Osnabrück, Kreisfreie Stadt: population, economy and official figures

Osnabrück, Kreisfreie Stadt is a district (Kreis) in Lower Saxony, Germany. Osnabrück, Kreisfreie Stadt had 166,057 residents on 1 January 2025, 2.1% of Lower Saxony and 0.20% of Germany; 187th largest of 400 districts in Germany.

In depth

• Economy, jobs and prices in Osnabrück, Kreisfreie Stadt: GDP per person was 55,100 purchasing power standards (PPS) in 2023, 143% of the EU average (117% for Germany); 53rd highest of 400 districts in Germany.
• Health in Osnabrück, Kreisfreie Stadt: In 2024, the city of Osnabrück had 21.1 doctors per 10,000 residents, compared with 13.1 in the median German district, which ranks it 37th highest of 400 districts. In 2019 the figure was 22.5.
• Education in Osnabrück, Kreisfreie Stadt: The share of school leavers without even a lower secondary certificate (Hauptschulabschluss) in the city of Osnabrück was 5.1% in 2023, 74th lowest of 400 districts in Germany; the median district stood at 7.0%. It was 5.4% in 2019.
• Poverty and living standards in Osnabrück, Kreisfreie Stadt: The share of residents under 65 living on basic income support (Bürgergeld, formerly Hartz IV) in the city of Osnabrück was 11.0% in 2023, 61st highest of 400 districts in Germany; the median district stood at 6.5%. In 2019 the figure was 11.2%.
• Government budget and revenue in Osnabrück, Kreisfreie Stadt: At €1,652 in 2023, the tax revenue of its municipalities per resident in the city of Osnabrück ranked 102nd highest of 400 German districts (district median €1,446). That is up from €1,312 in 2019.

Figures come from Germany's own official statistics and from Eurostat's regional statistics for NUTS 3 areas. Comparisons with the EU average use purchasing power standards (PPS), which adjust for price differences.

Other districts in Lower Saxony

• Region Hannover 1,140,888
• Osnabrück, Landkreis 354,821
• Emsland 334,539
• Göttingen 328,028
• Hildesheim 267,506
• Harburg 265,864
• Braunschweig, Kreisfreie Stadt 252,962
• Diepholz 221,202
• Stade 207,700
• Cuxhaven 198,842
• Aurich 188,816
• Lüneburg, Landkreis 179,448
• Cloppenburg 177,025
• Oldenburg (Oldenburg), Kreisfreie Stadt 176,614
• Gifhorn 175,943
• Celle 172,449
• Leer 169,103
• Rotenburg (Wümme) 165,904
• Schaumburg 156,841
• Hameln-Pyrmont 150,203
• Vechta 146,539
• Grafschaft Bentheim 144,543
• Heidekreis 141,321
• Verden 138,626
• Peine 137,045
• Oldenburg, Landkreis 132,008
• Wolfsburg, Kreisfreie Stadt 129,560
• Ammerland 127,751
• Goslar 126,775
• Northeim 125,623
• Nienburg (Weser) 121,468
• Wolfenbüttel 118,290
• Osterholz 113,598
• Salzgitter, Kreisfreie Stadt 104,970
• Friesland (DE) 100,411
• Uelzen 91,638
• Helmstedt 90,227
• Wesermarsch 88,936
• Delmenhorst, Kreisfreie Stadt 81,406
• Wilhelmshaven, Kreisfreie Stadt 75,745
• Holzminden 65,581
• Wittmund 55,969
• Emden, Kreisfreie Stadt 49,202
• Lüchow-Dannenberg 46,502

Up a level: Lower Saxony · all regions of Germany · how local power works in Germany

Sources

• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_pjangrp3: Population on 1 January (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 4c748d3cba3a…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_d3dens: Population density, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f4b59fe9d121…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gdp: GDP per person, PPS (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3bf0fc662f56…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gdp: GDP, million euros (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 096e15e5fdb3…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3empers: Employment, thousand people (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 664e4e3a6dc0…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_pjanind3: Median age of the population (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 7bf6ade55a0d…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_pjanind3: Share of people aged 65 or over (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 17aa0d08ab9c…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_fagec3: Live births (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 cfda9b5f4ebd…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset reg_area3: Area, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 75302b0aafe9…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3empers: Employment (thousand persons) by NUTS 3 region and industry, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 222a97c302d3…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gva: Gross value added at basic prices by NUTS 3 region and industry, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 c656e8563bdf…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_gind3: Population change: demographic balance and crude rates by NUTS 3 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 7548e948e15c…)
• Bundesinstitut für Bau-, Stadt- und Raumforschung (BBSR) im Bundesamt für Bauwesen und Raumordnung: INKAR – Indikatoren und Karten zur Raum- und Stadtentwicklung: 43 district (Kreise) indicators, 2012-2024 (table service extract), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0c743f54caf6…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.