36 years after reunification: income differences between East and West Germany remain high
Quick Look
- 36 years after German reunification, households in the five new federal states and Berlin have an average of 7,247 euros less net disposable income than in the West.
- According to a BSW request from the Federal Statistical Office, the values in 2023 were 42,259 euros in the east and 49,506 euros in the west.
- Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony have the lowest incomes, while Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Hesse are at the top.
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Why It Matters
German reunification took place in 1990. Since then, economic and social differences between the former East and West Germany have been regularly examined. The income differences are seen as an important indicator of the success of the equalization process.
36 years after German reunification, there are still significant income differences between East and West Germany. As the newspapers of the Funke media group reported, citing figures from the Federal Statistical Office, last year households in the five new federal states and Berlin had an average of 7,247 euros less net than in the west (east: 42,259 euros, west: 49,506 euros).
According to the newspaper, the BSW party requested the figures from the statistics authority. According to the information, they include all types of income for all citizens, in addition to wage income also pensions or rental and capital income, which are usually higher in the West than in the East. Taxes, social contributions and regular money transfers between private households are deducted.
“The fact that the income differences between East and West are increasing again is a disgrace for politics on Unity Day,” said BSW founder Sahra Wagenknecht to the Funke newspapers. "Over 7,000 euros less income per year for East German households is not a small difference, but a bitter balance after 36 years." There can be no question of a unity of living conditions.
Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony at the lower end of the scale
According to the data, the average disposable household net income last year was lowest in Saxony-Anhalt at 38,284 euros, followed by Saxony at the lower end of the scale with 39,500 euros. However, Bremen (39,955 euros) is already in third-to-last place, a western German state, behind Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (40,818 euros), Thuringia (42,959 euros), Brandenburg (45,569 euros) and Berlin (45,646 euros).
Bavaria performs best with an average household net of 53,067 euros, followed by Baden-Württemberg with 51,923 euros, Hesse (49,538 euros), Rhineland-Palatinate (48,813 euros) and North Rhine-Westphalia (48,455 euros).
Open Questions
- How exactly have income differences developed in recent years?
- What specific policy measures are being taken to reduce disparities?
- How do the income differences differ within the eastern German states?
