According to new data, the share of students with Islamic religious affiliation in Vienna’s primary and secondary schools has reached a record 41.2%.
For the first time, Muslim students have become the largest religious group in the Austrian capital’s educational institutions. A year ago, this figure stood at 39.4%.
The statistics, published by the office of City Councillor for Education Bettina Emmerling (NEOS), cover approximately 112,600 children enrolled in primary, secondary, special, and polytechnic schools.
Currently, students identifying as Christians make up 34.5% of the school population, including 17.5% Roman Catholics, 14.5% Orthodox Christians, and 1.7% Protestants. Additionally, 23% of students reported no religious affiliation, while Buddhists and Jews represent 0.2% and 0.1% respectively. Other religions account for less than 1%.
Experts attribute the rising proportion of Muslim students not so much to population growth (there are about 750,000 Muslims in Austria) but to a decline in religious identification among the Christian population.
