Data concerning cultural participation are not collected on a regular basis in Austria. It is therefore not possible to provide the share of population in cultural activities, but merely the absolute visitor numbers provided by STATISTIK AUSTRIA.
The last time-use survey by STATISTIK AUSTRIA was carried out in 2008/2009. This source does not provide the share of population but shows how much time is averagely spent on various cultural activities. It shows that people over the age of ten have on average 3 hours and 19 minutes of leisure time in an average day (5 hours at weekends). In this leisure time, men spend about 1.4% on cultural activities, women somewhat less, although women spend more time than men reading books (2.7% against 1.9%). Watching television consumes most of the leisure time: 79.4% (weekdays) and 82.6% (weekend), with an average of 2 hours and 20 minutes (weekdays) and 2 hours and 54 minutes (weekend). Listening to the radio or to music is less popular: only 4.7% (weekdays) and 5.2% (weekend) of the population spend approximately one hour of their leisure time on this.
The last Eurobarometer survey on cultural access and participation in the EU-28 from 2013 shows a 3 percent decline of participation in cultural activities since 2007. Only 11% of Austrians declared to be highly or very highly engaged in cultural activities (compared to 18% in the EU average). However, they obtain better results in specific activities: 73% declared they had read at least one book in the previous 12 months (a 6 percent decrease since the last survey in 2007, but still higher than the EU average of 68%); 59% of Austrians had gone to the cinema (+3%; EU average 52%); 57% had visited a historical monument or site (+7%; EU average 52%); 42% a museum or gallery (+3%; EU average 37%); 52% a concert (+9%; EU average 35%); and 40% a theatre (-2%; EU average 28%). Visits to the opera were rarer, as well as visits to public libraries and the consumption of a cultural programme on TV or on the radio. 44% of Austrians were involved in cultural activities themselves: 16% dance (EU average 13%), 14% take photographs (EU average 12%) and 12% sing (EU average 11%) or play an instrument (EU average 8%).
Data on income and living conditions of people in private households (EU-SILC/European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions 2015) are available on visits to cultural events by people aged 16 and over. These show that 53% of the population visited live events such as concerts, theatres and operas. 48% went to the cinema, 44% visited cultural sites such as monuments, museums and art galleries, and 36% went to sports events. With the exception of sports events, cultural activities are highly dependent on the highest level of education completed: while about two-thirds of the population with compulsory schooling have never attended such events, the proportion drops to 31% and below for people with a university degree. Going to the cinema was particularly attractive for the younger age groups. There also was a marked influence of household income on cultural participation.
Women were slightly more likely to go to live events such as concerts, theatres and operas. (7 percentage points difference to men). With regard to visits to cultural sites such as monuments, museums, art galleries and cinemas, there were hardly any differences according to gender (2 and 1 percentage points respectively), while sporting events were more a male domain (18 percentage points difference).
In 2015, a Study on Cultural Participation was commissioned by the Cultural Department of the City of Vienna (MA 7) for the first time. It provided an overview of the use of cultural offerings and an analysis of group-specific differences in cultural participation. The study shows that the vast majority of the population attend cultural events and are satisfied with the cultural offerings. It becomes clear that younger people participate more actively in cultural life than older people. Furthermore, it can be seen that more highly educated people use the cultural offerings more often than people with lower education. However, it cannot be confirmed that people with only compulsory-level schooling or apprenticeship qualifications are completely ‘remote from culture’: 89 percent of people with only compulsory-level schooling attended at least one cultural programme last year. For people who have completed an apprenticeship, the figure is as high as 93 percent.
The study also shows that second-generation immigrants are significantly more culturally active than the first generation. It is striking that second-generation immigrants are even more culturally active than people without an immigrant background. Other forms of participation and opportunities for (informal) further education play an important role. Visiting cultural events such as exhibitions or theatre evenings is utilised as an opportunity to get to know new things, broaden their own horizons and participate in Austrian culture.
Table 3: People who participated in or attended a certain cultural activity during the last 12 months in Austria (over three years, absolute visitor numbers)
| 2014/15 | 2015/16 | 2016/17 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Activities heavily subsidised by the state | |||
| Theatre (Federal Theatres, private theatres Vienna and Vereinigte Bühnen Wien) | 2.490.531 | 2.374.132 | 2.331.182 |
| Opera performances (Vienna State Opera; of the above-mentioned figures) | 598.951 | 610.516 | 601.624 |
| Theatres of the Bundesländer and municipal theatres | 1.305.934 | 1.262.097 | 1.279.786 |
| Zarzuela | na | na | na |
| Dance | na | na | na |
| Concerts of classic music (further theatre and concert stages)1 | 2.029.022 | 1.650.147 | 1.640.000 |
| Libraries | 824.2003 | 784.3004 | 794.2005 |
| Federal Museums | 4.706.9002 | 4.970.4003 | 5.271.5004 |
| Museums Bundesländer | 2.520.4822 | 2.565.7913 | 2.622.8374 |
| Monuments | na | na | na |
| Cultural centres | na | na | na |
| Activities without large public subsidies | |||
| Cinema | 16.653.1003 | 15.602.0004 | 15.298.5005 |
| To read books not related to the profession or studies | na | na | na |
| In paper format (Usually use) | na | na | na |
| In digital format (Usually use) | na | na | na |
| Directly on the Internet (Usually use) | na | na | na |
| To listen to music (Usually listen) | na | na | na |
| In a computer or directly on the Internet | na | na | na |
|
To read periodic publications (Usually read) daily papers | na |
4.91 m.4 66,7% |
4.81 m.5 64,6% |
| Directly on the Internet | na | na | na |
| To watch videos (Usually watch) | na | na | na |
| Directly on the Internet | na | na | na |
| To watch television (Usually watch) | na | na | na |
| Directly on the Internet | na | na | na |
| To listen to the radio (Usually watch) | na | na | na |
| Directly on the Internet | na | na | na |
| To play videogames (Usually play) | na | na | na |
| To use computer for entertainment or leisure (Usually use) | na | na | na |
| Internet for entertainment or leisure (Usually use) | na | na | na |
Source(s):
Statistik Austria, Kulturstatistik (several years), Zeitverwendungserhebung 2008/09.
Notes:
na: not available
1 Represents a lower limit, because data is not available for all stages. 2 2014 3 2015 4 2016 5 2017
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