North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen): economy, jobs and official figures

North Rhine-Westphalia is a state (Land) of Germany, the largest of 16 by population. North Rhine-Westphalia had 18,034,454 residents on 1 January 2025, 21.6% of the population of Germany and the largest of 16 states in Germany. That is 2.2% more than in 2015.

In depth

• Economy, jobs and prices in North Rhine-Westphalia: GDP per person was 43,500 purchasing power standards (PPS) in 2024, 109% of the EU average; 7th highest of 16 states in Germany. PPS adjust for price differences between countries.
• Health in North Rhine-Westphalia: Life expectancy at birth was 80.7 years in 2024 (81.2 for Germany); 10th highest of 16 states in Germany.
• Education in North Rhine-Westphalia: The share of adults aged 25 to 64 with a degree-level (tertiary) education was 32.3% in 2025, against 35.4% for Germany and 36.9% across the EU; 10th highest of 16 states in Germany.
• Poverty and living standards in North Rhine-Westphalia: Disposable household income was 25,100 PPS per person in 2023; 8th highest of 16 states in Germany.
• Government budget and revenue in North Rhine-Westphalia: North Rhine-Westphalia and its municipalities owed €13,239 per inhabitant to the non-public sector at the end of 2024, 5th highest of 16 Länder.
• Government and politics in North Rhine-Westphalia: Hendrik Wüst (CDU) heads the government of North Rhine-Westphalia as Minister-President; the Bundesrat lists the office as "Ministerpräsident des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen" (October 2026).

Districts in North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia is made up of 53 districts. Each has its own page of official figures.

• Köln, Kreisfreie Stadt 1,024,621
• Recklinghausen 621,305
• Düsseldorf, Kreisfreie Stadt 618,685
• Rhein-Sieg-Kreis 605,441
• Dortmund, Kreisfreie Stadt 603,462
• Städteregion Aachen 582,410
• Essen, Kreisfreie Stadt 574,682
• Duisburg, Kreisfreie Stadt 502,270
• Mettmann 490,910
• Rhein-Erft-Kreis 477,988
• Wesel 457,918
• Rhein-Kreis Neuss 457,077
• Steinfurt 451,712
• Märkischer Kreis 408,046
• Unna 393,784
• Borken 380,796
• Gütersloh 363,982
• Bochum, Kreisfreie Stadt 358,676
• Wuppertal, Kreisfreie Stadt 358,193
• Lippe 347,149
• Bielefeld, Kreisfreie Stadt 331,605
• Bonn, Kreisfreie Stadt 323,336
• Kleve 322,018
• Minden-Lübbecke 320,557
• Paderborn 315,912
• Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis 314,167
• Münster, Kreisfreie Stadt 308,258
• Soest 300,297
• Viersen 297,857
• Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis 284,273
• Warendorf 282,639
• Düren 279,285
• Siegen-Wittgenstein 274,074
• Oberbergischer Kreis 274,057
• Gelsenkirchen, Kreisfreie Stadt 267,930
• Mönchengladbach, Kreisfreie Stadt 267,213
• Heinsberg 263,681
• Hochsauerlandkreis 260,843
• Herford 254,404
• Krefeld, Kreisfreie Stadt 231,406
• Coesfeld 227,859
• Oberhausen, Kreisfreie Stadt 213,646
• Euskirchen 202,609
• Hagen, Kreisfreie Stadt 190,384
• Hamm, Kreisfreie Stadt 179,968
• Mülheim an der Ruhr, Kreisfreie Stadt 173,050
• Leverkusen, Kreisfreie Stadt 168,581
• Solingen, Kreisfreie Stadt 165,626
• Herne, Kreisfreie Stadt 155,851
• Höxter 139,252
• Olpe 132,346
• Bottrop, Kreisfreie Stadt 118,535
• Remscheid, Kreisfreie Stadt 113,828

How states are governed in Germany

Länder (16, including the city-states Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen). Elected parliaments and governments. Make the municipal codes (Gemeindeordnungen), supervise municipalities, run police and schools policy.

Every tier of government in Germany

Other states of Germany

• Bavaria 13,248,928
• Baden-Württemberg 11,245,898
• Lower Saxony 8,004,489
• Hesse 6,280,793
• Rhineland-Palatinate 4,129,569
• Saxony 4,042,422
• Berlin 3,685,265
• Schleswig-Holstein 2,959,517
• Brandenburg 2,556,747
• Saxony-Anhalt 2,135,597
• Thuringia 2,100,277
• Hamburg 1,862,565
• Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 1,573,597
• Saarland 1,012,141
• Bremen 704,881

Up a level: Germany · government and power in Germany · cities

Sources

• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_d2jan: Population on 1 January, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1572e74fa245…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_d3dens: Population density, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f4b59fe9d121…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_2gdp: GDP per person (purchasing power standards), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 c21f724d14a6…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_2gdp: GDP per person (euros), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 537f99167955…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_2gdp: GDP (million euros), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 e3677c4e6d67…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_2hhinc: Disposable household income per person (PPS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 bd6019768e9f…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset lfst_r_lfu3rt: Unemployment rate (age 15-74), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 13f5037ce93a…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset lfst_r_lfu3rt: Youth unemployment rate (age 15-24), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83bb1aebc10b…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset lfst_r_lfe2emprt: Employment rate (age 20-64), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 03191283bf5f…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset ilc_peps11n: At risk of poverty or social exclusion, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 94dcf245d20e…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_mlifexp: Life expectancy at birth, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 62800ed9bbb3…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset edat_lfse_04: Adults (25-64) with a degree-level education, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 6ff9f4bfff72…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset rd_e_gerdreg: Research and development spending (% of GDP), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 36a9132b2284…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset isoc_r_broad_h: Households with broadband, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 b02c9a1ef222…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_fagec: Live births, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 6a1490d549d5…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_magec: Deaths, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 d4821a589633…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset reg_area3: Area, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 75302b0aafe9…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset lfst_r_lfu3rt: Unemployment rates by sex, age, educational attainment level and NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 ac151d8a46d5…)
• Bundesrat: Landesparlamente: Termine der Landtagswahlen, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fbab94295619…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset isoc_r_iuse_i: Individuals regularly using the internet by NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fb4ff8800853…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset lfst_r_lfe2emprt: Employment rates by sex, age and NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 51bfca80dc8b…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset tran_r_vehst: Stock of vehicles by category and NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 5adf37bcb393…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset ilc_li41: At-risk-of-poverty rate by NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 27849ad61b9a…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_2gvagr: Real growth rate of regional gross value added (GVA) at basic prices by NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 ba2c4bdc7c37…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset trng_lfse_04: Participation rate of adults in education and training (last 4 weeks) by NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 42ceced85786…)
• 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 nama_10r_2coe: Compensation of employees by NUTS 2 region and industry, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 895d7cc9e826…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset tran_r_acci: Victims in road accidents by NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a183ad1f888d…)
• Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis): Statistischer Bericht: Grunddaten der Krankenhäuser 2024, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ede95ab59dc…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset tour_occ_nin2: Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments by NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 06f6a82909c0…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_minfind: Infant mortality rates by NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 60cbafea3657…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset ilc_mdsd18: Severe material and social deprivation rate by NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 62e6e6fba571…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset edat_lfse_04: Population aged 25-64 by educational attainment level, sex and NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 63810622cd71…)
• Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis): Statistischer Bericht: Allgemeinbildende Schulen, Schuljahr 2025/2026, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 eda75dad3048…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset edat_lfse_22: Young people neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET) by NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1467a7225373…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset ilc_lvhl21n: People living in households with very low work intensity by NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 8b5e993ae943…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset hlth_cd_asdr2: Causes of death: standardised death rate by NUTS 2 region of residence, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 308c4b705d5d…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_mlifexp: Life expectancy by age, sex and NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f5a2a33406b9…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset edat_lfse_16: Early leavers from education and training by sex and NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 c3cc66b98a4a…)
• Bundesrat: Mitglieder des Bundesrates (alle Mitglieder), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 cef44d224cf8…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_find2: Fertility indicators by NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 d3f275c072bc…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset educ_uoe_enra11: Pupils and students enrolled by education level, sex and NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 20b6224cca4f…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_2hhinc: Income of households by NUTS 2 region (euros per inhabitant), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7441dafca51…)
• Statistische Ämter des Bundes und der Länder (Arbeitskreis Nachhaltigkeitsindikatoren): Nachhaltigkeitsindikatoren der Länder: Tabellenband mit kompletten Zeitreihen zu allen Indikatoren (October 2026 edition), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 5f3f1b692389…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset lfst_r_lfu2ltu: Long-term unemployment (12 months and more) by NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3d5d17a32863…)

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