is lower than that of the old states. In the old states, the populations also developed differently. In Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hamburg, Hessen and Schleswig-Holstein, the population increased steadily. In Saarland, on the other hand, the population dropped steadily. The population of North Rhine-Westphalia (until 2004), Lower Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate (both until 2003) initially increased and then fell off again. The population of Bremen dropped until the year 2001, then rose to the year 2007 and began to fall again in 2008. Since 1980, birth rates have been relatively constant.
Religion Eurostat's
Eurobarometer survey in 2015, found that Christians comprised 81.4% of the total population; by denomination, Catholics were 37.1%, members of the Protestant Churches were 36.5%, members of other Christian denominations were 7.2%, the Christian Orthodox were 0.6%. Around 6.7% of the adult population themselves as agnostics or non believer, while 7.4% declared themselves as atheists. Muslims comprised 2.8% of the total population. ==Economy==