Aims and Scope

The Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, established in 2003, is an open access journal that features contributions addressing population trends as well as a broad range of theoretical and methodological issues in population research. The journal welcomes submissions that fall into the following categories:

  • Research articles: original peer-reviewed articles presenting new research;
  • Review articles: peer-reviewed contributions providing a broader overview of a selected topic, with a focus on summarising existing research, main arguments and discussions, identifying research gaps and outlining future research agenda;
  • Data & Trends: peer-reviewed analytical or descriptive articles that focus primarily on empirical analyses or present databases and data infrastructures;
  • Perspectives: peer-reviewed short contributions and essays focusing on ideas, concepts or theories, either discussing existing research or proposing new frameworks and interpretations;
  • Letters & Commentaries: comments, reflections, updates and critique on the past contributions published in the journal. These can either be brief and focused (Letters) or broader-based and more elaborate (Commentaries) spontaneous contributions, which will be assessed by the journal editors. If accepted, they will be published online and linked to the article they discuss. The authors of the discussed articles may be invited to respond.

The journal also publishes Debates – invited short contributions and reflections on selected questions and issues.

While based in Austria, the Vienna Yearbook of Population Research aims to give a global coverage of population issues and attract high-quality contributions from authors from different regions and backgrounds.

  • Publishing model: Platinum open access without any fees
  • Publishing frequency: Annual special issues (in print); accepted articles are published online on a rolling basis
  • Peer review: all submissions except invited Debate contributions are subject to peer review; median review time to first decision: 12.2 weeks in 2020
  • Publisher:  Austrian Academy of Sciences Press (https://verlag.oeaw.ac.at/)
  • Editor-in-chief: Tomáš Sobotka (since 2021)
    Editors: Paola Di Giulio (since 2021), Vanessa Di Lego (since 2021), Miguel Sanchez Romero (since 2021), Sonja Spitzer (since 2021)
    Managing Editor: Maria Winkler-Dworak

Special issues

Since 2008, individual volumes of the Vienna Yearbook of Population Research have been devoted to selected themes following special calls for thematic issues. The following special issues have been published or are in preparation:

2025: Population Inequality Matters - CALL FOR PAPERS

2024: Population and Climate Change

2023: The Causes and Consequences of Depopulation

2022: Demographic Aspects of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Consequences

2021: Demographic Aspects of Human Wellbeing

2020: Fertility across Time and Space

2019: Population Ageing and International Redistribution

2018: Broadening demographic horizons

2017: Education and fertility in low-fertility settings

2016: Population ageing

2015: Demographic differential vulnerability to climate-related disasters

2014: Health, Education, and Retirement over the Prolonged Life Cycle

2013: Determinants of unusual and differential longevity

2012: Education and the Global Fertility Transition

2011: Reproductive decision-making

2010: Education and demography

2009: Impact of migration on demographic change and composition in Europe

2008: Can policies enhance fertility in Europe

2006: Postponement of childbearing in Europe

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