GHDI logo


Population Distribution by Size of Locality: German Reich, Prussian Provinces, and Federal States (1871-1910)

In 1871, almost two-thirds (63.9%) of the German population lived in villages with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants. By 1910, that figure had fallen to 40 percent. In that same interval, the percentage of the population living in medium-sized cities (between 20,000 and 99,999 inhabitants) almost doubled. In 1871, less than 5% of the population lived in large cities (more than 100,000 inhabitants). By 1910, however, these cities were home to over 20% of the population.

From mid-century onward, the strongest population growth occurred in Prussia’s western provinces – in Westphalia and the Rhineland, where heavy industry was concentrated in the Ruhr district – and in the Kingdom of Saxony. In 1871, fewer than 20% of Rhinelanders lived in medium-sized or large cities. By 1910, this figure had risen to 50%. Local examples are even more dramatic. Chemnitz, Saxony’s most important industrial city, grew from about 78,000 inhabitants in the mid-1870s to 288,000 inhabitants by 1910.

print version     return to document list      next document

page 1 of 2


I. Percentage Distribution

Census
Year

For every 100 members of the total population, the following percentages live in communities with … inhabitants

fewer than 2,000

2,000 and more

and specifically in communities with … inhabitants

2,000
to 4,999

5,000
to 19,999

20,000
to 99,999

100,000
and more

1871

63.9

36.1

12.4

11.2

7.7

4.8

1875

61.0

39.0

12.6

12.0

8.2

6.2

1880

58.6

41.4

12.7

12.6

8.9

7.2

1885

56.3

43.7

12.4

12.9

8.9

9.5

1890

53.0

47.0

12.0

13.1

9.8

12.1

1895

49.8

50.2

12.0

13.6

10.7

13.9

1900

45.6

54.4

12.1

13.5

12.6

16.2

1905

42.6

57.4

11.8

13.7

12.9

19.0

1910

40.0

60.0

11.2

14.1

13.4

21.3



Source: Statistisches Jahrbuch für das Deutsche Reich 1934 [Statistical Almanac for the German Reich 1934], p. 11. According to the census of early December 1871, the total population was not, as indicated here, 41,010,000, but 41,059,000. The distributions – for 1871 only – also show minimal differences when compared with the figures provided in Bevölkerung und Wirtschaft [Population and Economy] (p. 94).

Original German data reprinted in Gerd Hohorst, Jürgen Kocka, and Gerhard A. Ritter, Sozialgeschichtliches Arbeitsbuch II [Social History Workbook II], 2nd ed. Munich: Beck, 1978, p. 52.

first page < previous   |   next > last page