The growth of the city of Linz is picking up speed again after the braking triggered by the corona crisis. As of January 1, 2022, exactly 208,729 main residences were counted, 917 more than on the reference date 2021. At that time there was even a small minus with 207,812 main residences compared to 2020.
The current plus is solely due to the increased influx of people into the state capital and the positive migration balance. Meanwhile, the number of births continued to decline and the number of deaths rose slightly.
14,799 people decided to move to Linz in 2021, 13,741 turned their backs on the state capital and chose another place of residence, which is an increase of 1058 new residents. By way of comparison: In 2020, there were 13,866 new arrivals and 13,805 departures. The migration balance was therefore positive at the time, too, but the plus was much smaller.
For the second time in a row, however, the city’s birth rate is negative. 2041 births were counted in Linz in 2021, as well as 2162 deaths. The picture was similar in 2020, when 2059 births were compared to 2144 deaths. Incidentally, the number of births in Linz has been falling since 2018 (at that time there were still 2,238 births).
The population increase of more than 900 people in 2021 (which corresponds to the growth rates of the pre-Corona years) was initially not foreseeable. Stagnation continued in the first half of the year, and developments only took their course in the second half of the year.
“It can be assumed that the corona pandemic still had a strong impact on the population movement at the beginning of the year. With the increase in vaccination rates and any opening steps, the number of immigrants also grew,” says Mayor Klaus Luger (SP).
Source: Nachrichten
