Germany’s population has increased by 38 million people, representing a 5% growth, since 1990, according to data released Tuesday by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) The country’s population stood at 798 million at the end of 1990, rising to 836 million by the end of 2024
However, population trends have varied significantly across different federal states since German reunification States in the south and north – Bavaria (+16%), Baden-Württemberg (+14%), Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (both +13%) – have experienced the most substantial population gains Conversely, Saxony-Anhalt (-26%), Thuringia (-20%) and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (-18%) have seen the largest declines in resident numbers compared to 1990
Overall, eastern federal states (excluding Berlin) have experienced a 16% population decrease between 1990 and 2024, falling to 124 million residents Western states, meanwhile, have seen a 10% increase, reaching 675 million In 1990, 77% of the population resided in western states and 18% in eastern states, with the remainder in Berlin By 2024, those figures had shifted to 81% in the west and 15% in the east
Following reunification, significant internal migration occurred Between 1991 and 2024, approximately 12 million more people moved from east to west than vice versa, not including migration to and from Berlin
Roughly half of this eastward migration occurred within the first decade post-reunification In 1991 alone, around 165,000 people left eastern states for the west This cumulative net migration reached approximately 611,000 between 1991 and 2000 An additional 553,000 people moved from east to west between 2001 and 2010
This trend slowed considerably during the 2010s, with a net migration of around 70,000 people from east to west between 2011 and 2016 A notable shift occurred between 2017 and 2022, when, for the first time, more people moved from western to eastern states (a net positive balance of 18,000) However, this trend reversed in 2023, with a net outflow from east to west (-3,000) and continued in 2024 with a net outflow of -4,000 persons