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Germany · state

North Rhine-Westphalia population 2026

Nordrhein-Westfalen

North Rhine-Westphalia has 18,034,454 people on the latest official figure, for 1 January 2025, 16,934 more than a year earlier (+0.09%). It is the most populous of Germany’s 16 states, home to 21.6% of Germany’s people.

If last year’s change continues: about 18.1 million by 1 July 2026. That is our arithmetic, not an official figure.

North Rhine-Westphalia in numbers

Population
18 million 1 January 2025
Change in a year
+0.09% +16,934 people
Change since 2020
+0.49% from 17.9 million
Share of Germany
21.6% Largest of 16 states
Population density
529per km² 34,113 km²

That is about as many people as Cambodia (18.1 million).

Population of North Rhine-Westphalia by year

Population of North Rhine-Westphalia
18M
› Show the numbers as a table
YearPopulation
201217,544,938
201417,571,856
201517,638,098
201617,865,516
201717,890,100
201817,912,134
201917,932,651
202017,947,221
202117,925,570
202217,924,591
202317,964,420
202418,017,520
202518,034,454
YearPopulationChange
2025 18,034,454 +16,934
2024 18,017,520 +53,100
2023 17,964,420 +39,829
2022 17,924,591 −979
2021 17,925,570 −21,651
2020 17,947,221 +14,570
2019 17,932,651 +20,517
2018 17,912,134 +22,034
2017 17,890,100 +24,584
2016 17,865,516 +227,418
2015 17,638,098 +66,242
2014 17,571,856 –
2012 17,544,938 –

North Rhine-Westphalia among Germany’s states

Full ranking →
States of Germany by population
#
1 North Rhine-Westphalia18,034,454+0.09%
2 Bavaria13,248,928+0.55%
3 Baden-Württemberg11,245,898+0.14%
4 Lower Saxony8,004,489−0.05%
5 Hesse6,280,793+0.21%
6 Rhineland-Palatinate4,129,569+0.11%
7 Saxony4,042,422−0.30%
8 Berlin3,685,265+0.63%
9 Schleswig-Holstein2,959,517+0.21%
10 Brandenburg2,556,747+0.09%
11 Saxony-Anhalt2,135,597−0.42%
12 Thuringia2,100,277−0.69%
13 Hamburg1,862,565+0.59%
14 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern1,573,597−0.28%
15 Saarland1,012,141−0.19%
16 Bremen704,881+0.32%

Largest cities in North Rhine-Westphalia

City proper, not the wider metro area; latest figure in GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), so years differ.

  1. Cologne1,024,621
  2. Düsseldorf618,685
  3. Essen593,085
  4. Dortmund588,462
  5. Duisburg504,358
  6. Bochum385,729

Air quality in North Rhine-Westphalia today

Hourly AQI and a 48-hour forecast.

CologneDüsseldorf

Questions

What is the population of North Rhine-Westphalia in 2026?
The latest official figure is 18,034,454, for 1 January 2025 (Eurostat). If last year’s change continues, North Rhine-Westphalia would have about 18.1 million people by 1 July 2026; that is our arithmetic, not an official figure. Eurostat updates regional populations once a year.

Is North Rhine-Westphalia’s population growing or shrinking?
It grew by 16,934 people (+0.09%) in the latest year, and has changed +0.49% since 2020.

How does North Rhine-Westphalia rank in Germany?
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous of Germany’s 16 states, with 21.6% of the people.

What is the population density of North Rhine-Westphalia?
About 529 people per km², on 34,113 km². Total area, Wikidata.

What is the largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia?
Cologne, with about 1 million people in the city proper. Metro areas are larger, and years differ (GeoNames).

Source and method

Eurostat, population on 1 January by NUTS region (demo_r_d2jan). Eurostat reuse policy (CC BY 4.0). Total area, Wikidata. Eurostat updates regional populations once a year. Ranks, shares and changes are our arithmetic on the published figures. National figures can differ from the UN’s projection for Germany, which uses a different method. The 2026 figure above carries last year’s change forward; it does not come from the source.

Cite this page: North Rhine-Westphalia population, Eurostat, 1 January 2025. GlobeMetrics, https://globemetrics.org/world-population/germany/north-rhine-westphalia/

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