Perception vs. reality in Eastern Germany

Many feel that opportunities are not quite equal. Almost one in three people from Eastern Germany said in a survey conducted by Allensbach in 2024 that they personally felt they were “2nd class citizens”. 59 percent had the impression that most people in Eastern Germany think of themselves as 2nd class citizens. 

37 percent of people from Eastern Germany said in the 2025 Germany Monitor survey that the reunification in 1990 had on the whole brought Eastern Germany more disadvantages than advantages. It is noteworthy, however, that people tend to have a more positive view of their own life. 73 percent said that the reunification had had more advantages for them personally. In extreme cases the lack of satisfaction is reflected in a nostalgic view of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), which was the socialist dictatorship that existed in Eastern Germany until 1990.  

It was found in scientific analyses that the AfD, parts of which have been categorised as right-wing extremist, benefits from the fact that many Eastern Germans feel disadvantaged. The ifo Institute Dresden, for example, concluded in 2024 that the popularity of the AfD and BSW in Eastern Germany was linked mostly to perceived unfairness, rather than to an objectively poor economic situation in the region. 

What does the economic data look like? 

The data paints a far more positive picture. Productivity, that is the economic output per job, in Eastern Germany was only around half of the level observed in Germany as a whole in 1991. The German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) reported that by 2024 this figure had gone up to just under 90 percent. 

This convergence is even more obvious when similar regions are compared. In most cases, productivity is by now almost on the same level in comparable rural areas in Eastern and Western Germany. Some Eastern German regions are even doing better than their Western German counterparts. More pronounced and growing economic inequality can by now be observed between large cities and rural regions, rather than between the East and the West. 

How big is the income gap? 

The available income adjusted for household size in Eastern Germany was around 92 percent of that observed in Western Germany in 2024, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Since 2008, this disposable income has also increased considerably more strongly in Eastern than in Western Germany. 

The gap is even smaller, when it comes to retired people. The available net income of pensioner households was only three percent lower in Eastern Germany including Berlin in 2025 than was the case in Western Germany. 

How has Eastern Germany been doing since the reunification in 1990? 

The economic catch-up process has been enormous. Productivity and income have increased significantly, cities and traffic routes were modernised and large amounts of state resources were used to enhance public infrastructure.  

Financial differences between the federal states are still compensated to this day. In 2024, the five Eastern German non-city states received a combined total of around ten billion euros in federal fiscal equalisation payments. This was more than half of the total redistributed amount. Economically weaker Western German states also receive this type of payment. 

Have all the differences between the East and the West disappeared? 

They have not. A particularly pronounced gap can be observed when it comes to private wealth. An Eastern German household had a median net wealth of 35,900 euros in 2023, while Western German households had 143,200 euros according to data published by the German central bank Bundesbank. People in Eastern Germany are also less likely to own their home. 

Demographic development is also an issue. Many young people, in particular, have moved to the West since 1990. As a result, there are parts of Eastern Germany that are sparsely populated and have an older population. This inhibits economic development and makes it harder for companies to find workers.