http://www.oecd.org/regional Regions and Cities at a Glance 2018 – GERMANY Economic trends in regions Regional gap in GDP per capita, 2000-16 Index of regional disparity in GDP per capita, 2016 Top 20 % richest over bottom 20% poorest regions GDP per capita in USD PPP 2016 2000 Ratio 4 80 000 Small regions Large regions Highest region (TL3) (TL2) 70 000 Hamburg 60 000 69 719 USD 3 50 000 Germany 40 000 43 110 USD 2 30 000 Lowest region 20 000 Mecklenburg- 1 10 000 Vorpommern 29 133 USD 2000 2005 2010 2016 Country (number of regions considered) Differences between German regions in terms of GDP per capita have decreased over the last sixteen years. However, regional economic disparities in Germany remain above the median of OECD countries, with Hamburg having 60% higher GDP per capita than Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. With a productivity growth of 1.6% per year over the period 2000-16, Thuringia is catching-up with respect to Hamburg, the frontier region in terms of productivity in Germany. Hamburg experienced the lowest productivity growth in the same period. While the youth unemployment rate has declined in practically all regions since 2007, in Berlin it was 11.6% in 2017, more than 7 percentage points higher than in Bavaria and almost 5 percentage points higher than the country average. Productivity trends, most and least dynamic regions, 2000-16 Youth unemployment rate, 15-24 years old, 2007-17 GDP per worker in USD PPP Hamburg: highest rate (%) 120 000 productivity in 2016 and 25 110 000 lowest productivity OECD 20 Highest rate 100 000 growth (+-0.1% average Berlin 90 000 annual growth over 15 11.6% 2000-16) 80 000 Germany Germany 10 70 000 Thuringia: highest 6.8% 60 000 productivity growth 5 Lowest rate 50 000 (+1.6% annually) Bavaria 40 000 0 4.2% 2000 2005 2010 2016 2007 2012 2017 Source: OECD Regional Database. Notes: (1) Figure on regional gap in GDP per capita: OECD regions refer to the administrative tier of subnational government (large regions, Territorial Level 2); Germany is composed of 16 large regions. (2) Figure on index of regional disparity: top (bottom) 20% regions are defined as those with the highest (lowest) GDP per capita until the equivalent of 20% of national population is reached, this indicator provides a harmonised measure to rank OECD countries, using data for small regions (Territorial Level 3) when available. (3) Productivity is measured as GDP per employee at place of work in constant prices, constant Purchasing Power Parities (reference year 2010). Updated the 5th of March 2019 Differences in well-being across regions Top region Bottom region Berlin Regions (Bundesländer) North Rhine- Thuringia Schleswig- Bavaria Hamburg Westphalia Holstein Hamburg Baden- top 20% Württemberg Baden- Saxony-Anhalt Württemberg (1 to 402) Schleswig- Hamburg Holstein Berlin Brandenburg Rhineland- Mecklenburg- Palatinate Brandenburg Vorpommern middle 60% Bremen Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt Baden- Württemberg Bavaria Ranking of OECD regions Saxony-Anhalt bottom 20% Jobs Safety Education Community Life Access to Health Housing Income Environment Civic Satisfaction services Engagement Relative ranking of the regions with the best and worst outcomes in the 11 well-being dimensions, with respect to all 402 OECD regions. The eleven dimensions are ordered by decreasing regional disparities in the country. Each well-being dimension is measured by the indicators in the table below. In six out of the eleven well-being dimensions, Germany has at least four regions in the top 20% of OECD regions, with the best performance observed in jobs and access to services. However, regional differences are particularly large in jobs, safety, education and sense of community. The top performing German regions fare better than the OECD median region for all the well-being indicators, except for air pollution. Country OECD median German regions Average region Top 20% Bottom 20% Jobs Employment rate 15 to 64 years old (%), 2017 74.9 67.7 78.1 71.6 Unemployment rate 15 to 64 years old (%), 2017 3.9 5.5 2.5 5.5 Safety Homicide Rate (per 100 000 people), 2016 0.8 1.3 0.5 1.2 Education Labour force w ith at least upper secondary education (%), 2017 86.7 81.7 91.7 84.2 Community Perceived social netw ork support (%), 2013 94.0 91.4 95.0 92.6 Life Satisfaction Life satisfaction (scale from 0 to 10), 2013 6.7 6.8 6.9 6.3 Access to services Households w ith broadband access (%), 2017 92.0 78.0 94.4 83.3 Health Life Expectancy at birth (years), 2016 81.0 80.4 81.9 80.4 Age adjusted mortality rate (per 1 000 people), 2016 7.8 8.1 7.4 8.2 Housing Rooms per person, 2016 1.8 1.8 1.9 1.7 Income Disposable income per capita (in USD PPP), 2016 23 887 17 695 26 193 20 618 Environment Level of air pollution in PM 2.5 (µg/m³), 2015 14.1 12.4 12.5 15.8 Civic engagement Voters in last national election (%), 2017 or lastest year 76.2 70.9 78.3 73.4 Source: OECD Regional Database. Visualisation: https://www.oecdregionalwellbeing.org. Notes: (1) OECD regions refer to the first administrative tier of subnational government (large regions, Territorial Level 2); Germany is composed of 16 large regions. (2) Household income per capita data are based on USD constant PPP, constant prices (year 2010). Updated the 5th of March 2019 Metropolitan areas in the national economy OECD population is concentrated in cities* Percentage of population in cities, 2016 UnitedGermany States OECD average people outside cities people 26% outside cities people in cities people in cities 30% 1.2 billion 82.2 million with population with population people - 70% 55% people - 74% 50% above 500 000 above 500 000 people in cities with 6% live in cities live in cities population between people in cities with 6% 50 000 and 250 000 population between 18% 50 000 and 250 000 9% people in cities with population between people in cities with population 250 000 and 500 000 between 250 000 and 500 000 Source: OECD Metropolitan Database. Number of cities: 96 in Germany and 1 138 in the OECD. In Germany, 74% of the population lives in cities of more than 50 000 inhabitants. The share of population in cities with more than 500 000 people is 50% compared to 55% in the OECD area. Importance of metropolitan areas Contribution of metropolitan areas to GDP growth Cities above 500 000 people, 2016 Cities above 500 000 people, 2000-16 % Germany OECD average % Germany OECD average 80 80 70 63% 68% 58% 70 60 55% 52% 55% 50% 60 51% 50 50 40 40 30 30 20 areas 20 Berlin 10 10 327metropolitan 0 0 % of national % of national % of national All metropolitan1 areas Largest contributor2 GDP employment population Metropolitan areas in Germany account for 55% of national GDP and 52% of employment. Between 2000 and 2016 they generated 51% of the national GDP growth. Seven German metropolitan areas are among the top 20% in the OECD in terms of GDP per capita. The richest metropolitan area, Munich, ranks 10th out of 327 metropolitan areas. In terms of air pollution, only three German metropolitan areas, Aachen, Saarbrucken and Freiburg im Breisgau, rank better than the OECD median. OECD Metropolitan areas ranking Cities above 500 000 people USD PPP 100 000 80 000 GDP per 60 000 40 000 capita, 2016 20 000 0 Top 20% richest Bottom 20% poorest metropolitan areas metropolitan areas Lev el of air pollution in PM 2.5 (µg/m³) 30 Air pollution 20 (PM2.5), 2017 10 0 Top 20% least polluted Bottom 20% most polluted metropolitan areas metropolitan areas Source: OECD Metropolitan Database. Number of metropolitan areas with a population of over 500 000: 26 in Germany compared to 327 in the OECD. * Note: Cities are defined here as functional urban areas, which are composed by high-density urban centres of at least 50 000 people and their areas of influence (commuting zone). For more information, see: http://www.oecd.org/cfe/regional-policy/functionalurbanareasbycountry.htm. Updated the 5th of March 2019 Subnational government finance Subnational government expenditure by function As a share of total subnational government expenditure, 2016 Germany 00 OECD average Social protection 26% 11 14% Social protection General public services 23% 22 14% General public services Education 22% 33 25% Education Other 16% 44 15% Other Economic affairs 12% 55 14% Economic affairs Health 2% 66 18% Health Subnational expenditure per capita: USD 10 394 77 USD 6 817 Subnational government expenditure amounts to USD 10 394 per capita in Germany compared to an OECD average of USD 6 817. In Germany, this is equivalent to 48.1% of total public expenditure and to 21.2% of GDP. In comparison, across the OECD, subnational government expenditure accounts for 40.4% of total public expenditure and for 16.2% of GDP. Social protection and general public services are the two largest spending items for subnational governments in Germany: together they represent 49% of subnational expenditure compared to 28% in the OECD area. In Germany, 66.9% of total public investment was carried out by subnational governments compared to an OECD average of 56.9%. Role of subnational governments in public investment Subnational government public investment per capita, 2016 USD per capita Germany OECD average 1 400 1 200 1 000 Total public investment USD 1 020 per capita Total public investment 800 2.1% of GDP USD 1 278 per capita 3.0% of GDP 600 Subnational government Subnational government 400 investment investment USD 682 per capita 200 USD 727 per capita 66.9% of public invest.