Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Saturday announced that he would step down amid allegations of financial impropriety against his office.

Kurz said he would move to parliament as leader of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). Foreign minister Alexander Schallenberg will replace him as chancellor, he said.

"My country is more important to me than myself," Kurz said in a televised statement.

"What we need now are stable conditions,'' he told reporters in Vienna. "So, in order to resolve the stalemate, I want to make way to prevent chaos and ensure stability."