Poverty rate in Germany, according to a new report by the Paritätische Wohlfahrtsverband (Der Paritätische Wohlfahrtsverband), has reached a new high. From 2024 to 2025, that share, according to the current Poverty Report, increased by 0,6 percentage points to 16,1 percent of the population.
"In this country, 13,3 million people live in poverty - if only relative poverty according to their income is observed," states the association. These data were published by the Federal Bureau of Statistics back in February, writes DW.
The executive director of the association, Joachim Rock, assesses that "the situation looks like a crisis" and warns the German federal government about the possible consequences of the announced reductions in social benefits. Additional savings would further worsen the crisis, he says and emphasizes that it is worrisome that the poverty rate is growing significantly for the second year in a row.
Who is considered at risk of poverty in Germany?
Affected and officially, according to the definition of the European Union, are considered "persons at risk of poverty". The association emphasizes that a "sad record" has been recorded: in no previous year, as stated, were there so many people affected by poverty.
People who have less than 60 percent of the median (median) income are considered at risk of poverty, as stated by statisticians, or poor, as described by the Association for Parity Social Protection. For single people, that threshold recently amounted to a net 1.446 euros per month, while for households with two adults and two children under the age of 14, it was 3.036 euros.
Regional differences are large.
After the drop in the poverty rate from 2020 to 2023, there was a "negative reversal of the trend", the association points out. The differences between individual regions in Germany are large. Thus, in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, thanks to a strong economic structure, they record the lowest rates of those affected: with 12,6 and 13,2 percent, respectively.
The provinces of Bremen (27,5 percent), Saxony-Anhalt (21,3), as well as Hamburg (18,9) and Berlin (18,7) recorded the largest shares of those affected. In western Germany, regions such as Trier (21,4 percent), Weser‑Emms (20,8) and Arnsberg (19,6) are particularly affected, while in eastern Germany, for example, Chemnitz (18,2) or Leipzig (17,4).
The problem of poverty in old age
"Old age threatens to become a poverty trap," states the Association. According to their data, almost every fifth person over the age of 65 is affected by poverty or is at risk of poverty.
Other groups are also particularly affected: people living alone (share of the poor or vulnerable: 30,3 percent), single parents (28,9) or people with a low level of education (29,1).
Important procurements are often not possible
"Overall, current developments show that poverty is particularly growing where there are structural disadvantages, for example with low levels of education or limited access to the labor market," the authors of the report explain. According to these data, four out of five affected persons are not employed. According to the Poverty Report, 70 percent of those affected have German citizenship, while 30 percent do not.
In many households there is acute financial scarcity. For 6,9 percent of the population, the money last year was not even enough to cover current expenses. It was often not possible to pay the (rising) electricity and heating prices, and often not even to buy a new refrigerator or stove.
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