This article describes the demographics of

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

via tables and graphs.

Population growth

The population of Munich was only 24,000 in 1700, but it doubled every 30 years, and in 1852 the population exceeded 100,000, qualifying it a ''large city'' (''Großstadt'') by German administrative standards. By 1883, Munich had a population of 250,000; this doubled to 500,000 in 1901, making Munich the third largest city in the

Deutsches Reich German ''Reich'' (, from ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty entirely from a continuing unitary German ''Volk'' ("na ...

after

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. The physical effects of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

are clearly visible. Towards the end of the war, 90% of the historical old town had been destroyed in 73 aerial raids and half of the city was in ruins. Estimates for the impact of these raids on the population offer the figure of 6,000 dead. In total, Munich lost 34% of its population, with 279,000 people displaced through evacuation, migration, deportation, and made homeless through aerial attacks. The total population decreased from 829,000 in May 1939 to 550,000 in May 1945. The prewar population level was not regained until 1950. Shortly before the city's 800th anniversary, on 15 December 1957 at 15:45, the millionth resident of Munich, a

Pasing Pasing is a district in the city of Munich, Germany, and part of the borough Pasing-Obermenzing. Overview Pasing is located west of the Munich city centre, at the north-western edge of the city's innermost traffic zone. The district is mainly res ...

boy named Thomas Helmut Seehaus was born, making Munich the latest city to reach a population of one million out of 70 cities worldwide. According to the Bavarian National Office for Statistics and Data Processing, the official figure for the population of Munich was 1,259,677 in December 2005 (only principal residences and with adjustments from other national offices). , it stood at 1,305,525. The following summary shows the population according to historical local data. Up to 1824 the figures are mainly estimates; after that they are census results or official statistics from the local authorities. From 1871 onward, the figures given refer to the "population present in the town (''ortsanwesende Bevölkerung''); from 1925 the figures are the "resident population" (''Wohnbevölkerung''), and from since 1987 the figures are for the "population at the place of main residence" (''Bevölkerung am Ort der Hauptwohnung''). Before 1871, figures are from irregular survey methods.

From 1369 to 1944

¹ Census figures

From 1945 to 1989

¹ Census figures

From 1990

¹ Census figures Source: Bavarian Regional Authority for Statistics and Data Handling ''(Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik und Datenverarbeitung)''.

Population forecast

The

Bertelsmann Foundation The Bertelsmann Stiftung is an independent foundation under private law, based in Gütersloh, Germany. It was founded in 1977 by Reinhard Mohn as the result of social, corporate and fiscal considerations. The foundation states that it prom ...

provides data for population and population growth for 2,959

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in Germany (January 2006 publication). In Munich, the population is forecast to rise by 7.8% between 2003 and 2020 (96,988 persons). Projected population growth 2003–2020 for Munich (principal residences): Source: Bertelsmann Foundation In the city administration's 2002 planning forecast, a 2% rise of the legally resident population (principal and secondary residences) between 2001 and 2015 is predicted. For immigration, a 7.2% rise is predicted and for stagnation, a decrease of 1.7%. Absolute population trend 2001–2015 – Forecast for Munich (principal and secondary residences): Source: Munich Statistical Office ''(Statistisches Amt der Landeshauptstadt München)''.

Population structure

In December 2005, the proportion of foreigners was 23.3% or 300,129 persons in absolute figures. The largest groups of these are Turks (43.309), Croatians (24,866), Serbians (24,439), Greeks (22,486), Austrians (21,411) and Italians (20,847). 37% of foreigners in Munich come from countries within the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. Source: Munich Statistical Office ''(Statistisches Amt der Landeshauptstadt München)''.

Age distribution

The following shows the age distribution from 31 December 2005 (principal residences). Source: Munich Statistical Office ''(Statistisches Amt der Landeshauptstadt München)''.

Boroughs

The following number of inhabitants refer to principal residences as of 31 December 2006. Source: Munich Statistical Office ''(Statistisches Amt der Landeshauptstadt München)''.

Foreign communities

There are very sizable Balkan and Turkish communities in the city. Of the foreign nationals in Munich, about 37% come from the European Union. The most common foreign nationals in Munich are: Data for the year 2021: * Croats (38.859) * Turks (37.614) * Italians (28.137) * Greeks (25.897) * Bosnians (22.512) * Austrians (20.118) * Romanians (17.932) * Poles (17.839) * Serbs (14.484) * Bulgarians (13.646)
Bavarian State Office for Statistics

Literature

*Kaiserliches Statistisches Amt (Hrsg.): ''Statistisches Jahrbuch für das Deutsche Reich'', 1880–1918 *Statistisches Reichsamt (Hrsg.): ''Statistisches Jahrbuch für das Deutsche Reich'', 1919–1941/42 *

Deutscher Städtetag The Deutscher Städtetag ('Association of German Cities') is an organization that represents interests of cities in Germany. The plans to establish the organization took place in Dresden in 1903. Its first meeting was held on November 27, 1905, in ...

(Hrsg.): ''Statistisches Jahrbuch Deutscher Gemeinden '', 1890 ff. *Statistisches Bundesamt (Hrsg.): ''Statistisches Jahrbuch für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland'', 1952 ff. {{in lang, de

Data sources

History of Munich