Germany's poverty rate climbs to 16.1%, highest since records began in 2020

Record poverty levels

A report released Tuesday by the Parity Welfare Association shows that 13.34 million people in Germany, 16.1% of the population, were living in poverty in 2025, under the EU definition (household income below 60% of the national median). The threshold for a single person last year was €1,445 per month. After a period of decline from 2020 to a low of 12.1 million in 2023, the number has risen by 1.2 million, with the rate climbing from 14.4% in 2023 to 15.5% in 2024 and now 16.1%. The association called the increase a "negative trend reversal."

Whoever cuts the welfare state further in a crisis deepens the crisis. The federal government is called upon to stop this course and finally pursue policies that fight poverty instead of managing it.

Regional divide deepens

Regional disparities grew again. Bavaria had the lowest rate at 12.6%, while Bremen recorded 27.5%, the highest. Saxony-Anhalt (21.3%), Berlin (18.7%) and Hamburg (18.9%) were far above the national average. Among eastern states, Thuringia reached 17.4%, Saxony 16.7%, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 16.8%, while Brandenburg at 14.7% was slightly below the national figure. The gap between the state with the lowest and highest poverty share widened from 14.1 percentage points in 2024 to 14.9 points. The report linked the divide to lower incomes, higher joblessness and weaker economic structures in the most affected areas.

Most-affected groups

Single-person households faced a poverty rate of 30.3%, and single parents 28.9%. Nearly one in five people over 65 lived in poverty (19.5%), and the rate climbed to 21.3% for women aged over 75. Young adults (18–25) also were disproportionately poor. Around 70% of those in poverty were German citizens; 30% held foreign nationality. Four out of five poor people were not employed.

That older people after a long working life and households with children are particularly affected shows the deficits already present in the welfare state.

Policy warning

Joachim Rock, the association's managing director, urged the government to halt planned reductions in housing benefits, child maintenance advances and youth and integration aid. He warned that constant austerity debates create insecurity and benefit populists and extremists. The report noted that 4.6 million people already experience significant material deprivation, unable to afford unexpected expenses, adequate heating or a full meal.