Key takeaways
- Nordrhein-Westfalen is the most populated federal state in Germany, with a population of 17.89 million.
- Berlin has the highest population density, with around 4033 people living per square km.
- Berlin is also the most populated city in Germany, with a population of 3.42 million.
- Bremen, Berlin, and Hamburg have the highest percentage of expats in Germany.
- 13.89 million foreigners are living in Germany as of 31 Dec 2023.
- The highest number of foreign nationals living in Germany are Turkish.
Table of Contents
What is the population of German federal states?
Germany has 16 federal states. Nordrhein-Westfalen is the most populated federal state in Germany, with a population of 17.89 million. It accounts for 21.63% of the total German population.
Next in line are Bayern and Baden-Württemberg, which have 13 million and 11.1 million in population, respectively.
The table below shows the population of all the federal states in Germany as of 15 May 2022.
| German Federal States | Population | Percentage |
| Nordrhein-Westfalen | 17,890,489 | 21.63% |
| Bayern | 13,038,724 | 15.76% |
| Baden-Württemberg | 11,104,040 | 13.42% |
| Niedersachsen | 7,943,265 | 9.60% |
| Hessen | 6,207,278 | 7.50% |
| Rheinland-Pfalz | 4,094,169 | 4.95% |
| Sachsen | 4,038,131 | 4.88% |
| Berlin | 3,596,999 | 4.35% |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 2,927,542 | 3.54% |
| Brandenburg | 2,534,075 | 3.06% |
| Sachsen-Anhalt | 2,146,443 | 2.59% |
| Thüringen | 2,110,396 | 2.55% |
| Hamburg | 1,808,846 | 2.19% |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 1,570,817 | 1.90% |
| Saarland | 1,006,864 | 1.22% |
| Bremen | 693,204 | 0.84% |
| Germany | 82,719,540 | 100% |
Source: Zensus Datenbank
Saarland and Bremen have the lowest population in Germany. They account for a mere 1.22% and 0.84% of the total German population, respectively.
Population density of Federal States of Germany
| German Federal States | Area (sq km) | Population density (Nr of people per sq KM) |
| Berlin | 892 | 4033 |
| Hamburg | 755 | 2396 |
| Bremen | 419 | 1654 |
| Nordrhein-Westfalen | 34,085 | 525 |
| Saarland | 2,569 | 392 |
| Baden-Württemberg | 35,752 | 311 |
| Hessen | 21,115 | 294 |
| Sachsen | 18,416 | 219 |
| Rheinland-Pfalz | 19,853 | 206 |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 15,799 | 185 |
| Bayern | 70,552 | 185 |
| Niedersachsen | 47,609 | 167 |
| Thüringen | 16,172 | 130 |
| Sachsen-Anhalt | 20,446 | 105 |
| Brandenburg | 29,480 | 86 |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 23,180 | 68 |
Source: GermanPedia calculation based on Zensus Datenbank data
The German capital, Berlin, has the highest population density, with around 4033 people living per square km. Next to Berlin is Hamburg, where 2396 people live per square kilometer.
Strangely, Bremen has the lowest population, but it has the third largest population density in Germany. 1654 people per square kilometer are living in Bremen.
Top 10 most populated cities in Germany?
| German City | Population | Percentage |
| Berlin | 3,426,354 | 4.09% |
| Hamburg | 1,739,117 | 2.08% |
| Munich | 1,260,391 | 1.51% |
| Koeln | 963,395 | 1.15% |
| Frankfurt am Main | 650,000 | 0.78% |
| Essen | 593,085 | 0.71% |
| Stuttgart | 589,793 | 0.70% |
| Dortmund | 588,462 | 0.70% |
| Duesseldorf | 573,057 | 0.68% |
| Bremen | 546,501 | 0.65% |
Source: WorldPopulationReview
Berlin not only has the most dense population but is also the most populated city in Germany. Berlin attracts a lot of foreigners and offers an open culture.
Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Köln, and Frankfurt are the top 5 most populated cities in Germany as of 2024.
Which German federal states have the most foreigners?
| German Federal States | Population | Total foreigners | Percentage |
| Bremen | 693,204 | 142,458 | 20.55% |
| Berlin | 3,596,999 | 702,977 | 19.54% |
| Hamburg | 1,808,846 | 305,278 | 16.88% |
| Hessen | 6,207,278 | 1,040,610 | 16.76% |
| Baden-Württemberg | 11,104,040 | 1,844,243 | 16.61% |
| Nordrhein-Westfalen | 17,890,489 | 2,568,080 | 14.35% |
| Bayern | 13,038,724 | 1,860,565 | 14.27% |
| Saarland | 1,006,864 | 131,593 | 13.07% |
| Rheinland-Pfalz | 4,094,169 | 511,716 | 12.50% |
| Niedersachsen | 7,943,265 | 816,625 | 10.28% |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 2,927,542 | 258,554 | 8.83% |
| Thüringen | 2,110,396 | 132,143 | 6.26% |
| Sachsen | 4,038,131 | 252,463 | 6.25% |
| Brandenburg | 2,534,075 | 146,229 | 5.77% |
| Sachsen-Anhalt | 2,146,443 | 123,599 | 5.76% |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 1,570,817 | 76,215 | 4.85% |
Source: GermanPedia calculation based on Zensus Datenbank data as of 15 May 2022
Based on the percentage of foreigners in a federal state, Bremen, Berlin, and Hamburg are the top three. However, if you look at the number of foreigners in a federal state, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Bayern, and Baden-Württemberg are the top three.
20% of the population of Bremen and Berlin and 16% of the total population of Hamburg, Hessen, and Baden-Württemberg are foreigners.
2.56 million foreigners have settled in Nordrhein-Westfalen. 1.86 million and 1.84 million expats call Bayern and Baden-Württemberg their home, respectively.
Top 10 foreign nationals living in Germany
| Foreign Nationals Living in Germany | Total | Percentage |
| Turkish | 1,548,095 | 1.85% |
| Ukraine | 1,239,705 | 1.48% |
| Syrians | 972,460 | 1.16% |
| Romanian | 909,795 | 1.09% |
| Polish | 887,715 | 1.06% |
| Italien | 644,035 | 0.77% |
| Bulgarian | 436,860 | 0.52% |
| Croatian | 434,045 | 0.52% |
| Afghanistan | 419,410 | 0.50% |
| Greeks | 359,045 | 0.43% |
| Indian | 246,125 | 0.29% |
| United States | 122,475 | 0.15% |
Source: Destatis as of 31 Dec. 2023
13.89 million foreigners are living in Germany as of 31 Dec 2023. Turkish are the top foreign nationals living in Germany.
As of December 2023, there were around 1.54 million Turkish in Germany, which is 1.54% of the total German population.
In second place are the Ukranians. There are around 1.24 million Ukrainians in Germany. Syrians come in third place, with almost a million Syrians living in Germany.
Romanians and Polish nationals share the third place. Each has around 900,000 people living in Germany.
There are around 246k Indian and 122k American nationals in Germany.
