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Health and lifestyle

Health & lifestyle (Gesundheit & Lebensstil) is a survey on the state of health, health behavior and health care of the Austrian population. The target group is people aged 15 years and older in private households. The data obtained in the survey is an important resource for health policy and health care providers, enabling them to focus on people's current needs.

The survey is carried out in a harmonized manner in all EU member states and is already being conducted for the fourth time. The last survy took place in 2019.

The most important areas are:

  • Physical health
  • Mental health
  • Quality of life
  • Social environment, living conditions
  • Health behavior and health risks
  • Health care

What is the legal basis of the survey?

The survey health and lifestyle is governed by Regulation (EU) 2019/1700 of the European Parliament and of the Council and by an implementing European regulation on the conduct of a health sample survey (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2529).  The Republic of Austria is therefore obliged to collect information on the state of health, health behavior and health care of Austrians.

This survey is financed by the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection and the Federal Health Agency (Bundesgesundheitsagentur).

How are the data protected?

All data collected are subject to absolute statistical protection, data protection in accordance with the Federal Statistics Act, the General Data Protection Regulation and the relevant provisions of the Austrian Data Protection Act. Personal data will only be used for statistical purposes and will not be passed on to any other party. The name and address are only required for contact purposes and are stored separately from the responses in a database and deleted after the survey has been completed. In addition, the data of individual persons are never analysed at any point – only larger groups of people are considered. Individual responses are therefore no longer recognisable in the results.

You can find detailed information on the protection of your data here:

Is the survey legally binding?

Participation in Health and Lifestyle is voluntary. That is why participants also receive a small thank-you after completing the survey. Only if every person answers the questions as well as possible can the situation in Austria be shown realistically. A high level of participation in the survey Health and Lifestyle is very important for science and politics to better understand the people in Austria.

 

How are people selected for the survey?

For reasons of time and cost, it is not possible to survey all people in Austria. That is why a sample of people aged 15 and older is selected to represent as closely as possible the entire population living in Austria. To ensure that as many people in Austria as possible have an equal chance of taking part, the selection of people is purely random. For this purpose, people are drawn at random from the Austrian Central Residence Register (Zentrales Melderegister, ZMR). Each of these people is representative of thousands of others in Austria.

How does the survey work?

The survey will take place between April 2025 and March 2026. Some of the households are interviewed in person by trained interviewers, while others are invited to participate online.

Have you been invited to take part in a personal interview? 

If you have been selected for a personal interview, you received a letter with the necessary information. Your interview will take place in person: An interviewer will contact you to schedule an appointment for the survey. The interviewer will come to your home on the agreed date and will fill in the questionnaire on a laptop with you. The interviewers employed by Statistics Austria have an ID card with them, which guarantees that they are authorized to conduct the interviews.

If you are unable to answer the questionnaire yourself for long-term health reasons, another person can provide information.

Did your invitation letter for the personal interview get lost?

Please contact us, we will be happy to help you!

Have you been invited to take part in the online survey? 

If you have been selected for an online survey, you received a letter with the necessary information and your personal access data. You can take part in the survey independently on a computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone. 

Click here to access the online survey.

Did your personal access data get lost? 

Please contact us, we will be happy to help you!

What do you receive as a thank-you for participating?

After completing the questionnaire, you will receive €25 as shopping voucher. You can redeem this voucher in many shops and restaurants. Or you can decide to make a donation: Statistics Austria will forward €25 as a donation to the nature conservation project ‘Alpenmoore’ for your participation. For more information on the nature conservation project of Österreichische Bundesforste AG, you can find detailed information in the project description (German language):

Where can I find the results of the survey?

The results of the current survey will be published in fall 2026.

The publications of the last health survey can be found here (German language):

Which questions are asked?

Please note that the questionnaire below is only a sample questionnaire. It is not possible to fill in a printed version of the questionnaire (German language).

You will find all the important information summarised here:

Online survey Phone: +43 1 711 28–7700
gesundheit-online@statistik.gv.at 
Monday to Friday (on working days) 09:00-15:00
In-person survey You will be interviewed in person. Please make an appointment with the contact person as stated in your invitation letter.
General questions Phone.: +43 1 711 28-8338
gesundheit-info@statistik.gv.at
Monday to Friday (on working days) 09:00-15:00
Last updated on 2025-03-24.