Ranking German States in Numbers Only (Data Updated to 2025)

Below are five tables that summarise the 16 German federal states (Bundesländer) numerically according to different criteria: area, population, revenues (economic size), net federal financial contribution (payer/receiver) and the number of foreigners or people with a migration background. All figures are approximate and based on the latest available data up to 2025.

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

Rank | State | Area (km²) | Percentage of Germany’s area

1. Bavaria (Bayern) – 70,550 – 19.8%

2. Lower Saxony (NI) – 47,600 – 13.3%

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

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

5. Brandenburg (BB) – 29,650 – 8.3%

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

7. Saxony-Anhalt (ST) – 20,450 – 5.7%

8. Hesse (HE) – 21,100 – 5.9%

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

10. Saxony (SN) – 18,450 – 5.2%

11. Thuringia (TH) – 16,200 – 4.5%

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

13. Saarland (SL) – 2,570 – 0.7%

14. Berlin (BE) – 891 – 0.25%

15. Hamburg (HH) – 755 – 0.21%

16. Bremen (HB) – 420 – 0.12%

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

Rank | State | Population (million) | Share of Germany’s population

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

2. Bavaria (Bayern) – 13.2 – 15.7%

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

4. Lower Saxony (NI) – 8.0 – 9.5%

5. Hesse (HE) – 6.3 – 7.5%

6. Saxony (SN) – 4.1 – 4.9%

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

8. Berlin (BE) – 3.7 – 4.4%

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

10. Brandenburg (BB) – 2.5 – 3%

11. Saxony-Anhalt (ST) – 2.2 – 2.6%

12. Thuringia (TH) – 2.1 – 2.5%

13. Hamburg (HH) – 1.9 – 2.3%

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

15. Saarland (SL) – 0.98 – 1.2%

16. Bremen (HB) – 0.68 – 0.8%

3) Ranking by revenues (economic size) and share in the German economy

Rank | State | Estimated volume of revenues/GDP (billion euros) | Share of the German economy (~3.8 trillion euros)

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

2. Bavaria (Bayern) – ~ 700 – ~ 18%

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

4. Lower Saxony (NI) – ~ 350 – ~ 9%

5. Hesse (HE) – ~ 300 – ~ 8%

6. Berlin (BE) – ~ 220 – ~ 6%

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

8. Saxony (SN) – ~ 150 – ~ 4%

9. Hamburg (HH) – ~ 140 – ~ 3.7%

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

11. Brandenburg (BB) – ~ 100 – ~ 2.6%

12. Saarland (SL) – ~ 80 – ~ 2.1%

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

14. Thuringia (TH) – ~ 65 – ~ 1.7%

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

16. Bremen (HB) – ~ 45 – ~ 1.2%

4) Ranking by net payment to or receipt from the federal government (Länderfinanzausgleich)

Ranking (from highest net payer to highest net recipient) | State | Net payment (+) or net receipt (-) per year (billion euros)

1. (highest payer) Bavaria (Bayern) – + 6.5

2. Baden-Württemberg (BW) – + 4.0

3. Hesse (HE) – + 3.5

4. North Rhine-Westphalia (NW) – + 2.5

5. Lower Saxony (NI) – + 1.0

6. Hamburg (HH) – + 0.6

7. Rhineland-Palatinate (RP) – ± 0.0

8. Schleswig-Holstein (SH) – - 0.5

9. Berlin (BE) – - 1.2

10. Saarland (SL) – - 1.5

11. Saxony (SN) – - 1.8

12. Brandenburg (BB) – - 2.0

13. Saxony-Anhalt (ST) – - 2.3

14. Thuringia (TH) – - 2.5

15. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (MV) – - 2.7

16. (highest recipient) Bremen (HB) – - 3.0

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

Rank | State | Share of the state’s population (%) | Estimated figure (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 given in these tables are approximations and are subject to change in line with future official reports or any economic and demographic developments affecting the German states.

* The editorial and writing team of this website strives to provide accurate information based on extensive research and consultation of multiple sources. However, some figures may be based on estimates or changing statistics, and errors or uncertainties cannot be completely ruled out. The information contained in this article should therefore be regarded only as an initial, non-binding point of reference. For official and fully up-to-date information, readers are advised to consult the competent authorities and official institutions.