New states of Germany

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the former East German states experienced high rates of depopulation until around 2008. About 2,000 schools closed between 1989 and 2008, because of a demographic shift to a lower number of children. In 2019, the new states had exactly the same fertility rate as the old states (both 1.56). More children are born out of wedlock in the new states than in the old states. In the new states, 61% of births were from unmarried women compared to 27% in the old states in 2009. Both states of Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania had the highest rates of birth outside wedlock at 64% each, followed by Brandenburg with 62%, Bavaria and Hesse at 26%, while the state of Baden-Württemberg had the lowest rate at 22%. Demographic evolution Brandenburg had a population of 2,660,000 in 1989 and 2,531,071 in 2020. It has the second-lowest population density in Germany. In 1995, it was the only new state to experience population growth, aided by nearby Berlin. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania had a population of 1,970,000 in 1989 Migration There are more migrants in former West Germany than in former East Germany. About 1.7 million people (or 12% of the population) had left the new states. About 500,000 women under the age of 30 left for western Germany between 1993 and 2008. In some rural regions, the number of women between the ages of 20 and 30 dropped by more than 30 percent. In 2017, for the first time since German reunification, more people emigrated from the old states to the new states than vice versa. An exception is former West Berlin, which had a Christian plurality in 2016 (44.4% Christian and 43.5% unaffiliated). It also has a higher share of Muslims at 8.5%, compared to former East Berlin with only 1.5% self-declared Muslims as of 2016. Eurostat's Eurobarometer survey in 2015, found that 27.0% of the adult population declared themselves as agnostics or non believer, while 34.1% declared themselves as atheists. Christians comprised 37.2% of the total population; by denomination, members of the Protestant Churches were 19.2%, members of other Christian denominations were 8.8%, Catholics were 7.1%, the Christian Orthodox were 2.1%. An explanation for the atheism in the new states, popular in other states, is the aggressive state atheist policies of the former GDR government. However, the enforcement of atheism existed only for the first few years. After that, the state allowed churches to have a relatively high level of autonomy. Another explanation could be the secularizing trend (the "Kulturkampf") dating back to the second half of the 19th century in Prussia and through the Weimar Republic which was strongest in the states of Thuringia and Saxony as well as the late arrival of Christianity to the region as opposed to southern Europe where it was the state religion from late antiquity. Major cities ==Culture==

, a symbol of East German culture Persisting differences in culture and mentality among older East Germans and West Germans are often referred to as the "wall in the head" ("Mauer im Kopf"). Ossis (Easties) are stereotyped as racist, poor and largely influenced by Russian culture, while Wessis (Westies) are usually considered snobbish, dishonest, wealthy, and selfish. The terms can be considered to be disparaging. In 2009, a poll found that 22% of former East Germans (40% under 25) considered themselves "real citizens of the Federal Republic"; An earlier poll in 2004 found that 25% of West Germans and 12% of East Germans wished reunification had not happened. Some East German brands have been revived to appeal to former East Germans who are nostalgic for the goods they grew up with. ==Economy==

, seen under construction, in Grünheide, Brandenburg The economic reconstruction of eastern Germany () proved to be longer-term than originally foreseen. The federal government spent €2 trillion to reunify and privatise 8,500 state-owned east German enterprises. More than €60 billion were spent supporting businesses and building infrastructure in the years 2006–2008. A €156 billion economic plan, Solidarity Pact II, was enforced in 2005 and provided the financial basis for the advancement and special promotion of the economy of the new states until 2019. and to apportion the cost of unification and the expenses of both the Gulf War and European integration. The tax, which raises €11billion annually, was planned to remain in force until 2019. in April 2010, after reaching a maximum of 18.7% in 2005. As of 2020, the unemployment rates in the new states were lower than in some old states. In the decade 1999–2009, economic activity per person rose from 67% to 71% of western Germany. Women in the eastern Germany are more likely to be employed full-time and reach higher positions in their career, and work longer hours. During the division of Germany, East German women were encouraged to seek full-time employment, housewives were derided as "parasites" (Schmarotzer); in contrast to West Germany, where tax and benefits system discouraged dual-earner families, so working mothers were seen in a negative light and derided as "raven mothers" (Rabenmutter). At the time of reunification, almost 90% of women in East Germany were in full-time employment, whilst only about 55% in West Germany. In addition, East German mothers tend to have children earlier in life and return to work after taking just one year of maternity leave (as was the standard in the former East Germany), whilst women from the Western states usually stay on maternity leave for the full 3 years until job protection ends. All the new states qualify as Objective 1 development regions within the European Union and were eligible to receive investment subsidies of up to 30% until 2013. ==Infrastructure==

The German Unity Transport Projects (, VDE) is a programme launched in 1991 that is intended to upgrade the infrastructure of eastern Germany and modernize transport links between the old and new states. It consists of nine railway projects, seven motorway projects, and one waterway project with a total budget of €38.5 billion. As of 2009, all 17 projects were under construction or have been completed. The construction of new railway lines and high-speed upgrades of existing lines reduced journey times between Berlin and Hanover from over four hours to 96 minutes. The Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2003 includes plans to extend the A14 motorway from Magdeburg to Schwerin and to build the A72 from Chemnitz to Leipzig. ==Politics==

Unlike the West, there was a three-party system (CDU, SPD, PDS/The Left) until the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) formed in 2013, creating a four-party system. Since 2009 at least four factions have been represented in each of the East German regional parliaments, six in Saxony. In 1998/1999, for example, only one of the regional parliaments included more than three factions. In the elections to the Bundestag, the CDU, SPD, FDP and Greens almost always receive fewer votes in the new states than in the old states, while Die Linke (and since 2024 splinter group BSW) and AfD receive more votes and support in the new states than in the old states. Far-left The democratic socialist party, The Left (Die Linke, successor to the Party of Democratic Socialism, the GDR state party's successor) has been successful throughout eastern Germany, perhaps as a result of the continued disparity of living conditions and salaries compared with western Germany, and high unemployment. Ever since it associated with the WASG, The Left frequently loses in state elections and has been losing members since 2010. The Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), and The Left from 2005, have gained the following vote shares in recent elections: In 2024, a faction led by Sahra Wagenknecht split from The Left, forming a new party, Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), with more populist, nationalist and cultural conservative tendencies. BSW quickly dominated over The Left in the 2024 state elections, but saw their support drop by the 2025 federal election and due to their low level of support in the West, fell narrowly short of the 5% threshold necessary to gain seats in Bundestag. In addition, The Left managed to regain some support in the East, and BSW outperformed The Left only in Saxony-Anhalt (11.24% vs 10.75%), and got only 36 votes less than The Left (10.696% vs 10.698%) in Brandenburg. After losing votes to the AfD, the Left plans to establish a regional group in eastern Germany. Far-right After 1990, far-right and German nationalist groups gained followers. Some sources claim mostly among people frustrated by the high unemployment and the poor economic situation. Der Spiegel also points out that these people are primarily single men and that there may also be socio-demographic reasons. The far-right party German People's Union (DVU) formed in 1998 in Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg since 1999. In 2009, the party lost its representation in the Landtag of Brandenburg. The far-right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) was represented in the Saxon State Parliament from 2004 to 2014. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern the NPD losts its representation in the parliament following the 2016 state elections. In 2009, Junge Landsmannschaft Ostdeutschland, supported by the NPD, organized a march on the anniversary of the Bombing of Dresden in World War II. There were 6,000 Nationalists which were met by tens of thousands of ″anti-Nazis″ and several thousand policemen. The Free Voters of Germany emerged in 2009 from the Land Brandenburg regional branch of Free Voters, after being excluded because of "signs of right infiltration" from the Federal Association of Free Voters Germany. Pegida has its focus in eastern Germany. A survey by TNS Emnid reports that in mid-December 2014, 53% of East Germans in each case sympathised with the PEGIDA demonstrators. (48% in the West) The Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland; AfD) had the most votes in the new states of Germany in the 2013 German federal elections, in 2017. and in 2021 elections. The party is seen as harbouring anti-immigration views. In 2016, AfD reached at least 17% in Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (where the NPD lost all seats) and Berlin. In 2015, Rhineland-Palatinate interior minister Roger Lewentz said the former communist states were "more susceptible" to "xenophobic radicalization" because former East Germany had not had the same exposure to foreign people and cultures over the decades that the people in the West of the country have had. In the 2017 federal election, AfD received approximately 22% of the votes in the East and approximately 11% in the West. In the 2021 federal election, the AfD emerged as the largest in the states of Saxony and Thuringia, and saw a strong performance in eastern Germany. The AfD became the biggest party in all five former East German states in the 2024 European Parliament election in Germany. In the 2024 Thuringian state election, the AfD became the first far-right party in Germany since the Nazi Party to win a plurality of seats in a state election, it was also the best ever performance and the first time it placed first in a state election in Germany. In the 2025 federal election, the AfD emerged as the largest party in all five former East German states. Protest vote Fringe parties, particularly the AfD and The Left, receive a large number of protest votes in eastern Germany, which causes voter shifting from left to right and vice versa. The Pirate Party Germany was chosen slightly more frequently in the East (10.1 percent) than in the West (8.1 percent) of Berlin. Among those under 30 years of age in East Berlin, the Pirates were the second most popular party with 20 percent of the votes. For example, none of the parties elected to the Berlin House of Representatives in 2011 lost a high proportion of their voters to the AfD as the Pirates at the next election in 2016 (16%). Other findings also suggest that some of their voters, like the AfD, regard the Pirate Party primarily as a protest party. The election slogans of the DVU in the regional elections in Saxony-Anhalt in 1998 were directed primarily against the politicians already represented in parliament: "Not the people – the political bigwigs, will dole!" And "German, let's not make the sow you. DVU – The protest in the election against dirty things from above". In particular, politically dissatisfied people were advertised towards with the slogan "vote protest – vote German." At the time, the DVU had 12.9% of the votes. Independence In 1991, the PDS demanded the right for Thuringia to leave the united Germany in its draft of the constitution, which ultimately did not pass. Tatjana Festerling was a leader in the Dresden Pegida demonstrations from February 2015 to mid-April 2016 after Kathrin Oertel withdrew. She demanded the "Säxit"the secession of Saxony from the Federal Republic of Germanyon October 12, 2015, after she had already demanded the rebuilding of the former Iron Curtain over Germany on March 9, 2015. The Freie Sachsen (Free Saxons) political party, founded in 2021, similarly supports a "Säxit" and advocates for the re-establishment of the Saxon monarchy. Opinion polls Percentage of respondents supporting independence from the new states of Germany: ==See also==