Overview

• Germany has 3.8 million more residents than in 1990, a 5% rise to 83.6 million at end-2024, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
• Eastern states excluding Berlin have 12.4 million people after a 16% decline since 1990, while the West grew 10% to 67.5 million, with Bavaria (+16%) and Saxony-Anhalt (-26%) marking the extremes.
• Since 1991 there have been about 1.2 million more moves from East to West; a brief 2017–2022 shift toward the East reversed, with roughly 4,000 net departures from the East again in 2024.
• Net international migration was about +430,000 in 2024 and remains the sole driver of current population growth.
• Births have fallen by roughly 230,000 compared with 1990 and fertility declined to 1.35 children per woman, leaving deaths higher than births.