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Population of Germany 2023: population size, density, population growth rate by year and land, age, national, religious, gender composition of the population


§ Population of Germany

According to the German Federal Office of Statistics, the German population as of the end of 2021 is 83'237'124 people.

The German population at the end of 2021, beginning of 2022 is 83,2 million people

§ Population growth, change in the German population size by year

The population size of Germany in recent years has not been constant; the population growth was influenced by various factors, including: fertility and mortality, migration, as well as adjustments to estimates. In the chart and table below, you can see the change in the population size by year. 2014-2015 saw the largest population growth since 2012.

Chart 1. German population growth and decline by year

Table 1. Growth, change in the population size of Germany by year

Year Population size,
in millions of people
Change,
as millions of people
to the previous year
Change,
as % relative
to the previous year
2012 80.5 - -
2013 80.8 +0.2 +0.30 %
2014 81.2 +0.4 +0.53 %
2015 82.2 +1.0 +1.20 %
2016 82.5 +0.3 +0.42 %
2017 82.8 +0.3 +0.33 %
2018 83.0 +0.2 +0.27 %
2019 83.2 +0.1 +0.18 %
2020 83.2 -0.0 -0.01 %
2021 83.2 +0.1 +0.10 %

§ German population size by land and city at the end of 2021, beginning of 2022

Table 2 below shows the population size of Germany by land of Germany, as well as the total population size by federated state in Western Germany, the Federal Republic of Germany (the FRG) and East Germany, formerly the German Democratic Republic (the GDR). As the table shows, North Rhine-Westphalia has the largest population size, while the smallest population size is observed in Bremen.

Table 2. German population size by land at the end of 2021, beginning of 2022

Land(Federated state) or city Population size,
in millions of people
Bavaria 13'177
Baden-Württemberg 11'125
Berlin 3'677
Brandenburg 2'538
Bremen 676
Hamburg 1'854
Hesse 6'295
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 1'611
Lower Saxony 8'027
Rhineland-Palatinate 4'106
Saarland 982
Saxony 4'043
Saxony-Anhalt 2'169
North Rhine-Westphalia 17'925
Thuringia 2'109
Schleswig-Holstein 2'922
West Germany (including Berlin) 70'767
East Germany (formerly the GDR, excluding Berlin) 12'470
Total: 83'237

§ Age composition of the population of Germany, population size by the age groups

As at the beginning of 2018, the average age of the German residents is 44.4 years old, with the average age of women being 45.7 years old, and that of men being 43 years old. The average age of the German citizens is by 8–10 years higher than the average age of stateless people in Germany.

Table 3. Population by age groups as of 2021-2022

Age group,
years old
Population size,
in millions of people
Ratio to the total size,
as %
up to 6 years 4.8 5.8 %
from 6 to 15 years old 6.8 8.2 %
from 15 to 25 years old 8.3 10.0 %
from 25 to 45 years old 20.9 25.1 %
from 45 to 65 years old 23.9 28.7 %
from 65 to 85 years old 15.8 19.0 %
85 years and more 2.6 3.2 %
Total: 83.2 100.0 %

Chart 2. Age composition of the population of Germany

§ Gender composition of the population of Germany, by gender

As can be seen from the data presented in table 4, the number of men and women in Germany is almost equal: women constitute a group superior to men by about 1.1 million people.

Table 4. Population size by gender as of 2021-2022

Gender Population size,
in millions of people
Ratio to the total size,
as %
women 42.2 50.7 %
men 41.1 49.3 %
Total 83.2 100.0 %

§ Racial, ethnic composition of the population of Germany

As beginning of 2022 Germany has 72.3 million people with the German citizenship and 10.9 million non-citizens living in Germany.

Table 5. Number of people in Germany with & without the German citizenship as of 2021 - 2022

Citizenship Population size,
in millions of people
Ratio to the total size,
as %
Foreigners 10.9 13.1 %
German citizens 72.3 86.9 %
Total 83.2 100.0 %

Table 6 below shows the number of people with a migration background living in Germany.

Table 6. Number of people in Germany with a migration background, by country of origin as of 2019

Country of origin Population size,
in millions of people
Ratio to the total size,
as %
Afghanistan 0.30 1.4 %
Bulgaria 0.31 1.5 %
China 0.19 0.9 %
Greece 0.45 2.1 %
Italy 0.87 4.1 %
Kazakhstan 1.25 5.9 %
Poland 2.24 10.5 %
Romania 1.02 4.8 %
Russia 1.39 6.5 %
Syria 0.84 4.0 %
Czechia 0.21 1.0 %
Turkey 2.82 13.3 %
Ukraine 0.31 1.5 %
USA 0.18 0.9 %
United Kingdom 0.17 0.8 %
Austria 0.34 1.6 %
Other countries 8.36 39.3 %
All countries 21.25 100 %

§ Religious composition of the population of Germany

Germany is traditionally a Christian country; therefore, the majority of the residents of Germany profess Christianity, this being said, the vast majority of them are Catholics and Protestants (evangelicals). Table 7 below shows the religious composition of the German population. People who have no religious affiliation are not necessarily atheists; they just do not belong to any confession and make up the second largest group of people, next to Christians.

Table 7. Religious profile of the German populationy

Religious affiliation Year Population size,
in millions of people
Ratio to the total size (2021),
as %
Evangelical church 2018 21.14 25.4 %
Catholic Church 2018 23.00 27.6 %
Muslims 2015 4.50 5.4 %
Buddhists 2020 0.27 0.3 %
Jehovah's Witnesses 2020 0.17 0.2 %
Judaists 2018 0.09 0.1 %
Hindus 2020 0.10 0.1 %
Without religious affiliation 2017 31.37 37.7 %
Not included statistics, unaccounted changes 3.1 %

Sources: Statistisches Bundesamt; Deutsche Islam Konferenz (DIK); Buddhistischer Dachverband Diamantweg e.V.; jw.org Zeugen Jehovas; Hinduistische Gemeinde in Deutschland, K.d.ö.R.; Forschungsgruppe Weltanschauungen in Deutschland (fowid)

§ German population density

According to statistics, as at the beginning of 2022, the area of Germany is 357'578 square kilometres, and the population size was 83.24 million people. Thus, the average population density in Germany is 232.8 people per 1 km2. At that, Berlin has the highest population density, which makes 4'126.8 people per 1 km2, and the lowest population density is observed in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, with 69.2 people per 1 km2.

§ Factors affecting the size, growth and decline of the population

The following factors, above all others, influence the German population size: fertility, mortality and migration. The table below contains some figures showing the impact of these factors by year.

Table 8. Factors affecting the German population size

Year Fertility,
number of people
Mortality,
number of people
Fertility - Mortality,
number of people
In-migration, arrivals,
number of people
Out-migration, departed,
number of people
In-migration - Out-migration,
number of people
2020 773'144 985'572 -212'428 1'186'702 966'451 +220'251
2019 778'129 939'520 -161'391 1'558'612 1'231'552 +327'060
2018 787'523 954'874 -167'351 1'585'111 1'185'431 +399'680
2017 784'901 932'263 -147'362 1'550'721 1'134'641 +416'080
2016 792'141 910'902 -118'761 1'865'122 1'365'178 +499'944
2015 737'575 925'200 -187'625 2'136'954 997'552 +1'139'402

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