Full-time employees in western Germany still earn around 17% more than their eastern peers even 35 years after reunification, official data showed on Tuesday.
Average gross annual earnings including bonuses reached €55,435 ($65,308) in the west in 2025, compared with €46,013 in the east. On an hourly basis, gross pay averaged €25.61 in the west and €21.36 in the east.
The data was released by the Federal Statistics Office after a request by lawmaker Sören Pellmann from The Left.
The figures show the wage gap remains wide, decades after Germany reunified in 1990 following the fall of the Berlin Wall.
A study by the Hans Böckler Foundation last year also put the wage gap at 17%.
Experts say lower collective bargaining coverage in eastern Germany is a key factor, as workers covered by agreements tend to earn more. However, living costs and rents are often lower in many eastern regions.
Pellmann described the persistent gap as a political failure, saying it reflected weak collective bargaining and an economic model that has long treated eastern Germany as a low-wage region.
He called for a higher minimum wage and stronger collective bargaining, suggesting public contracts should be awarded only to companies bound by collective agreements
dpa
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