Effects of the Berlin Wall on modern-day Germany

Upvote:1

There is a jumble of minor and not so minor differences.

  • In addition to the income difference mentioned by nvoigt, there is a difference in pensions.
  • A larger fraction of power comes from lignite. Two of three major regions are in the east, one is in the west.
  • Different voting patterns leading to different economic policies. Die Linke, a leftist party descended from the communist SED, is much stronger in the east. The social-democrat SPD is stronger in the west. At the same time, nazi parties are also much stronger in the east, but they are not in a position to set policy.
  • Different numbers of immigrants and their immediate descendants. There are considerably more in the west.

Upvote:4

The Berlin Wall was brought down in 1989. Before, the GDR (eastern part of Germany) had been a communist satellite state and when it collapsed, it was almost bankrupt. Both German states reunified. Unified Germany poured nearly 2 Trillion € into the reconstruction of it's eastern states.

25 years later, there is still a difference between the former FRG and GDR parts of Germany. It's not as bad as it was, but you can still see it in the statistics.

If you want to look into it, 2014, as the 25 year anniversary, produced a lot of comparisons, statistics and videos for all aspects of life.

Most statistics will list "Germany" as a whole, as well as "Früheres Bundesgebiet" or "Alte Länder" (former FRG territory/old states) and "Neue Länder" (new states, former GDR territory).

Some notable economic numbers:

  • Unemployment rate is 6% overall, with the West at 5.5% and the East at 8.6%

  • Monthly average income is 3527€ overall, with the west at 3652€ and the east at 2760€

If you understand German, a lot of information can be found at Statistisches Bundesamt.

The differences are slowly getting less, with some other distinctions (for example rural areas vs cities) already having a larger impact on the economic numbers.

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