German state

North Rhine-Westphalia

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Population
18,017,500
Area
34,112 km²
Population density
528/km²
10-year change
2.5%
Disposable income
27,754 € p.c.
Unemployment rate
7.8%

landläufigkeit.indexi

47.1 out of 100

Rank 8 of 16 states

  • Work & incomei34
  • Housingi41
  • Healthi69
  • Everyday lifei65
  • Safety & naturei34
  • Futurei40

The districts

The 53 districts in North Rhine-Westphalia, in order of the landläufigkeit.index.

RankDistrictResidentslandläufigkeit.index
1Paderborn district315,606 55.9
2Hochsauerlandkreis261,193 54.6
3Olpe district132,426 54.2
4Gütersloh district363,674 52.9
5Bonn321,680 52.3
6Düsseldorf616,319 51.9
7Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis283,607 51.6
8Soest district300,347 51.0
9Köln1,024,408 51.0
10Rhein-Kreis Neuss457,398 50.9
11Münster307,071 50.3
12Märkischer Kreis408,899 50.3
13Steinfurt district450,042 50.2
14Oberbergischer Kreis273,963 49.7
15Siegen-Wittgenstein district274,379 49.5
16Remscheid114,061 49.3
17Herford district254,593 49.1
18Rhein-Erft-Kreis476,412 49.1
19Höxter district139,042 48.7
20Rhein-Sieg-Kreis605,283 48.6
21Warendorf district282,216 48.4
22Düren district278,462 48.2
23Leverkusen167,850 48.2
24Solingen166,078 48.0
25Heinsberg district262,149 47.7
26Bielefeld331,519 47.5
27Lippe district347,613 46.6
28Bottrop118,912 46.6
29Borken district379,787 46.5
30Hagen190,640 46.2
31Mettmann district489,760 46.2
32Gelsenkirchen267,284 45.9
33Coesfeld district226,217 45.8
34Städteregion Aachen district582,463 45.6
35Duisburg503,185 45.5
36Euskirchen district201,841 45.5
37Recklinghausen district622,855 45.4
38Bochum357,024 45.0
39Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis315,069 44.6
40Oberhausen213,510 44.1
41Mülheim an der Ruhr172,887 43.7
42Mönchengladbach267,667 43.2
43Unna district396,283 43.1
44Krefeld230,393 42.8
45Minden-Lübbecke district320,925 42.8
46Wuppertal358,592 42.7
47Essen574,082 42.4
48Dortmund601,343 41.9
49Herne156,154 41.4
50Viersen district297,504 40.9
51Hamm179,380 40.8
52Wesel district457,545 39.9
53Kleve district319,928 39.8

Population

FigureValueStatusiGermanyRank
Population 202318,017,50083,456,0001
Population density 2023528/km²233/km²4
Foreign nationals 202315.5%14.5%6
Share under 18 202417.0%16.7%4
Share aged 65+ 202422.1%22.7%10
Share aged 75+ 202410.6%11.1%10
Average age 202243.9 years44.3 years10
Foreign nationals, census 2022 202214.4%13.2%6
Single-person households 202243.7%43.4%7
Births minus deaths 2023-3.9/1,000-4.0/1,0007
Net migration 20236.8/1,0007.9/1,00015
Population change, 10 years 20132.5%3.3%11
School leavers with Abitur 202338.5%33.2%4
School leavers without qualification 20236.4%7.1%13
Childcare rate under 3 202332.0%37.8%14
Basic income support (SGB II) 202684.4/1,00064.0/1,0004
Child poverty (SGB II) 202317.3%13.0%5
Recorded crime 20186,675/100,0006,406/100,0005

Economy

FigureValueStatusiGermanyRank
Disposable income 202327,754 € p.c.28,452 € p.c.7
GDP per person 202448,810 € p.c.51,834 € p.c.7
Income per taxpayer 202145,793 €/taxpayer45,835 €/taxpayer5
Unemployment rate 11/2025–10/20267.8%6.4%6
Youth unemployment (15–24) 11/2025–10/20266.7%5.9%9
Jobs with social insurance 2025408/1,000417/1,0007
Jobs in industry & construction 202424.9%26.8%9
People in work in agriculture 20240.8%1.2%11
People in work in industry & construction 202421.5%23.2%10
People in work in services 202477.7%75.6%7
Employees with a degree 202318.1%19.4%8
Businesses 202441.1/1,00042.4/1,0007
Craft businesses 20246.1/1,0006.8/1,00012
Company insolvencies 2021–202350.9/10,000 firms39.6/10,000 firms4
Overnight stays 20253.1 p.c.6.0 p.c.16
Municipal tax revenue 20231,704 € p.c.1,685 € p.c.7
Debt of the Land and its municipalities 202311,656 € p.c.8,110 € p.c.7

Living

FigureValueStatusiGermanyRank
Rent 20226.82 €/m²7.28 €/m²8
Home ownership 202240.6%44.3%11
Empty homes 20223.3%4.3%13
New homes 20232.7/1,0003.5/1,00011
Homes in new buildings 20232.3/1,0003.1/1,00011
Price of building land 2025194 €/m²160 €/m²6
Living space 202345.2 m² p.c.46.7 m² p.c.12
Gas heating 202268.5%55.9%2
Oil heating 202213.9%18.8%8
District heating 20229.8%15.1%13
Heat pumps 20222.7%2.7%5
Wood & biomass 20221.5%4.2%13
Cars 2026592/1,000592/1,0008
Electric & hybrid cars 202613.3%12.9%6
Long commutes (50 km+) 202310.5%11.5%12

Infrastructure

FigureValueStatusiGermanyRank
Drive time to the nearest supermarket 20213.3 min3.5 min12
Drive time to the nearest pharmacy 20243.7 min4.1 min11
Drive time to the nearest primary school 20213.7 min3.9 min10
Drive time to the nearest secondary school 20216.0 min6.2 min11
Doctors 2023141/100,000149/100,00015
Drive time to the nearest GP 20213.0 min3.1 min10
General practitioners 202359/100,00065/100,00016
Drive time to the nearest emergency department 20249.1 min11.1 min13
Drive time to the nearest IC/ICE station 202414.8 min18.0 min13
Public transport nearby 202596.2%93.0%6
Gigabit internet 202585.0%80.2%6
5G mobile coverage 202596.8%95.3%8
Public charging points 202623.1/10,00025.3/10,0007

Resources

FigureValueStatusiGermanyRank
Renewable power capacity 20261.50 kW p.c.2.57 kW p.c.12
Solar power 20260.88 kW p.c.1.56 kW p.c.13
Wind power 20260.55 kW p.c.0.85 kW p.c.9
Biomass power 20260.06 kW p.c.0.11 kW p.c.10
Balcony solar units 202616.8/1,00018.2/1,00013
Battery storage 20260.34 kWh p.c.0.42 kWh p.c.12
Home batteries 202630.4/1,00033.2/1,0008
Electricity use of industry 20242.8 MWh p.c.2.3 MWh p.c.6
Forest share 202326.8%31.2%9
Farmland share 202346.7%50.3%8
Settlement & transport area 202323.4%14.2%4
Land take for settlement & transport 20191.4 m² p.c./yr2.4 m² p.c./yr11
Household waste 2024454 kg p.c.452 kg p.c.8
Hot days 201612.1 days/yr13.8 days/yr11
Frost days 2016–202546.2 days/yr63.4 days/yr16
Days with 20 mm of rain or more 2016–20254.7 days/yr4.8 days/yr4
Snow days 2016–20255.2 days/yr12.2 days/yr16

Federal election 2025: party votes

PartyNorth Rhine-WestphaliaGermany
CDU/CSU30.1%28.5%
SPD20.0%16.4%
AfD16.8%20.8%
Greens12.4%11.6%
The Left8.3%8.8%
FDP4.4%4.3%
BSW4.1%5.0%
Turnout82.2%82.5%

Sources

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