Market Research Companies in Austria

Key figures for researchers

Population

9.22 million (9,219,113 on 1 January 2026, preliminary)¹

Federal states

9; Vienna 2.04m, Lower Austria 1.73m, Upper Austria 1.54m, Styria 1.27m (1 January 2026)¹

Foreign citizens

1.89 million, 20.5% of the population; 37.0% in Vienna, 11.7% in Burgenland (1 January 2026)¹

Population with a migration background

2.51 million, 27.8% of the population (2024 average)²

Largest foreign nationalities

German 239,452, Romanian 155,715, Turkish 124,788 (1 January 2025)²

Aged 65 and over

20.0% of the population (2024)³

Internet use

about 97% of people aged 16–64 (2023–2025)⁴

Internet use of older people

82.0% of those aged 65–74, 65.1% of those aged 75–84 (2025)⁴

Mobile subscriptions

124 per 100 people (2024)⁵

Research guide

Research landscape

Austria is a mid-sized, mature research market. Vienna, home to 2.04 million people, is the main business centre; other large cities include Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. Full-service agencies work alongside specialist qualitative, B2B, healthcare and social research firms, telephone studios and online panel providers.

The industry association is the Verband der Marktforscher Österreichs (VMÖ), whose members have agreed to its applicable norms and ethical standards. A common international reference is the ICC/ESOMAR International Code, revised in 2025 (fifth edition) and endorsed by over 60 associations in more than 50 countries.

Languages and fieldwork

German is the fieldwork language for almost all studies: questionnaires should be translated and checked by native speakers and tested before fieldwork. On 1 January 2026, 20.5% of residents were foreign citizens, and 27.8% of the population had a migration background in 2024. The largest foreign nationalities are German (239,452), Romanian (155,715) and Turkish (124,788). In the 2025 Migration & Integration yearbook, 45.1% of immigrants surveyed used mainly or only their language of origin at home: studies of migrant audiences may need translated questionnaires or bilingual interviewers.

A national sample covers nine federal states (Bundesländer), led by Vienna (2.04 million people), Lower Austria (1.73 million), Upper Austria (1.54 million) and Styria (1.27 million). Regions differ sharply: the share of foreign citizens ranges from 11.7% in Burgenland to 37.0% in Vienna, so quotas or weighting by state are common.

Which methods work

Connectivity is high: about 97% of people aged 16 to 64 have used the internet in each of the last three years, and there are 124 mobile subscriptions per 100 people. Online surveys using access panels are widely used for consumer and B2B research, and mobile-friendly questionnaires are essential.

Older people are less well covered online: in 2025, 82.0% of those aged 65 to 74 and 65.1% of those aged 75 to 84 used the internet, and 20.0% of the population was aged 65 and over in 2024. Telephone (CATI) and face-to-face interviews remain used for older and offline audiences. In-person focus groups are usually held in Vienna and the other large cities.

Timing

Summer school holidays start in early July: in 2027 they run from 3 July to 5 September in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland, and from 10 July to 12 September in the six other states. Families and business respondents are harder to reach in July and August, so allow more fieldwork time.

Christmas holidays run from 24 December 2026 to 6 January 2027 in all states, and Easter holidays from 20 to 29 March 2027. The one-week semester break in February varies by state: in 2027, 1–6 February in Vienna and Lower Austria, 8–13 February in Burgenland and Carinthia, and 15–20 February in Upper Austria, Styria, Salzburg, Tyrol and Vorarlberg. Check the dates of the states in your sample.

Data protection

Personal data is governed by the GDPR and the Austrian Data Protection Act (Datenschutzgesetz, DSG). The Datenschutzbehörde (Austrian Data Protection Authority) is the national supervisory authority under the GDPR. Children can consent to online services on their own from the age of 14.

For research and statistics, the DSG allows the use of publicly available, lawfully collected or pseudonymised data when the study does not aim at results about specific people; other processing needs a legal basis, the participant’s consent or approval from the Datenschutzbehörde. Direct identifiers must be encrypted when pseudonymised data is enough, and removed once no longer needed. Ask your agency which lawful basis it uses, how respondents are informed and where the data is hosted.

Working with a local agency

• Share a clear brief: objectives, target, sample size, federal states, method, languages and deadline.
• Ask whether the agency is a member of the VMÖ or follows the ICC/ESOMAR International Code.
• Ask which panels or telephone studios will be used, and how quotas by state, age and gender are set and weighted.
• Check fieldwork dates against the summer holidays, Christmas and the February semester break of the states in your sample.
• Agree in writing who is controller and who is processor of the personal data, and the retention period.
• Compare several proposals: you can send one request to up to 5 companies from this page.