Regionale Disparitäten

Regional Disparities, collective term for the inequalities between certain areas in a state. Regional disparities exist in matters of population, society and the economy and are used as criteria in the comparison of living conditions in the various areas. Political measures to reduce regional disparities are often part of Regional Policy. Austria displays 3 basic patterns: disparities between the provincial capitals and Vienna on the one hand and the rural areas on the other (urban-rural disparities), between the eastern (Burgenland and Lower Austria) and the western provinces (Vorarlberg, Tirol and Salzburg; west-east disparities) and between the southern provinces (Carinthia and Styria) and those situated north of the Alps (south-north disparities).