The old states of Germany are the 10states in West Germany. Since the reunification, Germany thus consists of 16 states with equal legal statuses. Yet the process of the "inner reunification" between the former Eastern and Western Germany is still ongoing. The Old States are:
Whether West Berlin is considered an "old state" depends on the context, since it was closely associated with the Federal Republic of Germany, but its status was disputed because of the Four Power Agreement on Berlin. The old states are colloquially referred to as Former West Germany, although the name West Germany has additional meanings.
Religion
Christianity is the dominant religion of Western Germany, excluding Hamburg, which has a non-religious plurality. On the other hand is Irreligion is predominant in the Eastern part of Germany, considered to be the least religious region in the world. An exception is former West Berlin, that had a Christian plurality in 2016. It also has a higher share of Muslims, or 8.5%, compared to former East Berlin, with only 1.5% self-declared Muslims as of 2016.
Religion by state, 2016
Protestants
Catholics
Not religious
Muslims
Others
Baden-Württemberg
37.6%
40.6%
16.4%
2.5%
3.0%
Bavaria
23.4%
58.6%
15.6%
1.1%
1.3%
Bremen
51.8%
7.8%
39.1%
0.0%
1.3%
former West Berlin
32.0%
12.4%
43.5%
8.5%
3.5%
Hamburg
34.3%
9.0%
44.1%
10.9%
1.7%
Hesse
50.2%
21.7%
22.2%
3.8%
2.1%
Lower Saxony
53.8%
18.7%
24.1%
2.5%
0.9%
North Rhine-Westphalia
30.9%
44.6%
18.1%
4.4%
2.0%
Rhineland-Palatinate
34.8%
42.4%
19.6%
1.0%
2.1%
Saarland
22.3%
68.1%
8.2%
1.4%
0.0%
Schleswig-Holstein
61.5%
3.2%
31.3%
2.2%
1.7%
Total
36.7%
38.2%
20.3%
3.0%
1.9%
Pro Reli
In the referendum on the introduction of the elective area of ethics/religion, where the dominant in West Berlin CDU and FDP to Yes against the Greens and SPD have called No, have in West Berlin 58.58% for the Introduction of religious education..
Economy
The standard of living and annual income remains significantly higher in the old federal states. In West Germany, there is more income than in the East. In West Germany, there are smaller farms than in the east. In the West there are fewer unemployed than in the former East Germany.
Politics
In the West and West Berlin the Union, SPD, FDP and Greens stronger, on the other handright-wing populist parties and The Left weaker than in the east. Unlike in the East, there are not 3 or since 2016 4 equally strong parties but a "two-party dominance" of the SPD and CDU. A study of the University of Berlin from 1998/99 comes to 13% for the whole of Germany, and 12% for the West and 17% for the East for right-wing extremistrecruitment potential. In the 2017 Federal Election, AfD reached ~ 22% in the East and ~ 11% in the West. There are also higher voter turnouts in the West.
Demographic development
In the old states the average age is lower than in the east.
Demographic evolution
In the old federal states, the populations also developed differently. In Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hamburg, Hesse and Schleswig-Holstein, the population increased steadily. In Saarland, on the other hand, the population dropped steadily. The population of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Rhineland-Palatinate 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.
Migration
There are more migrants in West Germany than in the East.
Baden-Württemberg
Bavaria
Bremen
former West Berlin
Hamburg
Hesse
Lower Saxony
North Rhine-Westphalia
Rhineland-Palatinate
Saarland
Schleswig-Holstein