Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Germany
Germany: Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median was 8.5% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Germany, 1991–2022
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2022, relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Germany stood at 8.5%. That is the highest value across all 32 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 26.9% on the previous year and up 77.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Germany peaked at 8.5% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 2.8%, in 1993.
Germany ranks 38th of 120 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 32 years of available data.
Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Germany, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 3.0% | — |
| 1992 | 3.1% | +3.3% |
| 1993 | 2.8% | -9.7% |
| 1994 | 4.6% | +64.3% |
| 1995 | 4.4% | -4.3% |
| 1996 | 3.6% | -18.2% |
| 1997 | 3.5% | -2.8% |
| 1998 | 3.7% | +5.7% |
| 1999 | 3.8% | +2.7% |
| 2000 | 3.6% | -5.3% |
| 2001 | 3.6% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 3.9% | +8.3% |
| 2003 | 4.0% | +2.6% |
| 2004 | 4.3% | +7.5% |
| 2005 | 4.6% | +7.0% |
| 2006 | 4.1% | -10.9% |
| 2007 | 4.1% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 4.0% | -2.4% |
| 2009 | 4.3% | +7.5% |
| 2010 | 4.1% | -4.7% |
| 2011 | 3.8% | -7.3% |
| 2012 | 4.8% | +26.3% |
| 2013 | 4.6% | -4.2% |
| 2014 | 5.2% | +13.0% |
| 2015 | 5.4% | +3.8% |
| 2016 | 5.7% | +5.6% |
| 2017 | 5.6% | -1.8% |
| 2018 | 5.7% | +1.8% |
| 2019 | 6.1% | +7.0% |
| 2020 | 6.4% | +4.9% |
| 2021 | 6.7% | +4.7% |
| 2022 | 8.5% | +26.9% |
Germany compared with similar countries
- Germany's 8.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 6.5%, 1.3× the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Germany's 8.5% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 5.6%, 1.5× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Germany changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | +64.3% | 2.8% | 4.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.6% | 2.8% | 4.6% | 9 |
| 2000s | 4.0% | 3.6% | 4.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.1% | 3.8% | 6.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.2% | 6.4% | 8.5% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Germany
More poverty & inequality data for Germany
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 7 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.44 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 7,007 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -1.67 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 37.48 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 37.5% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Germany?
- Relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Germany was 8.5% in 2022, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median recorded in Germany?
- The highest recorded value was 8.5% in 2022.
- What is the lowest relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median recorded in Germany?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.8% in 1993.
- How does Germany rank for relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median?
- Germany ranks 38th out of 120 countries with data for 2022.
- Is relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median rising or falling in Germany?
- Over the last ten years it is up 77.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Germany data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below 40% of the median.