This analysis provides the data foundation for strategic decisions regarding the digitalisation of the public sector. Germany is currently investing around 108 million euros in a TYPO3-based Government Site Builder – a strong signal for the technology choice. How Austria can benefit from this development and take a smarter approach is analysed in our article Austria + TYPO3: Smart Government Websites Following the German Model.
Table of Contents
Initial Situation
Directory gap visible
Recommendations
National Register, Typology, Audits
Downsides
Federalism, IT Economy, Vendor Lock-in
Conclusion
Count first, then plan
The Initial Situation: Why This Analysis?
Anyone discussing a "Federal CMS" or a central government platform first needs a clear answer to a seemingly trivial question: How many websites does the Austrian state actually operate?
The sobering answer: No one knows exactly.
This analysis does not close the directory gap – it makes it visible. The result of focused research: 5,627 documented web presences at the federal, state, and municipal levels. The actual number is likely to be a multiple of this.
5,627
Verified websites in the searchable register – from ministries to municipalities
12
Categories from federal administration to education and culture & media
0
Official registers – there is no central directory of public websites
Executive Summary
Before a "Federal CMS" or a central digital platform for the public sector can be meaningfully planned, a complete inventory must first be carried out. You cannot consolidate what you do not know.
There is no central register of all public websites in Austria. This directory is based on focused research – the actual number of public web presences is likely to be a multiple of the 5,627 entries documented here.
The digital presence of the Austrian state exactly mirrors the federal structure of the country: decentralised, autonomous, fragmented. This is not a bug – it is a feature of the Austrian constitution. However, this structure brings significant challenges for discoverability, accessibility, and system-wide analyses.
224
Federal Administration
13 ministries plus subordinate departments, thematic portals, and campaign websites
303
State Administration
9 federal states with district commissions, state enterprises, and specialised portals
2,128
Municipalities
2,092 municipalities – the biggest challenge due to the lack of a central directory
2,935
Education & Science
Schools, universities, universities of applied sciences – the largest single sector
Federal Level: 13 Ministries, 224 Digital Touchpoints
The Ministerial Core Structure
Since March 2025, the Stocker federal government has consisted of the Federal Chancellery and 13 federal ministries. Each unit operates a primary web presence – with one exception: The Ministry for Europe, Integration and Family is housed within the Federal Chancellery and uses its domain.
| Ministry | Acronym | Official URL |
|---|---|---|
| Federal Chancellery | BKA | bka.gv.at |
| Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Care, Consumer Protection | BMASGPK | sozialministerium.gv.at |
| Ministry of Education | BMB | bmb.gv.at |
| Ministry of European and International Affairs | BMEIA | bmeia.gv.at |
| Ministry of Finance | BMF | bmf.gv.at |
| Ministry of the Interior | BMI | bmi.gv.at |
| Ministry of Justice | BMJ | bmj.gv.at |
| Ministry of Women, Science and Research | BMFWF | bmfwf.gv.at |
| Ministry of Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure | BMIMI | bmimi.gv.at |
| Ministry of Defence | BMLV | bmlv.gv.at |
| Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Climate, Environment | BMLUK | bmluk.gv.at |
| Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism | BMWET | bmwet.gv.at |
| Ministry of Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport | BMWKMS | bmwkms.gv.at |
Why this is relevant: Every government reshuffle poses challenges for the state's digital identity. Domain changes, URL redirects, and maintaining continuity for citizens require well-thought-out governance strategies. Without clear standards, dead links, orphaned content, and user confusion arise.
The Subsite Ecosystem: Strategy Instead of Chaos
Behind every ministry lies a complex network of subsites. The structure follows a clear logic:
Case Study: Ministry of Education – Decentralisation as a Principle
The Federal Ministry of Education (BMB) illustrates the complexity of the ecosystem:
Type A subsites of the Ministry of Education:
- 9 Boards of Education – one per federal state, each with its own web presence
- Federal School Hostels – joint website on bslh.at
- Institute for Quality Assurance (IQS) – independent portal
- University Colleges of Teacher Education – nationwide network
- Central Educational Institutions – various specialisations
The high number of subsites is not disorder, but a deliberate strategy: Type A subsites allow for organisational autonomy, while Type B subsites create target-group-specific communication channels with their own branding – more effective than an overloaded main page.
Quantitative Synthesis: The Federal Digital Footprint
| Category | Count |
|---|---|
| Ministerial core websites | 13 |
| Subsites (Type A & B) | ~195 |
| Total federal administration | ~224 |
State Level: Federalism in the Digital Space
Nine Federal States, Nine Digital Strategies
Austria's federal structure is directly reflected in the digital landscape. Each federal state operates with a high degree of autonomy – the result is a fragmented but diverse digital presence.
| Federal State | Main Website | Special Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Burgenland | burgenland.at | Smallest federal state |
| Carinthia | ktn.gv.at | Bilingual region (Slovenian) |
| Lower Austria | noe.gv.at | Largest federal state by area |
| Upper Austria | land-oberoesterreich.gv.at | Longest domain URL |
| Salzburg | salzburg.gv.at | City and state separated |
| Styria | steiermark.at | Second largest federal state |
| Tyrol | tirol.gv.at | Alpine region with tourism focus |
| Vorarlberg | vorarlberg.at | Westernmost federal state |
| Vienna | wien.gv.at | City and federal state in one |
Institutional Isomorphism: Similar Structures, Different Implementation
The digital architecture of the state administrations is structurally similar to the federal level – a phenomenon that organisational researchers call "institutional isomorphism": organisations in the same sector develop similar structures.
The largest federal state relies on extensive decentralisation:
- 20 district commissions + 4 statutory cities
- Lower Austrian State Clinics – own web presence for health
- Lower Austrian Care and Support Centres – separate portal
- Numerous thematic portals for tourism, economy, culture
Estimated websites: ~50
Quantitative Inventory of the Federal States
| Federal State | Core Website | District Commissions | Other Subsites | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burgenland | 1 | 9 | 10 | 20 |
| Carinthia | 1 | 10 | 15 | 26 |
| Lower Austria | 1 | 24 | 25 | 50 |
| Upper Austria | 1 | 18 | 20 | 39 |
| Salzburg | 1 | 6 | 15 | 22 |
| Styria | 1 | 13 | 20 | 34 |
| Tyrol | 1 | 9 | 15 | 25 |
| Vorarlberg | 1 | 4 | 10 | 15 |
| Vienna | 1 | 1 | 20 | 22 |
Total state level: ~303 websites (94 district commissions + core portals + subsites)
Municipal Level: The Greatest Unknown
2,092 Municipalities – and No Directory
The baseline is precise: According to Statistics Austria, there were exactly 2,092 municipalities in Austria as of 1 January 2025. But this is where the problem begins.
There is no central, official, machine-readable directory of municipal websites. Neither the Austrian Association of Municipalities nor the state associations provide such a list. The government portal oesterreich.gv.at does not offer a complete, searchable database.
This is not a technical footnote – this is a structural weakness of the national e-government infrastructure.
The existence of unofficial, commercial directories (such as gemeinden.at) and community-maintained lists (such as on Wikipedia) is a clear symptom: A market has emerged because the state does not provide an official solution.
Fractal Complexity: The Subsite Problem Multiplies
Similar to ministries and states, municipalities also operate subsites – and they do so more than two thousand times over:
Typical subsites of larger municipalities:
- Public utilities – energy, water, waste
- Public transport – city bus, regional train
- Housing associations – municipal housing
- Commercial enterprises – business parks, exhibition grounds
Each of these enterprises can operate its own web presence.
Systematically recording these factors across 2,092 organisations is impossible without a central data source. The complexity is fractal: the same challenges found at the federal and state levels repeat themselves thousands of times over.
Searchable Directory: The Data Foundation
As a practical result of this analysis, we have created a searchable directory of all identified public and semi-public websites:
| Category | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Education & Science | 2,935 | 50.8% |
| Municipalities & Cities | 2,128 | 36.9% |
| State Administration | 303 | 5.2% |
| Federal Administration | 224 | 3.9% |
| Health & Social Affairs | 75 | 1.3% |
| Other Categories | 107 | 1.9% |
| Total | 5,627 | 100% |
A REST API is available for programmatic access to the directory. You can find the full search interface with advanced filtering options in the Tools section.
Regional Distribution
Of the 5,627 websites, 2,941 (52.3%) could be assigned to a federal state:
Strategic Recommendations: What Needs to Happen Now
National Domain Register
Feasible in the short term: Central, machine-readable register of all public domains – managed by the Federal Chancellery or A-SIT. The foundation for any further digitalisation initiative.
Standardised Typology
Medium term: Official classification of public websites (Type A/B/C model). Enables systematic analyses, compliance audits, and resource planning.
Automated Audits
Continuous: Web crawling for accessibility, security, and timeliness. Transparency dashboard for citizens. Basis for evidence-based policy.
With gov.uk, the UK has created the most consistent example of a centralised government portal. In just 15 months (2013–2014), over 300 government websites were migrated to a single platform and 685 domains were closed. The result: better discoverability, a consistent user experience, and more efficient administration. The US, on the other hand, only has a directory portal with usa.gov – the more than 20,000 individual .gov domains remain decentralised.
The Downsides of Centralisation
The idea of a single, central web portal for all public bodies sounds tempting – but it has significant side effects:
Federalism & Autonomy
Austria is a federal state. The states and municipalities have constitutionally guaranteed competencies – including in their external presentation. A central portal could be interpreted as an encroachment on state sovereignty.
Regional IT Economy
Hundreds of Austrian IT companies, agencies, and freelancers make a living from developing public websites. A central system would massively consolidate this market – in favour of a few large providers.
Vendor Lock-in
A single system means dependence on one provider. Maintenance contracts, licensing costs, and security updates would be negotiated centrally – with the provider holding corresponding market power.
Single Point of Failure
A central portal is a central target for attacks. A successful cyberattack would not affect just one municipality – but potentially all public services simultaneously.
The solution does not lie in choosing between "complete centralisation" and "total uncontrolled growth". A federated model – with shared standards, central registration, and decentralised implementation – could combine the advantages of both approaches.
The first step towards this: A complete directory of what exists.
You can find concrete implementation strategies and technical architecture proposals in our analysis Austria + TYPO3: Smart Government Websites Following the German Model.
Conclusion: Count First, Then Plan
The digital architecture of the Austrian public sector is complex, decentralised, and dynamic. The 5,627 web presences documented here are only a snapshot – the actual landscape is many times larger.
"You cannot manage what you cannot measure."
— Peter Drucker
This analysis shows: Before discussing a "Federal CMS" or central platforms, Austria needs a complete directory of what currently exists. The first step of any digital transformation is transparency – not technology.
Decentralisation as a Principle
The Subsite as a Strategic Tool
The Critical Directory Gap
The way forward begins with a question that no one can answer today: How many websites does the Austrian state operate? This analysis provides a first, systematic starting point.
Methodological Notes
How Austria can benefit from Germany's 108-million-euro investment in TYPO3 and take a smarter approach is analysed in: Austria + TYPO3: Smart Government Websites Following the German Model