Number of people in benefit communities Germany

As of July 2024, around 4 million people in Germany were eligible for benefits and capable of working while living in benefit communities under the German Social Code (SGB) II. Only around 1.51 million people among the almost 5.8 million beneficiaries in Germany were incapable of working.

Number of people in benefit communities* in Germany in 2024, by entitlement (in millions)

Characteristic	Number of people in benefit communities in millions
Total number of people in benefit communities	5.78
Of whom: those not entitled to benefits	0.21
Of whom: those entitled to benefits	5.57
Among beneficiaries: other beneficiaries	0.05
Among beneficiaries: those entitled to standard benefits	5.52
Among those entitled to standard benefits: employable beneficiaries	4
Among those entitled to standard benefits: non-employable beneficiaries	1.51

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Release date

November 2024

More information

Region

Germany

Survey time period

July 2024

Supplementary notes

* The German term is "Bedarfsgemeinschaften" which is a legal term from German social law, particularly under the Second Book of the Social Code (SGB II), which pertains to basic income support for jobseekers. It refers to a household community where the members are economically dependent on one another and are considered together when determining eligibility and the number of social benefits.

Examples of this are:

Spouses who are not permanently separated
Registered same-sex life partners who are not permanently separated
People in a community of responsibility and commitment (“marriage-like community”).
The benefit community also includes children who live in the household and are younger than 25 years old. Requirement: They are unmarried, able to work and cannot support themselves from their own income. Children's income includes, for example, child benefit or maintenance payments.

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