Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median in Germany
Germany: Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% of the median was 12.5% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Relative poverty: Share of population below 50% 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
The most recent figure for relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median in Germany is 12.5%, measured in 2022. That is the highest value across all 32 years on record.
The figure is up 7.8% on the previous year and up 28.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median in Germany peaked at 12.5% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 6.5%, in 1993.
That places Germany 48th out of 120 countries with data for 2022, putting it 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 50% of the median in Germany, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 7.2% | — |
| 1992 | 7.0% | -2.8% |
| 1993 | 6.5% | -7.1% |
| 1994 | 9.3% | +43.1% |
| 1995 | 9.0% | -3.2% |
| 1996 | 7.5% | -16.7% |
| 1997 | 7.9% | +5.3% |
| 1998 | 7.9% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 7.8% | -1.3% |
| 2000 | 7.8% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 8.1% | +3.8% |
| 2002 | 7.9% | -2.5% |
| 2003 | 8.2% | +3.8% |
| 2004 | 8.5% | +3.7% |
| 2005 | 8.7% | +2.4% |
| 2006 | 8.6% | -1.1% |
| 2007 | 8.2% | -4.7% |
| 2008 | 8.6% | +4.9% |
| 2009 | 9.2% | +7.0% |
| 2010 | 8.8% | -4.3% |
| 2011 | 8.5% | -3.4% |
| 2012 | 9.7% | +14.1% |
| 2013 | 9.5% | -2.1% |
| 2014 | 10.6% | +11.6% |
| 2015 | 10.5% | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 10.7% | +1.9% |
| 2017 | 10.6% | -0.9% |
| 2018 | 10.6% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 11.0% | +3.8% |
| 2020 | 10.9% | -0.9% |
| 2021 | 11.6% | +6.4% |
| 2022 | 12.5% | +7.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.8% | 6.5% | 9.3% | 9 |
| 2000s | 8.4% | 7.8% | 9.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.1% | 8.5% | 11.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.7% | 10.9% | 12.5% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Germany
- 45 Gambia 12.8% compare
- 46 Republic of Korea 12.6% compare
- 47 Iran, Islamic Republic of 12.6% compare
- 49 Uzbekistan 12.3%
- 50 Georgia 12.3% compare
- 51 Latvia 12.3% compare
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 50% of the median in Germany?
- Relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median in Germany was 12.5% 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 50% of the median recorded in Germany?
- The highest recorded value was 12.5% in 2022.
- What is the lowest relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median recorded in Germany?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.5% in 1993.
- How does Germany rank for relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median?
- Germany ranks 48th out of 120 countries with data for 2022.
- Is relative poverty: share of population below 50% of the median rising or falling in Germany?
- Over the last ten years it is up 28.9%. 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 50% of the median. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 32 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below 50% of the median.