The core mission of Caritas is to see hardship and act against it. And to stand up and speak for those people who have no voice. This means respecting and protecting human life from beginning to end and helping people in distress, regardless of their background, religion or gender to lead a dignified and self-determined life.

In Austria there are more than 1,600 projects and places where Caritas supports people in need in the areas of nursing, people with disabilities, hospices, social counseling, working for families in need, elders or asylum seekers. The Caritas – these are their full-time employees, but above all the approximately 46,000 volunteers, who dedicate their courage and professionalism to support others on a daily basis.

Because distress has a different face in every country, Caritas Austria is involved in the international Caritas network in its foreign and disaster relief, in which more than 160 Caritas organizations worldwide are serving humanity.

CARITAS AUSTRIA is an internationally operating non-profit organization (donations are tax-deductible Reg. Nr. SO1126; equivalent 501(c)(3) US organization) under the mission of the Austrian Catholic church and pursues solely and directly charitable and benevolent objectives.

Total employees:

• 17,615 full-time employees
• over 46,000 volunteers in parishes and institutions of Caritas

Help for People in need:

• 71 homeless shelters provide 2,526 beds
• 10 mother-child-houses provide accommodation for 267 mothers and 379 children
• 71 Caritas Social Counseling Centers offer advice and help to people in need

Care and Support:

• 2.5 million hours in mobile care per year
• 51 senior and nursing facilities
• 6,352 employees in stationary and mobile care

People with disabilities:

• 9,156 people are supported in our facilities or on the move
• 7,583 people receive social-psychiatric care (mostly counseling services)
• 1,911 people with disabilities in assisted living
• 2,736 places are available in day structures

Children & Youth

• 1,142 actions, projects and events of youngCaritas
• 2.502 young people are involved in the actionPool, the volunteer pool of youngCaritas
• 69 learning cafés* for over 1,850 children and young people
• 780 volunteers are involved in the learning cafés
• more than 39,000 people are supporting Caritas via the digital platform füreinand‘

Caritas Foreign Aid:

• Caritas Austria supported 492 aid projects worldwide in 2023
• The total volume of this aid amounts to 61.8 million euros.
• The focus is on: disaster relief, children in need, long-term livelihood, displaced people, rehabilitation support (reconstruction)

Donations to Caritas

• 115.9 million euros were donated to Caritas in 2023
• Of this amount, 820,610 came from "Licht ins Dunkel"
• Ongoing donations (sponsorships, standing orders, collections) account for 66.8 million euros of this total. 

(Status according to Annual Report 2023)

More information on the work of Caritas in Austria, including facts and figures, can be found in our current Digital Annual Report:

Digital Annual Report 2023

Short version for Download: 

Annual Report 2023 (pdf)