	951	2,986	6,558	8,800
Styria	140	401	1,560	4,793
Tyrol	1,664	6,890	13,652	16,017
Vorarlberg	5,049	13,712	20,346	18,838
Vienna	3,823	19,710	43,876	39,119

The Yunus-Emre-Fountain is located in the Türkenschanzpark Währing. It is a present from the Republic of Turkey to Austria (1991)

Notable people

See also: List of Austrian Turks

• 

  Taner Ari, football player

• 

  Cem Atan, football player

• 

  Turhan Bey, actor

• 

  Bülent Kaan Bilgen, football player

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  Ekrem Dağ, football player

• 

  Harun Erbek, football player

• 

  Emel Heinreich, actress, author and film-director

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  Veli Kavlak, football player

• 

  Tanju Kayhan, football player

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  Alev Korun, congresswoman in the Austrian Parliament

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  Ramazan Özcan, football player

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  Yasin Pehlivan, football player

See also

• List of Austrian Turks
• Austria–Turkey relations
• Turks in Germany
• Turks in Europe

Bibliography

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External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• Austria signals policy changes for better relations with Turkey