The number of private schools in Germany is on the rise. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), there were approximately 3,800 general education schools in private ownership in the 2023/24 school year, which is roughly one in eight general education schools (12%). In contrast, there were nearly 29,000 public general education schools.
The number of private schools has increased by 8% over the past decade, according to Destatis, while the number of public schools has decreased by 4% (30,300 schools in 2013/14).
The proportion of private school students has remained largely constant over the past decade, with around 9% of children and youth attending general education schools opting for private schools in the 2023/24 school year, similar to the previous years since 2013/14. In total, around 801,100 of nearly 8.8 million students attended private schools in the 2023/24 school year, compared to 730,400 of nearly 8.4 million students in the 2013/14 school year. This stability is attributed, in part, to private schools being generally smaller than public ones, and the closures of public schools being offset by the expansion of remaining public institutions.
Placing a child in a private school often requires paying tuition fees. In the 2020 tax year, parents of around 595,000 children and youth claimed tuition fees, with an average annual cost of €2,032, according to the Federal Statistical Office. For nearly 7%, the annual cost exceeded €5,000, for nearly a quarter (23%), it ranged between €2,000 and €5,000, for nearly half (48%), it ranged between €500 and €2,000, and for 22%, it was less than €500 a year. There are significant regional differences, with the highest average tuition fees in Hesse at €3,230 per child and the lowest in Saxony at €1,239 per child.