Germany has 16 federal states, known in German as Bundesländer. They are Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, and Thuringia. Together these states form the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland), one of the most influential federal systems in Europe.
The 16 States at a Glance
Germany's states vary enormously in size, population, and character, ranging from sprawling rural regions to compact city-states that govern a single metropolitan area. A few stand out:
- Largest by area: Bavaria, at roughly 70,550 km², covers nearly a fifth of the entire country.
- Most populous: North Rhine-Westphalia, home to more than 18 million people — more than the Netherlands.
- Smallest by area: Bremen, at just 419 km².
- City-states: Berlin, Hamburg, and Bremen each function simultaneously as a city and a federal state.
The three city-states are a distinctive feature of the German system. Rather than belonging to a surrounding state, they govern themselves directly, blending municipal and state-level responsibilities into a single administration.
How the Number Reached 16
The current map of 16 states dates from German reunification on 3 October 1990. West Germany had consisted of 11 states (10 plus West Berlin). When the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) dissolved, it re-established five historic states — Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia — which then joined the Federal Republic. The divided city of Berlin was reunified into a single state at the same time, bringing the total to 16.
These five eastern regions are still commonly referred to as the "new states" (neue Länder), even decades later. Some borders have shifted over the longer history of the republic too: Saarland, for example, was a French-administered protectorate after World War II and only joined West Germany as a state in 1957 following a referendum.
How German Federalism Works
Germany is a federal parliamentary republic, and the states hold genuine constitutional power rather than acting as mere administrative districts. Each Bundesland has its own constitution, its own elected parliament (the Landtag), and its own head of government — a minister-president, or a governing mayor in the case of the city-states.
States are responsible for major policy areas including education, policing, cultural affairs, and broadcasting. This is why school curricula, exam systems, and even public holidays differ from one state to another. The federal government and the states share other responsibilities, with the constitution (the Basic Law, or Grundgesetz) defining who controls what.
At the national level, state governments are represented through the Bundesrat, the upper house of parliament. The Bundesrat must approve a wide range of federal laws that affect state interests, giving the states a direct and powerful voice in shaping national legislation. To balance the wealth gap between regions, Germany also operates a fiscal equalization system (Länderfinanzausgleich) that redistributes funds from richer states to poorer ones.
Economic and Regional Identity
Each state carries a strong sense of regional identity, often rooted in centuries of history as independent kingdoms, duchies, or free cities. Bavaria, the largest state, is also among the wealthiest and is home to global companies such as BMW, Siemens, and Audi. It even maintains its own regional political party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), which competes only within Bavaria.
North Rhine-Westphalia, centred on the densely populated Rhine-Ruhr area, is the economic powerhouse with the highest overall GDP, built on a legacy of coal, steel, and heavy industry that has since diversified. Hamburg, a wealthy maritime city-state, is famous for its enormous port and its network of canals — the city is criss-crossed by more bridges than any other in Europe. Meanwhile, the eastern states have undergone profound transformation since reunification, modernising their economies and infrastructure.
This diversity of landscapes, dialects, and traditions is part of what makes Germany so varied for travellers and learners alike. To explore the country in more depth, see our germany country guide.
How the Sixteen Compare in Size
North Rhine-Westphalia holds around 18 million people, more than the Netherlands, while Bremen has under 700,000, fewer than many single German cities. Bavaria covers roughly 70,500 square kilometres against Bremen's 420.
That spread means a Bundesrat seat is worth very different amounts per head, since votes are allocated in bands from three to six rather than proportionally, deliberately over-weighting the smaller states. Bavaria on its own is slightly larger than the Republic of Ireland, and it accounts for about a fifth of Germany's 357,600 square kilometres; our guide to how big Germany is puts the country in context. Austria, the only other German-speaking federation, is organised the same way on a smaller scale, with nine states of its own.
Bavaria Is the Awkward One
Bavaria is the largest state by area and the only one that calls itself a Freistaat, a free state, a title it adopted in 1918 and has kept for the constitutional symbolism rather than any extra power.
It was the only state whose parliament refused to ratify the Basic Law in 1949, objecting that it was too centralist, though it accepted the outcome and joined anyway. Its politics have been dominated for most of the postwar period by the CSU, which exists only in Bavaria and operates as a sister party to the CDU everywhere else.
It also has the strongest regional identity of the sixteen, with its own dialect group, distinct Catholic traditions, and a persistent sense that Prussia and then Berlin are somewhere else.
The Borders Were Drawn by the Occupiers
Several states have no historical precedent at all. North Rhine-Westphalia, now the most populous, was assembled by British military government in 1946 from the Prussian Rhine Province and Westphalia, largely because it kept the Ruhr industry in one administrative unit.
Baden-Wurttemberg was created in 1952 by merging three postwar states, and remains the only case where a merger was approved by referendum. Rhineland-Palatinate was a French zone construction joining territories with little in common.
Attempts to rationalise the map since have failed. A 1996 referendum on merging Berlin and Brandenburg was rejected by Brandenburg voters, and no state boundary has changed since 1957, when the Saarland joined after its own vote.
Three of the States Are Cities
Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen are city-states, holding the powers of a Land and a municipality at once. Bremen is the odd one, consisting of two separate territories: the city of Bremen and the port of Bremerhaven some 60 kilometres downriver, with Lower Saxony in between.
The arrangement is a survival of the Hanseatic free cities, which governed themselves for centuries before German unification and declined to be absorbed into surrounding territories. Hamburg's formal name, the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, still records it.
Their status has practical consequences: each has its own parliament, police force and school system, and each holds seats in the Bundesrat, the federal chamber where the states are represented.
The East-West Divide Is Still Measurable
Five states rejoined the federation in 1990 after reunification: Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, with East and West Berlin merging into one.
Thirty-five years later the economic gap has narrowed but not closed. Output per head and average wages in the eastern states remain below western levels, and the solidarity surcharge levied to fund reconstruction ran from 1991 until it was largely phased out in 2021.
Population has moved as well. The eastern states lost well over a million people to westward migration after 1990, concentrated among the young, and several eastern cities are smaller now than they were under the GDR.
What the States Actually Control
German federalism gives the Lander genuine authority rather than delegated powers. Education, policing, broadcasting and cultural policy are state matters, which is why school curricula, term dates and even the school-leaving examination differ across the country.
The Bundesrat gives them a veto over federal legislation affecting their interests, and it is not a formality: a government without a Bundesrat majority routinely finds its programme blocked or amended.
The same structure explains why Germany has no single dominant city. Broadcasting sits in Mainz and Cologne, the constitutional court in Karlsruhe, the central bank in Frankfurt and the government in Berlin, because each state fought to keep the institutions it had.
Questions People Ask About the German States
What are the German states called in German?
They are called Bundesländer (singular: Bundesland), which translates roughly as "federal states." The word Land on its own is also commonly used to refer to an individual state.
Which is the largest German state?
By area, Bavaria is the largest at about 70,550 km². By population, North Rhine-Westphalia is the largest, with over 18 million residents. They are two different states, so the answer depends on which measure you mean.
What are city-states in Germany?
Berlin, Hamburg, and Bremen are city-states, meaning a single city holds the constitutional status of a full federal state. They run both city and state government functions through one administration.
How many states did Germany have before reunification?
West Germany had 11 states (including West Berlin). The five eastern "new states" plus reunified Berlin joined in 1990, bringing the total to the present 16.