Saarland: Population is falling, but immigration is booming!

Saarland: Population is falling, but immigration is booming!

On June 5, 2025, new population figures for Saarland caused a stir. According to the latest statistics, a total of 1,012,141 people lived in the state at the end of 2024. This represents a decrease of 1,906 people compared to the previous year, which corresponds to a decrease of 0.2%. This development is partly due to increased deaths, which exceeded births by 6,955 last year.

Nevertheless, there is also positive news: Saarland's migration balance is pleasingly positive, with 5,104 more arrivals than departures. This immigration is an aspect that needs to be considered in a broader European context. In Europe, around 1.5 million people have migrated net annually between 2000 and 2023, and Germany is one of the main destinations, as the Federal Agency for Civic Education reports.

Population structure in Saarland

Particularly noteworthy is the increase in the foreign population in Saarland, which rose by 3,674 to a total of 152,907. The proportion of foreigners is now 15.1% and is spread over 167 nationalities. The majority of the foreign population comes from Syria (34,581 people), followed by Ukraine with 16,222 and Italy with 14,900 people.

However, the demographic development also shows challenges: the German population fell by 5,580 to 859,234. There are large differences in the age distribution: the youngest population is in the Saarbrücken regional association with an average age of 45.2 years, while the municipality of Kleinblittersdorf has the highest average age of 49.4 years.

Cities and towns

Within Saarland there are significant differences in the number of inhabitants of the various communities. Saarbrücken remains the largest city with 182,971 inhabitants, followed by Neunkirchen (47,344) and Homburg (43,382). On the other hand, there are smaller communities such as Oberthal (6,073), Gersheim (6,232) and Weiskirchen (6,528), which only have a small population.

In terms of migration, Germany has been an important destination country for immigrants since 2011 and, with an average of 502,000 people, records the highest immigration in Europe. This immigration could continue to rise in the coming years, with forecasts predicting around 1.1 million net immigration per year to Europe by 2060, with factors such as geopolitical developments and economic opportunities playing a role.

Saarland must face this challenge in order to ensure balanced population development and promote the integration of all residents. The current figures illustrate both the dynamic aspects of migration and the demographic changes that will shape the state in the coming years.