In the late nineteenth century, large sections of the Austrian population were effectively excluded from the institutions of marriage and family because they lacked the property and income necessary to participate in them. Among urban and industrial working classes, poverty was so widespread that it made the establishment of independent households and families difficult.

During the course of the twentieth century, marriage and family have become increasingly common, particularly after World War II, when the "economic miracle" brought prosperity to nearly everyone. For the first time in Austrian history, there was almost uniform access to these basic social institutions. Because of this, the postwar time up through the 1960s described a "golden age" of the family in Austria. More than 89 % of the women born between 1935 and 1945 have married--a % age higher than any generation before or since. The "Two child family" was considered an ideal.