Medical and socio-medical characteristics of live birth

In 2019, the number of live births in Austria was 84 222. The average birth weight was 3 322 g, the average birth length 50.6 cm. The mode of delivery was spontaneous in 62.8 % of all live births. In 2019, the caesarean rate was 30.1 %. The rate of induced labour was 18.5 %. 94.1 % of all live births had a 5-minute Apgar score of 9 or 10.

Preterm birth

Preterm birth is defined as birth of an infant between 22 and 36 weeks of completed gestation. Since preterm birth is the most frequent case of infant mortality as well as of health risk, the development of the preterm birth rate is a matter of particular interest. In 2019 the number of live births was 84 176, whereof 6 223 babies were born preterm. This results in a preterm birth rate of 7.4 % in 2019. 72.2 % of all preterm births were due to infants born late preterm. Twins and higher order multiples have elevated preterm rates compared to singletons. The risk of infant mortality declined dramatically with increasing gestational age.

Results (overview): Live births by medical characteristics
Preterm births since 1984


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