WIESBADEN – October 29, 2026 -- Integrated municipal debt in Germany rose 9.9% over the course of 2025 to €378.9 billion, or €4,907 per capita, according to a model calculation by the Federal and State Statistical Offices published by Destatis. The increase compares with 6.3% in the previous year.
The measure includes debt of municipal core budgets, off-budget entities and other public funds, institutions and companies in which municipalities hold direct or indirect stakes. Only debt owed to the non-public sector, such as banks and private companies, is counted.
Record deficits in core and off-budget entities drive the increase
Core municipal budgets increased debt by 15.5% and off-budget entities by 14.7%. Both posted record deficits for the second year running. Debt of municipal holdings in other public funds, institutions and companies grew by a slower 4.5%.
Hesse carries €6,763 per capita, widening its lead over Saarland
Hessian municipalities had the highest per-capita debt at the end of 2025, after a 7.4% rise. Saarland followed at €6,408 per capita; it had held the top position at the end of 2023.
Brandenburg (€2,733), Saxony (€3,338) and Thuringia (€3,692) recorded the lowest per-capita levels.
Lower Saxony and Baden-Württemberg post the steepest increases
Debt rose in every state covered. Lower Saxony led with +13.3%, followed by Baden-Württemberg (+13.1%), Schleswig-Holstein (+11.5%) and Bavaria (+11.1%). Schleswig-Holstein (€4,166) and Bavaria (€3,851) remain well below the national average of €4,907 per capita despite high growth in consecutive years.
In Rhineland-Palatinate, debt grew 8.3% after a 10.2% decline in 2024. The state took over only a small volume of municipal liquidity loans under its PEK-RP debt-relief program in 2025, in contrast to 2024.
Saarland and Thuringia limit growth to 2.3% and 2.9%
Saarland recorded the smallest rise at 2.3%, as the state continued to assume core-budget cash loans under the Saarland Pact. Thuringia followed at 2.9% and was the only state where core-budget debt fell, by 5.3%.
Methodology limits conclusions on liability risk and assets
The model cannot show which debts a municipality is legally liable for. It also cannot be set against municipal assets because data on the other public funds, institutions and companies are missing. The city-states of Bremen, Berlin and Hamburg are excluded because official statistics assign them to the state level. Apart from core-budget debt, the figures are not comparable with the EU-based debt statistics.