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Press release No. 190 of 16 May 2023 Just over one-fifth of Germany’s population at risk of poverty or social exclusion

Just over 17.3 million people in Germany were affected by poverty or social exclusion in 2022. This equated to 20.9% of the population, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports on the basis of first results of the survey on income and living …

Press release No. 138 of 5 April 2023 Number of recipients of basic security benefits in old age and in cases of reduced earning capacity up by 6.0% at the end of 2022

In December 2022, just under 1.2 million people received basic security benefits in old age and in cases of reduced earning capacity in accordance with the German Social Code, Book XII (SGB XII). The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that …

Press release No. N 062 of 5 October 2022 One fifth of the population in Germany had an annual net income of less than 16,300 euros in 2021

Introducing an electricity price freeze, raising the children's allowance, one-off payments to students and pensioners and a higher housing allowance for more people entitled – the Federal Government has adopted a variety of measures as part of the …

Press release No. 327 of 4 August 2022 Relative risk of poverty in Germany at 15.8% in 2021

Roughly 13.0 million people in Germany were at risk of poverty in 2021. This is 15.8% of Germany's population. The proportion of people at risk of poverty in the population thus is at roughly the same level as a year earlier, as reported by the …

Press release No. 180 of 28 April 2022 2.2% more people received basic security benefits in old age and in cases of reduced earning capacity in December 2021

In December 2021, well over 1.1 million people received basic security benefits in old age and in cases of reduced earning capacity in accordance with the German Social Code, Book XII (SGB XII). The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that …

Press release No. 188 of 14 April 2021 December 2020: 1.3% more people received basic security benefits in old age and in cases of reduced earning capacity

In December 2020, just under 1.1 million people received basic security benefits in old age and in cases of reduced earning capacity in accordance with the German Social Code, Book XII (SGB XII). The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports …

Press release No. N 008 of 28 January 2021 3.1 million persons in employment at risk of poverty in Germany in 2019

Many persons in employment have incurred severe income losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, for example because of short-time work. Even before the crisis, employment did not protect all persons in employment from the risk of poverty. The Federal …

Press release No. 434 of 30 October 2020 CORRECTION: Number of recipients of minimum social security benefits down 4.6% in 2019

Just under 6.9 million people in Germany received minimum social security benefits at the end of 2019. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that this was a decline of 4.6% compared with the end of 2018 when roughly 7.2 million …

Press release No. N 062 of 30 September 2020 International Day of Older Persons: risk of poverty rose most strongly among 65-plus generation since 2005

The 65-plus generation in Germany faces an increasing risk of poverty. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that the proportion of those aged over 64 who are at risk of poverty, measured by the federal median, has increased by 4.7 …

Press release No. 140 of 22 April 2020 December 2019: 0.6% more people received basic security benefits in old age and in cases of reduced earning capacity

In December 2019, roughly 1,085,000 people in Germany received basic security benefits in old age and in cases of reduced earning capacity in accordance with the German Social Code, Book XII (SGB XII). The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also …

Press release No. 414 of 25 October 2019 Number of recipients of minimum social security benefits at the end of 2018 down 5.1% on a year earlier

At the end of 2018, roughly 7.2 million people received minimum social security benefits in Germany. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that this was a decline of 5.1% compared with the end of 2017 when just under 7.6 million …

Press release No. 130 of 3 April 2019 December 2018: 1.9% more people received basic security benefits in old age and in cases of reduced earning capacity

In December 2018, just under 1,079,000 people aged 18 or over in Germany received basic security benefits in old age and in cases of reduced earning capacity in accordance with the German Social Code, Book XII (SGB XII). The Federal Statistical …

Press release No. 408 of 19 October 2018 Number of recipients of minimum social security benefits at the end of 2017 down 3.5% on a year earlier

According to information from the competent authorities, almost 7.6 million people received minimum social security benefits in Germany at the end of 2017. This was a decrease of 3.5% compared with the end of 2016. At the end of 2017, the number of …

Press release No. 114 of 28 March 2018 1,059,000 recipients of basic security benefits in old age and in cases of reduced earning capacity in December 2017

In December 2017, just under 1,059,000 people aged 18 or over in Germany received basic security benefits in old age and in cases of reduced earning capacity in accordance with the German Social Code, Book XII, Chapter 4 (SGB XII). The Federal …

Press release No. 429 of 29 November 2017 7.9 million recipients of minimum social security benefits at the end of 2016

At the end of 2016, nearly 7.9 million people received minimum social security benefits in Germany. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that this was a decrease of 1.6% compared with the end of 2015 when just under 8.0 million …

Press release No. 298 of 29 August 2017 Poverty risk still varies between Länder

In terms of the at-risk-of-poverty rate, the poverty risk was lowest in the southern Länder of Baden-Württemberg (11.9%) and Bayern (12.1%) in 2016. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that the highest poverty risk in all of Germany was …

Press release No. 419 of 28 November 2016 8.0 million recipients of minimum social security benefits at the end of 2015

At the end of 2015, nearly 8.0 million people, that is, 9.7% of the population received minimum social security benefits in Germany. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that, as in the two preceding years, both the number and the …

Press release No. 334 of 22 September 2016 Poverty risk in western Germany higher than 10 years earlier

In 2015, the at-risk-of-poverty rate was higher than in 2005 in all western Länder except Hamburg. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that over the past ten years the poverty risk rose most markedly in Nordrhein-Westfalen, where …

Recipients of minimum social security benefits

Minimum social security benefits, 2018

Minimum social security benefits