Wien
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Vienna

Lesedauer: 4 Minuten

15.10.2023

Austria’s capital Vienna is one of the main economic, political and cultural metropolises in the heart of Europe. Vienna ranks top by world standards in terms of quality of life, smart city index and best global start-up. Combined with high political stability, excellent infrastructure, a favorable research environment with a high research quota and an extremely productive labour force, it offers perfect conditions for business all over the world. The areas of strength of Vienna’s economy particularly lie in the fields of life sciences, information and communication technologies, urban technologies and creative industries.

Population: 1,9 million inhabitants, 5th largest city by population in the European Union

Area: 414,87 km² 

  • GDP (2019): 100,3 billion euro
  • per capita (2019): 52.700 euro – Vienna is among the richest EU regions
  • Low inflation rate: 1,4 %
  • Vienna’s labour productivity exceeds EU average by 41 %
  • High research quota: 3,6 % (2017) – 4th highest in the EU
  • Strong service sector with a gross value added of 77 billion euro in 2019 

  • Excellent transport and IT infrastructure, city of short distances with effective public transport system, outstanding level of energy security
  • Well connected by waterway (Danube). There are more than direct international flights connections to Vienna.  Easy access from Vienna International Airport to Vienna city centre within 16 minutes.

  • Stable and secure business environment with low strike rate
  • Number  of enterprises (2020): 144.000, mainly SMEs, 85,8 % are service companies
  • Vienna is the service and innovation hub of Austria with a thriving ICT scene generating 15 % of Vienna’s GDP, a hotspot of life sciences with more than 550 companies with a combined workforce of more than 37.000 people, smart and urban technologies and a focus on creative industries with 17.500 companies with a workforce of 70.000 people.
  • 550 Viennese industrial companies produce goods "made in Vienna" worth 30 billion euro a year and secure 140.000 jobs
  • Favourable tax system for companies: Low corporate tax rate of 25 %, effective tax burden of 22,5 %, double taxation agreements with numerous countries, tax premium of 14 % on R&D expenditures
  • Favourable office rent in prime locations starting from 16 euro per m² per month

  • Vienna is one of the four UN headquarters and the seat of some 40 international organizations (OPEC, OSCE, IAEA, UNIDO, UNHCR)
  • Vienna is an investment hotspot with more than 220 international headquarters based in the country’s capital (FDI volume 2018: 108 billion euro). Top foreign investors originate from Germany, Russia, Italy and the United States and appreciate the city’s location as a hub and access point to markets in Central and Eastern Europe.
  • Viennese companies invest heavily abroad with a FDI volume of 113 billion euro (2018). Top FDI countries of destination include the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Germany and Romania.
  • 12.000 Viennese companies are doing business internationally. Vienna exported goods worth 20,4 billion euro in 2019. Main export products include chemical products and plastics, electrical machinery & machinery, mechanical appliances, vehicles, ceramic and glass products and agriculture products. Vienna’s top export markets include Germany, France, the Unites States, Hungary and Italy. About 30 % of Vienna’s export volume has been generated in Central and Eastern Europe.
  • Vienna serves a distribution centre in the heart of Europe importing 38,4 billion euro worth of goods.

  • Outstanding track record in R&D turning Vienna as one of the leading research and technology hub in the EU with more than 1.500 research sites (of which 840 companies), 46.000 R&D staff, 3,0% of Austria’s R&D spending, a research quota of 3,6 % which is far above the EU quota of 2 %.

  • Vienna has a pool of highly skilled labour force with a broad spectrum of education
  • Vienna is the city of sciences and talent and is a largest university city in the German-speaking countries with 20 universities and 190.000 students
  • With its highly developed dual education system, there are more than 17.000 apprentices trained in 200 different occupations.

  • Vienna is among the most attractive destinations of city tourism in Europe and a worldwide leading city for international conferences and seminars.
  • The number of overnight stays has doubled since 1990 contributing 4 billion euro to Vienna’s GDP per year