So Many Civil Servants Are Currently Deployed
This approach is very pleasing, as many young men are still in school in the spring, said the responsible Minister of the Chancellery, Claudia Plakolm (ÖVP), during her mid-year review on Tuesday.
"We need both: a strong military service, but also a strong civil service. We want to be a resilient nation and equally need a steadfast social sector," emphasized Plakolm. 8,255 civil service declarations were submitted in the first half of the year, which corresponds to a very similar figure as in the first half of 2024. With 5,273 assignments and a reported demand of 5,986, the demand coverage remains nearly the same at 88.1 percent compared to the first half of 2024.
Civil Servants: Differences by Federal States
There are still significant differences in demand coverage depending on the federal state. At the top is Styria with 95.2 percent, followed by Upper Austria (93.6) and Vienna (93.1), with Carinthia at the bottom with 63.3 percent behind Burgenland (72.5 percent demand coverage). Differences are also evident in the sectors: Upper Austria leads by far in civil servants in elderly care with 185 in the first half of 2025, while in Lower Austria, 61.79 percent more civil servants are active in the rescue services than in other federal states.
Civil Service Celebrated 50th Anniversary
The civil service celebrated its 50th anniversary at the beginning of the year. Since 1975, 439,805 young men have been assigned to civil service institutions, around 14,500 annually. "Fifty years ago, civil servants were just 'slackers', and that was the nicest term. Today, they are an integral part of many areas of coexistence. Without them, much would not be possible. Civil servants are a supporting pillar and helping hand for professionals in the care and social sector, comrades in the rescue service and fire department, listeners and storytellers, and much more," said Plakolm. She did not want to preempt the military service commission, which met for the first time a month ago and is expected to present a report with proposals for the further development of military and civil service by the end of the year.
Also 50 Years of Comprehensive National Defense in the Constitution
Today also marks the 50th anniversary of the anchoring of Comprehensive National Defense in the Federal Constitution. It "is the sum of all military and civilian measures to jointly address current and future challenges to Austria's security," and includes military, economic, and intellectual national defense, according to a statement from the Ministry of Defense on Tuesday. The latter, in particular, is to be brought back into focus. "National defense concerns us all, it is not just a military task, but a societal one that affects each and every individual," said Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP).
In 2023, therefore, the topics "Comprehensive National Defense" and "Austrian Armed Forces" were included as mandatory content in the subject of Political Education and History in middle schools and lower secondary schools. Information officers from the Austrian Armed Forces are also invited to both compulsory and higher schools to familiarize students with the topic. "With measures of this kind, we can strengthen young people's understanding of national defense, bring the will to defend back to the forefront, and promote the willingness to defend democratic freedom," Tanner continued. In the last two years, information officers have been deployed over 3,800 times, around 2,500 of which were in the education sector.
(APA/Red)
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