Number of People Insured in Public & Private Health Insurance in Germany [2025]

Key Takeaways

• 74.26 million (as of 2025) people are insured under public health insurance (GKV) in Germany.
• 8.7 million (as of 2025) German residents are insured with private health insurance.
• 35.21 million (as of 2025) people are compulsorily insured in public health insurance in Germany.
• 17.65 million individuals are insured under KVdR (insurance for pensioners) in Germany.
• A total of 15.1 million people in Germany are insured in free family insurance (Fami­li­en­ver­si­che­rung)
• 6.29 million people are voluntarily insured under public health insurance in Germany.
• Individuals insured in voluntary public insurance are composed of employees (50.7 %), self-employed individuals (23.85 %), retirees (5.95 %), and civil servants (1.57 %).

This is how you do it

• Use our "Health Insurance Finder" tool to check which health insurance is best for you.
• We find TK the best public health insurance provider for expats. Its website, mobile app, and customer service are in English. You can register with TK online.
• We recommend getting private health insurance via an insurance broker. They are experts and can help you find the best plan for your needs. You can book a call with an expert we recommend here.
• In our comparison and test, we found Haellesche, Allianz, and Signal Iduna’s private health insurance plans to be the best.

Table of Contents

How many people are insured in public and private health insurance in Germany?

In Germany, everyone is legally required to have valid health insurance. You can choose between two types of health insurance in Germany.

• Public or statutory health insurance (Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung (GKV))
• Private health insurance (Privat Krankenversicherung (PKV))

74.26 million (as of 2025) people are insured under public health insurance (GKV) in Germany. This is approximately 87.6% of the country’s population (84.74 million (as of Jan 2025)). 

On the other hand, 8.7 million (as of 2025) German residents are insured with private health insurance.

Despite health insurance being legally required in Germany, there are still 80,000 people who don’t have one. The uninsured population is usually made up of

• Financially challenged individuals
• People who are not paying for health insurance illegally

Why is 87% of the German population insured with statutory health insurance?

You can choose private health insurance in Germany only if you meet the following criteria.

• You earn above the income threshold (i.e., 73,800€ (as of 2025)).
• You don’t have any pre-existing health problems.

As of 2025, only 15% of Germany’s population earns above the income threshold and is eligible for private health insurance. This is why 87% of the German population is insured with public health insurance.

Moreover, many people who earn above the income threshold have existing medical conditions and don’t qualify for private health insurance.

We recommend getting private health insurance via an insurance broker. They are experts and can help you find the best plan for your needs. You can book a call with an expert we recommend here.

Book a free call with a health insurance expert

• German health insurance is a complicated product. There are several factors that must be considered before deciding which health insurance is best for you. An expert can guide you and help you pick the best option for you.
• An Insurance broker is liable for their advice. This means if the policy they recommended doesn’t offer the coverage you requested, they are liable to pay the damages incurred in the future.

Book a call

Breakdown of number of people insured in public health insurance in Germany

Public health insurance categorizes its members into four broad categories.

• Compulsorily insured
• Voluntarily insured
• Insurance for pensioners (KVdR)
• Free family insurance

Here’s a breakdown of the number of people insured in the different categories of the statutory health system.

We find TK the best public health insurance provider for expats. It offers its website, mobile app, and customer support in English.

You can register with TK online for free in 2 minutes using our “TK registration service.“

Register with TK

• Biggest public health insurance company in Germany based on number of members.
• Enjoy low premiums
• Get English customer support, website, and mobile app.
• Complete the application process in English.

Register with TK

How many people are compulsorily insured under public health insurance?

As of 2025, 35.21 million people are compulsorily insured in public health insurance in Germany. This is 47.4% of the total people insured in the public health system.

Individuals who earn below the required income threshold (73,800€ (as of 2025)) are compulsorily insured under the public health insurance system. 

Number of people who are voluntarily insured in public health insurance in Germany

As of 2025, 6.29 million people (8.5%) are voluntarily insured under public health insurance. People who earn above the income threshold can choose between public and private health insurance.

Lately, many people are moving into private health insurance for the following reasons.

• People fear that public health insurance will not be able to offer high-quality services at an affordable price in the future.
• Private health insurance is cheaper than public health insurance for high-earners
• Private health insurance plans offer better medical coverage than public.

However, getting private health insurance is a life-long decision as returning to public healthcare system is tough.

We recommend getting private health insurance via an insurance broker. They are experts and can help you find the best plan for your needs. You can book a call with an expert we recommend here.

Book a free call with a health insurance expert

• German health insurance is a complicated product. There are several factors that must be considered before deciding which health insurance is best for you. An expert can guide you and help you pick the best option for you.
• An Insurance broker is liable for their advice. This means if the policy they recommended doesn’t offer the coverage you requested, they are liable to pay the damages incurred in the future.

Book a call

What percent of people are insured under KVdR (insurance for pensioners)?

17.65 million retirees (23.8%) are insured under “Krankenversicherung der Rentner (KvdR)” or the insurance for pensioners.

KVdR is a special status that applies to people who meet the following criteria.

• You have reached the retirement age,
• You have received or have applied for a statutory pension, AND
• You have been insured in public health insurance for more than 90% of the time during the second half of your working life.

You pay lower public health insurance premiums if you qualify for the KVdR status. Learn how the insurance premiums are calculated after retirment in our guide on health insurance for pensioners.

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• The German healthcare system is complex. This is why we wrote this book to help you navigate it.
• Choosing health insurance is a life-long decision. If you pick the wrong plan, it may cost you dearly in the future.
• Learn what is covered in public and private health insurance and what is not.
• What supplement health insurance plans must you get based on your personal situation?

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How many people are insured under free family insurance (Fami­li­en­ver­si­che­rung)?

As of 2025, 15.1 million individuals are insured under free family insurance (Fami­li­en­ver­si­che­rung) in Germany.

You can insure your non-working family members (spouse and children) for free under your public health insurance in Germany. This is referred to as free family insurance. 

Your family members must meet the following criteria to qualify for free “family health insurance”

• The family member to be insured must live in Germany.
• They do not work full-time as self-employed.
• The family member must not be exempt from public insurance. For example, they are a high-earning employee or civil servant.
• People from certain professional groups, such as civil servants, judges, soldiers, or clergy, cannot be included in family insurance.
• Their monthly income doesn’t exceed the minimum income limit. The income limit is 535€ (as of 2025).
• The income shouldn’t exceed the mini-job income limit for family members working part-time. It’s 556 euros per month (as of 2025).

Breakdown of number of people voluntarily insured under public health insurance in Germany

74.26 million (as of 2025) people in Germany are insured under statutory health insurance. Of these, 6.29 million people (8.5%) are voluntarily insured under public health insurance.

Here’s a breakdown of the people by profession who are voluntarily insured in public health insurance.

• Employees: Almost 50% of all the voluntarily insured people are employees.
• Self-Employed: The second largest group is made up of self-employed individuals. Self-employed people can choose between public and private health insurance regardless of their income. Experts recommend private health insurance to high-earning self-employed people as it offers better coverage at a lower cost. 
• Retirees: About 374,000 retirees who do not qualify for KVdR (Health Insurance for Pensioners) are voluntarily insured in public health insurance.
• Civil Servants: Civil servants form the smallest group of voluntarily insured individuals. The reason is that the state pays 50% to 70% of their medical bills. So, civil servants only need supplementary private health insurance to cover the rest. Thus making private health insurance very cheap for them.

If you are confused, you can use our “Health Insurance Finder” tool to check which health insurance is right for you and why.

We recommend getting private health insurance via an insurance broker. They are experts and can help you find the best plan for your needs. You can book a call with an expert we recommend here.

Which health insurance is better: private or public?

The German healthcare system is complex. Which health insurance is right for you depends on your life situation and plans. 

In general, premium private health insurance plans provide better medical coverage than public health insurance. However, you cannot insure your non-working family members for free in private health insurance. 

Many insurance agents and brokers lure customers to buy private health insurance by selling them cheap tariffs. Run and never look back when you encounter such insurance agents or brokers. 

When taking private health insurance with an insurance broker, discussing and creating a long-term strategy is critical. You should never compromise on your medical coverage to save some euros.

Take our private health insurance benefits checklist with you to your consultation. Ask the insurance broker to fill it out and sign it. This acts as written proof of your consultation. 

Moreover, you must invest the money you save by moving to private health insurance to cover the premiums after retirement. You can start an ETF savings plan and invest a small sum every month.

You can open a free account with Scalable Captial* or Finanzen.net Zero* and start saving.

We recommend getting private health insurance via an insurance broker. They are experts and can help you find the best plan for your needs. You can book a call with an expert we recommend here.

Insurance brokers and advisors are liable for their advice. This means that if the insurance plan they recommended doesn’t fulfill your wishes, they are liable to pay the damages.

Insurance brokers offer free advice. The insurance company pays them upon the successful conclusion of the contract.

An insurance broker can also help you file a claim with the provider. The broker we recommend has been offering services to expats for more than a decade.