In 2024, the most populated federal state in Germany is North Rhine-Westphalia in the west, with a population of almost 18 million. The state capital is Düsseldorf. Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in the south rounded up the top three, both with over 10 million inhabitants.

This statistic shows the number of foreigners in Germany according to the Central Register of Foreign Nationals in 2023, by state. In 2023, North-Rhine-Westphalia had the most foreign nationals at over 3.2 million, followed by Bavaria with almost 2.4 million and Baden-Württemberg with around 2.2 million. Foreigners are those who are not German based on Article 116, Paragraph 1 of the German constitution. These include stateless persons and those with unclear citizenship as well as the population group with a migration background. Individuals with a migration background can either have immigrated into Germany or been born in the country to at least one parent who was born a foreigner.

The German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia accounted the largest electricity generating capacity in the country in 2024, with a capacity of approximately 44 gigawatts. The two largest federal states in Germany, Bavaria and Lower Saxony, followed with 39.7 and 29.8 gigawatts of power generating capacity, respectively. By comparison, the two smallest federal states in the country, Bremen and Hamburg, had a capacity of 1.3 and 0.7 gigawatts that year.

In 2023, **** percent of Berlin's population were foreigners. Therefore, among all German federal states, Berlin had the highest foreigner share, followed by Bremen and Hamburg. On the other side of the spectrum, only ***** percent of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania were non-Germans.

In 2023, the German state of Bavaria recorded the highest per capita purchasing power at ****** euros. Hamburg and Baden-Württemberg in the south rounded up the top three. According to the source, purchasing power refers to disposable income (net income without taxes and social security payments, including received transfer payments) of the population in a certain region. In recent years, Germany saw a varying disparity between disposable income and consumer spending in private households.

In 2025 thus far, the highest number of asylum applications were recorded in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia at 6,768. Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg were among the leading three German states recording the largest asylum application numbers. The number of pending asylum applications had increased compared to the pandemic years, though numbers were not as high as in 2015 and 2016.

In 2024, North Rhine-Westphalia had the highest number of passenger cars among Germany federal states with almost 10.56 million. This was an increase compared to previous years. Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg were the other top three contenders in this ranking.

In 2024, Saxony achieved the best result in comparison with other German federal states, with a score of 76.6 points on the educational monitor scale. In contrast, Bremen scored -10.9 points, indicating that it had the highest level of educational poverty out of all the German states. The average for the whole of Germany was 35.2 points. Educational poverty is measured by the share of successful graduates from the vocational preparation year (Berufsvorbereitungsjahres - BVJ) and the size of risk groups in different subject areas. The educational monitor has the aim, according to the source, to work out the strengths and weaknesses of the education systems in individual federal states and document the changes over time. The study included several indicators that are assigned to 12 action areas and measure the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of education systems.

In 2024, the German state of Bavaria had the most agricultural businesses among other federal states with around ******. The graph shows the number of agricultural businesses in Germany from 2022 to 2024, by federal state.

Among all 16 German federal states, Saxony-Anhalt has the highest share of population members aged 65 years and older, at around 27.8 percent. Thuringia and Saxony followed, with shares of 27.4 and 26.8 percent. The indicator provides information on the development of the proportion of the working-age population in the total population.

Among all 16 German federal states, the city-state Hamburg in the north has the highest share of population members aged 15 to 64 years, with **** percent. Berlin, also a city-state, followed and the northern German state of Bremen took third place.

In 2024, North Rhine-Westphalia had the most passenger cars with electric drive in Germany, at over 306,000. Other German states with high numbers included Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.

This data shows the distribution of beer sales in Germany in 2022 and 2022, by state. In 2023, around *** million hectoliters of beer were sold in Hesse, while in Bavaria sales amounted to roughly **** million hectoliters.

The largest number of motorcycles in Germany in 2024 could be found in the south-eastern state Bavaria, where just under 1.1 million motorcycles were registered. The most populous state in Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia had the second-largest motorcycle fleet of just over 936,000.

Between 2020 and 202 state elections took place in Germany in each of the 16 individual federal states. In the most recent state election in Brandenburg, the AfD received 29.2 percent of votes. The AfD received the smallest share of votes in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein, at only 4.4 percent. It was especially popular in the eastern states of Germany such as Saxony, where it received 30.6 percent of votes, the highest share in any state.

This statistic shows the vote shares (second votes) in the ruling parties in Germany, achieved during the respective state parliament elections as of January 2024, in all the states with their own elected prime minister. The CSU in Bavaria achieved a share of 37 percent.

This statistic shows the number of Green Party members in Germany for the year 2021, by federal state. In 2021, the Greens had the fewest members in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania at ***** and the highest amount in North Rhine-Westphalia at ******.

The southern German state of Bavaria recorded the most tourist arrivals among all German states in 2023, at almost 39 million. Therefore, Bavaria was the most popular state among domestic and international visitors, due to its location close to the alps and the stunning nature it has to offer. Other states in the top three included North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous in the country, and Baden-Württemberg, home to the Black Forest. Something for everyone Germany’s 16 states are all distinctive, with their own landmarks and local tourism industries. Bavaria is known internationally for its landscapes, mountains, recreational opportunities, and being the home state of the Oktoberfest. The south of Germany is generally popular for vacation travel. On the other hand, the more northern states offer a proximity to the Baltic and North Seas, with their beaches, as well as being able to reach Denmark easily from multiple locations. In 2023, Bavaria also recorded the highest number of nights spent in tourist accommodation compared to other states, at around 100.26 million. The least number of overnight stays were recorded in Bremen, but then, it is also the smallest state in Germany. Inbound tourism Figures confirm that inbound tourists visit different German states, not just in the south. While Bavaria once again recorded the most foreign arrivals in 2023, at around 8.85 million, North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg counted roughly 5.05 million and 5.16 million international arrivals respectively. North Rhine-Westphalia is the most densely populated state in Germany and is located close to the Dutch border. Baden-Württemberg, however, is one of the southern German states and home to the Black Forest, which is a popular attraction among domestic and international tourists.

In 2022, the crime clearance rate was highest in Bavaria at almost 68 percent. Other German federal states with high rates included Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) has affected every federal state in Germany. Currently, as of January 2023, North Rhine-Westphalia has reported the highest number of cases of illness, followed by Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. For more statistical data and facts, visit our Statista page about the coronavirus.