High inequality despite rising wages
Only 10% of households in Germany have 56% of the wealth. This means that Germany performs poorly in terms of inequality in a European comparison. Average household net wealth increased by 39% in real terms between 2011 and 2021. However, gifts and inheritances in particular ensure an unequal distribution of wealth across generations.
Even the positive income trend in past years has not been able to reduce the population’s risk of poverty. In 2022, around 15 percent of households were living below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold (one-person household: €1,200 net household income per month, two-person household with child: €2,160). The findings on poverty in old age are also worrying: in eastern Germany, for example, one in four people aged 60 to 79 is at risk of poverty.