Living space per capita in Germany has continued to increase in recent years.
In rural areas in particular, but also in many expensive cities, people had more space on average in 2020 than five years earlier, according to a study by real estate service provider Empirica Regio published on Wednesday.
The living space per capita increased most between 2015 and 2020 in rural regions with plus 3.7 percent.
In large cities, the increase was still 1.5 percent.
For the study, Empirica Regio examined all German municipalities with more than 400 inhabitants - almost 9,000 municipalities and 107 urban districts were recorded.
“Rural regions in particular still have enough building land and space to create new living space.
Single-family homes with a large amount of space per capita dominate there,” said Jan Grade, Managing Director of Empirica Regio.
"In peripheral areas, however, increasing ageing, the departure of young people and the associated increase in vacancies are leading to an increase in living space per capita."
Around 11 square meters more thirty years ago
According to this, the living space per capita was highest in the countryside in 2020 at 51.4 square meters.
In cities, it was significantly lower at 40.9 square meters, with smaller towns and suburbs in between at 47 square meters.
Empirica Regio put the Germany-wide average at just under 46 square meters.
Figures for 2021 are not yet available.
According to the Statista statistics database, the value in 1991 was around 35 square meters.
Living in more and more space is a long-standing trend in Germany.
The high demand for living space repeatedly causes discussions, for example about the sealing of floors and the energy balance of buildings.
There have already been debates as to whether single-family homes are still up-to-date.