Ranking of German Federal States by Numbers (Data Updated up to 2025*)

Below are five tables summarising the numerical ranking of Germany’s 16 federal states according to different criteria: area, population, revenues (economic size), net fiscal contribution at the federal level (payer/recipient), and the number of foreigners or people with a migration background. All figures are approximate estimates based on the latest available data for the year 2025.

1) Ranking by area (in square kilometres) and share of Germany’s total area (~357,000 km²)

Rank – Federal state – Area (km²) – Percentage share of Germany’s total area

1. Bavaria (Bayern) – 70,550 km² – 19.8%

2. Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen, NI) – 47,600 km² – 13.3%

3. Baden-Württemberg (BW) – 35,750 km² – 10.0%

4. North Rhine–Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen, NW) – 34,100 km² – 9.5%

5. Brandenburg (BB) – 29,650 km² – 8.3%

6. Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, MV) – 23,200 km² – 6.5%

7. Saxony-Anhalt (ST) – 20,450 km² – 5.7%

8. Hesse (Hessen, HE) – 21,100 km² – 5.9%

9. Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz, RP) – 19,850 km² – 5.6%

10. Saxony (Sachsen, SN) – 18,450 km² – 5.2%

11. Thuringia (Thüringen, TH) – 16,200 km² – 4.5%

12. Schleswig-Holstein (SH) – 15,800 km² – 4.4%

13. Saarland (SL) – 2,570 km² – 0.7%

14. Berlin (BE) – 891 km² – 0.25%

15. Hamburg (HH) – 755 km² – 0.21%

16. Bremen (HB) – 420 km² – 0.12%

2) Ranking by population (in millions) and share of Germany’s population (~84–85 million)

Rank – Federal state – Population (million) – Share of Germany’s total population

1. North Rhine–Westphalia (NW) – 17.9 million – 21%

2. Bavaria (Bayern) – 13.2 million – 15.7%

3. Baden-Württemberg (BW) – 11.1 million – 13.2%

4. Lower Saxony (NI) – 8.0 million – 9.5%

5. Hesse (HE) – 6.3 million – 7.5%

6. Saxony (SN) – 4.1 million – 4.9%

7. Rhineland-Palatinate (RP) – 4.1 million – 4.9%

8. Berlin (BE) – 3.7 million – 4.4%

9. Schleswig-Holstein (SH) – 2.9 million – 3.5%

10. Brandenburg (BB) – 2.5 million – 3%

11. Saxony-Anhalt (ST) – 2.2 million – 2.6%

12. Thuringia (TH) – 2.1 million – 2.5%

13. Hamburg (HH) – 1.9 million – 2.3%

14. Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania (MV) – 1.6 million – 1.9%

15. Saarland (SL) – 0.98 million – 1.2%

16. Bremen (HB) – 0.68 million – 0.8%

3) Ranking by revenues / economic size and share of Germany’s overall economy

Rank – Federal state – Estimated revenues / GDP (billion euros) – Share of Germany’s economy (~3.8 trillion euros)

1. North Rhine–Westphalia (NW) – ~ €800 billion – ~ 21%

2. Bavaria (Bayern) – ~ €700 billion – ~ 18%

3. Baden-Württemberg (BW) – ~ €600 billion – ~ 16%

4. Lower Saxony (NI) – ~ €350 billion – ~ 9%

5. Hesse (HE) – ~ €300 billion – ~ 8%

6. Berlin (BE) – ~ €220 billion – ~ 6%

7. Rhineland-Palatinate (RP) – ~ €180 billion – ~ 5%

8. Saxony (SN) – ~ €150 billion – ~ 4%

9. Hamburg (HH) – ~ €140 billion – ~ 3.7%

10. Schleswig-Holstein (SH) – ~ €120 billion – ~ 3.2%

11. Brandenburg (BB) – ~ €100 billion – ~ 2.6%

12. Saarland (SL) – ~ €80 billion – ~ 2.1%

13. Saxony-Anhalt (ST) – ~ €70 billion – ~ 1.8%

14. Thuringia (TH) – ~ €65 billion – ~ 1.7%

15. Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania (MV) – ~ €50 billion – ~ 1.3%

16. Bremen (HB) – ~ €45 billion – ~ 1.2%

4) Ranking by net payer or recipient status in the federal fiscal equalisation system (Länderfinanzausgleich)

Rank (from highest net payer to highest net recipient) – Federal state – Net annual amount (payer (+) / recipient (–), in billion euros)

1. Bavaria (Bayern) – + €6.5 billion

2. Baden-Württemberg (BW) – + €4.0 billion

3. Hesse (HE) – + €3.5 billion

4. North Rhine–Westphalia (NW) – + €2.5 billion

5. Lower Saxony (NI) – + €1.0 billion

6. Hamburg (HH) – + €0.6 billion

7. Rhineland-Palatinate (RP) – ± €0.0 billion

8. Schleswig-Holstein (SH) – – €0.5 billion

9. Berlin (BE) – – €1.2 billion

10. Saarland (SL) – – €1.5 billion

11. Saxony (SN) – – €1.8 billion

12. Brandenburg (BB) – – €2.0 billion

13. Saxony-Anhalt (ST) – – €2.3 billion

14. Thuringia (TH) – – €2.5 billion

15. Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania (MV) – – €2.7 billion

16. Bremen (HB) – – €3.0 billion

5) Ranking by number of foreigners or people with a migration background and their share of the state population

Rank – Federal state – Share of state population (%) – Approximate number (million/thousand) – Share of all people with a migration background in Germany

1. Berlin (BE) – ~ 35–36% – ~ 1.3 million – ~ 10%

2. Hamburg (HH) – ~ 33–35% – ~ 0.6–0.7 million – ~ 7–8%

3. Bremen (HB) – ~ 30–32% – ~ 0.2 million – ~ 2–3%

4. Hesse (HE) – ~ 30% – ~ 1.9 million – ~ 8%

5. Baden-Württemberg (BW) – ~ 28–30% – ~ 3.0 million – ~ 10–11%

6. North Rhine–Westphalia (NW) – ~ 26–28% – ~ 4.6–5.0 million – ~ 14–15%

7. Bavaria (Bayern) – ~ 25–27% – ~ 3.3–3.5 million – ~ 12–13%

8. Lower Saxony (NI) – ~ 18–20% – ~ 1.4–1.6 million – ~ 7–8%

9. Rhineland-Palatinate (RP) – ~ 18–20% – ~ 0.7–0.8 million – ~ 4–5%

10. Schleswig-Holstein (SH) – ~ 14–16% – ~ 0.4 million – ~ 3%

11. Saarland (SL) – ~ 14–16% – ~ 0.14 million – ~ 1–2%

12. Brandenburg (BB) – ~ 10–12% – ~ 0.25–0.30 million – ~ 2–3%

13. Saxony (SN) – ~ 8–10% – ~ 0.3–0.4 million – ~ 2–3%

14. Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania (MV) – ~ 7–9% – ~ 0.12–0.14 million – ~ 1–2%

15. Saxony-Anhalt (ST) – ~ 7–8% – ~ 0.15–0.17 million – ~ 1–2%

16. Thuringia (TH) – ~ 6–8% – ~ 0.13–0.17 million – ~ 1–2%

All figures presented in these tables are approximate values and may be adjusted in the future in line with official reports or any economic and demographic changes affecting the German federal states.

* The editorial and writing team of our website strives to provide accurate information based on extensive research and consultation of multiple sources. However, errors may occur or some information may not yet be fully verified. Therefore, the information contained in this article should be regarded as an initial reference only. For definitive and up-to-date information, please always refer to the relevant authorities and official institutions.