Demography of Rostock

This article gives an overview of Rostock's demography . Rostock's population development is shown in tables and graphs.

On December 31, 2019, the " official population " of Rostock was 209,191 according to an update by the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Statistical Office (only main residences and after comparison with the other state offices ).

Population development

 

Development of the population of Rostock. Above from 1378 to 2018. Below an excerpt from 1871

Rostock's population development can be traced back to the Middle Ages . Until the beginning of the modern era , the population grew only slowly and kept falling due to the numerous wars, epidemics, famines, natural disasters and fires. Several thousand people died during a plague epidemic in 1443 . The population decreased from 14,000 to 9,500 between 1410 and 1566. In 1594 there were 14,800 people in Rostock. In comparison with other Hanseatic cities , almost 40,000 people lived in Hamburg during the same period , around 22,500 in Lübeck and around 12,500 in Stralsund .

Depiction of the great city fire in 1677

Because of the decline of the Hanseatic League and the effects of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), the number of inhabitants fell again. Many people also died in the severe storm surge on February 10, 1625, when all of Warnemünde and large parts of Rostock's inner city were flooded. After the devastating city fire of August 11, 1677, the city still had 5,000 inhabitants, in 1773 there were again 9,000. It was not until industrialization in the 19th century that the Rostock began to build outside the medieval city walls, the poor quarters of the workers and rich quarters of the industrialists and civil servants emerged and the population grew very quickly. In 1806 only 13,000 people lived in the city, by 1900 there were already 55,000.

The Rostocker Anzeiger headlines the 100,000-inhabitant limit

In 1935 the population of the city of Rostock exceeded the limit of 100,000, making it a major city . By 1940 it rose to 129,500. During World War II , the city was the target of Allied air raids. Hundreds of people died and around half of the apartments were destroyed. Overall, Rostock lost around half of its residents (60,600 people) through evacuation, flight, deportations and air raids. The population fell to 68,928 by May 1945, but then rose quickly with the immigration of numerous refugees and displaced persons.

In 1971 the limit of 200,000 inhabitants was exceeded. In 1988 the population reached its historic high of 253,990. Since the reunification of the GDR , the city has lost 20.8 percent of its residents (52,894 people) due to high unemployment, the relocation of many residents to the surrounding area and the decline in the birth rate. The average age of the population in 2003 was 43.5 years. In 2007 the population of Rostock rose again to over 200,000 people for the first time, at the end of the year 200,413 people lived in the city. The population continued to rise until mid-2012, to 204,320 residents with their main residence in Rostock. The Rostock regiopolis was 38th among the major German cities and 1st among the cities of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania .

In the course of the population growth, the importance of the real estate market and in particular the housing market in Rostock and its regiopole region is increasing ; rental and property prices are constantly developing positively in attractive residential areas .

The following overview shows the number of inhabitants according to the respective territorial status. Up to 1812 these are mostly estimates, then census results (¹) or official updates from the city administration (until 1944), the state central administration for statistics (1945 to 1989) and the state statistical office (from 1990). From 1871, the information relates to the “local population”, from 1925 to the resident population and since 1966 to the “population at the place of the main residence”. Before 1871, the number of inhabitants was determined according to inconsistent survey procedures.

From 1378 to 1870

year Residents 1378 10,785 1385 11,140 1410 13,935 1473 10,725 1475 10,790 1522 10,400 1566 9,500

year Residents 1594 14,800 1677 5,000 1713 8,000 1773 9,000 1792 10,829 1797 12,585 1806 12,756

year Residents 1812 12,500 September 10, 1819 ¹ 15,000 November 26, 1826 ¹ 17,398 November 27, 1830¹ 18.005 November 29, 1840 ¹ 19,744 November 30, 1850¹ 22,734 December 1, 1860 ¹ 25,322

¹ census result

From 1871 to 1944

date Residents December 1, 1871 ¹ 30,980 December 1, 1875 ¹ 34,161 December 1, 1880¹ 36,967 December 1, 1885 ¹ 39,356 December 1, 1890¹ 44,409 December 2, 1895 ¹ 49,912 December 1, 1900 ¹ 54,713 December 1, 1905 ¹ 60,790 December 1, 1910¹ 65,383 December 1, 1916 ¹ 66,386 December 5, 1917 ¹ 64,900 October 8, 1919 ¹ 67,953

date Residents December 31, 1921 73,563 December 31, 1922 73,936 December 31, 1923 72,873 December 31, 1924 74.105 June 16, 1925 ¹ 77,669 December 31, 1925 72,415 December 31, 1926 74,591 December 31, 1927 75,962 December 31, 1928 82,300 December 31, 1929 82,700 December 31, 1930 83,700 December 31, 1931 84,500

date Residents December 31, 1932 86,400 June 16, 1933 ¹ 90,150 December 31, 1933 90,537 December 31, 1934 99,448 December 31, 1935 104,585 December 31, 1936 110.716 December 31, 1937 112,934 December 31, 1938 119,800 May 17, 1939 ¹ 121,315 December 31, 1939 125,300 December 31, 1940 129,500

¹ census result

Source: City of Rostock

From 1945 to 1989

date Residents May 25, 1945 68,928 December 1, 1945 ¹ 93,305 October 29, 1946 ¹ 114,869 August 31, 1950 ¹ 133.109 December 31, 1955 150.004 December 31, 1956 150.256 December 31, 1957 149.301 December 31, 1958 151.811 December 31, 1959 155.351 December 31, 1960 158,630 December 31, 1961 161,754 December 31, 1962 166,456 December 31, 1963 170.457

date Residents December 31, 1964 ¹ 179,372 December 31, 1965 184.204 December 31, 1966 186,447 December 31, 1967 188,820 December 31, 1968 193.930 December 31, 1969 195.144 December 31, 1970 ¹ 198,636 December 31, 1971 201,304 December 31, 1972 204,656 December 31, 1973 207.285 December 31, 1974 210.167 December 31, 1975 213,475 December 31, 1976 217.022

date Residents December 31, 1977 220,875 December 31, 1978 224.834 December 31, 1979 228,445 December 31, 1980 232.506 December 31, 1981 ¹ 236.011 December 31, 1982 239,422 December 31, 1983 241.146 December 31, 1984 241.910 December 31, 1985 244,444 December 31, 1986 249,349 December 31, 1987 251,894 December 31, 1988 253,990 December 31, 1989 252,956

¹ census result

Source: State Central Administration for Statistics

Since 1990

date Residents December 31, 1990 248.088 December 31, 1991 244,452 December 31, 1992 241.106 December 31, 1993 237,307 December 31, 1994 232.634 December 31, 1995 227,535 December 31, 1996 221.029 December 31, 1997 212.715 December 31, 1998 207.431 December 31, 1999 203.279

date Residents December 31, 2000 200.506 December 31, 2001 198.964 December 31, 2002 198.259 December 31, 2003 198,303 December 31, 2004 198.933 December 31, 2005 199,288 December 31, 2006 199,868 December 31, 2007 200,413 December 31, 2008 201.096 December 31, 2009 201,442

date Residents December 31, 2010 202.735 December 31, 2011 204.260 December 31, 2012 202,887 December 31 2013 203.431 December 31, 2014 204.167 December 31, 2015 206.011 December 31, 2016 207,513 December 31, 2017 208,409 December 31, 2018 208,886

Source: Statistical Office Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

Population projections

Forecasts from 2003 (State Statistical Office MV) and 2009 (Bertelsmann Stiftung) compared to the real development from 1990 to 2018

After a steep real downward trend in the 1990s, stagnation and a slightly decreasing population were forecast for Rostock at the beginning of the millennium. These prognoses have not been confirmed - on the contrary, the number of inhabitants has increased continuously since 2003.

Forecast by the State Statistical Office MV (May 2003)

In the 3rd state forecast for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania from May 2003, Rostock was expected to decrease in population by 0.6 percent (1,176 people) between 2002 and 2020. After that, the migration process into the surrounding area should come to a standstill due to the saturated building land market. It was expected that 18 to 25-year-olds in particular would relocate their main residence to the city in the medium term for training and studying.

Absolute population development 2002–2020 - forecast for Rostock (main residences):

date Residents December 31, 2002 198.259 December 31, 2005 195,625 December 31, 2010 194,557 December 31, 2015 196,593 December 31, 2020 197.083

Source: Statistical Office Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

Bertelsmann Stiftung forecast (2009)

In the publication “Who, where, how many? - Population in Germany 2025 ”, in which the Bertelsmann Foundation provides data on the development of the population for all municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants in Germany, a decline in Rostock's population of 8.6 percent (17,121 people) between 2006 and 2025 was predicted. The actual population development so far contradicted the prognosis. The population size increased instead of falling over the forecast period.

Absolute population development 2006–2025 - forecast for Rostock (main residences):

date Residents December 31, 2006 199,868 December 31, 2010 197.921 December 31, 2015 193,100 December 31, 2020 187.901 December 31, 2025 182,747

Source: Bertelsmann Foundation

foreign population

The table shows the largest groups of foreigners legally registered with their main residence in Rostock.

Country	2000	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017
Syria	18th	80	88	90	105	115	113	147	292	1278	2095	2180
Russia	557	1053	1066	1018	1055	1035	993	966	905	880	870	890
Poland	162	596	586	372	322	425	445	572	630	605	840	875
Ukraine	507	923	904	870	846	815	803	752	724	742	740	755
Vietnam	878	880	849	835	790	754	735	733	728	700	690	655
Afghanistan	19th	10	16	42	83	122	186	274	438	567	630	645
Romania	93	104	104	80	72	91	143	193	253	251	320	465
India	57	120	107	151	180	216	193	172	189	259	355	425
Lithuania	36	108	109	102	96	137	200	222	251	289	335	355
Turkey	172	398	390	367	342	333	308	281	276	265	275	285
Bulgaria	90	83	82	76	79	115	240	210	191	204	255	270
Hungary	89	233	228	120	97	121	220	246	206	212	245	265
People's Republic of China	108	201	201	204	231	221	259	232	261	232	215	260
Italy	91	102	106	101	102	101	116	123	190	194	225	235
Armenia	152	107	122	123	128	144	156	190	211	214	200	210
Greece	92	66	72	76	80	80	79	105	106	113	180	200
Iran	k. A.	17th	21st	28	60	72	98	95	97	136	160	200
Eritrea	k. A.	k. A.	k. A.	k. A.	k. A.	k. A.	1	2	23	68	115	165
Iraq	138	118	116	120	121	121	127	131	152	151	160	160
Philippines	k. A.	k. A.	k. A.	k. A.	k. A.	k. A.	61	65	80	59	130	150
Spain	k. A.	37	48	51	63	73	106	138	157	126	160	135
Pakistan	k. A.	k. A.	k. A.	k. A.	k. A.	k. A.	55	43	39	43	85	130
Belarus	43	132	129	130	137	143	144	135	131	129	125	125
Austria	k. A.	63	65	70	74	76	92	91	96	101	125	115
Ghana	k. A.	k. A.	k. A.	k. A.	k. A.	k. A.	36	50	62	94	80	100
Latvia	k. A.	k. A.	k. A.	k. A.	k. A.	k. A.	81	81	77	78	80	100
Croatia	4th	1	3	5	3	25th	151	52	74	73	90	95
France	89	113	111	100	82	94	103	124	109	102	105	90
Kazakhstan	60	124	119	108	104	97	90	89	84	87	90	85
United States	68	78	78	80	67	76	92	71	70	62	65	75
Togo	50	134	129	112	110	103	93	83	78	68	65	60
Kiribati	k. A.	110	108	105	123	127	102	97	79	56	40	25th
total	5028	7840	7850	7235	7321	7667	8175	8484	9048	10410	12255	13165
European Union	529	1935	1956	1509	1450	1749	2210	2570	2720	2721	3375	3580
Share in the total population	2.5%	3.9%	3.9%	3.6%	3.6%	3.8%	4%	4.2%	4.4%	5.1%	5.9%	6.3%

Source: Statistical Office Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

age structure

Age structure in Rostock since 1990

The following overview shows the age structure as of December 31 of the respective year (main residence).

Age from – to	Population 1990	Percentage ownership %	Residents 2006	Percentage ownership %
under 1	2,911	1.2	1,591	0.8
1-2	6,520	2.6	3,000	1.5
3-5	10,458	4.2	4.131	2.1
6-14	32,309	13.0	9,677	4.8
15-17	8,296	3.3	5,577	2.8
18-24	24,544	9.9	23,994	12.0
25-34	42,716	17.2	26,832	13.4
35-44	34,624	14.0	28,791	14.4
45-54	37,698	15.2	29,873	14.9
55-64	25,393	10.2	22,880	11.4
65-74	12,318	5.0	28,352	14.2
over 75	10.301	4.2	15,170	7.6
total	248.088	100.0	199,868	100.0

Source: Statistical Office Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

Urban areas

The city of Rostock is divided into 31 districts. These are grouped into five local office areas, for each of which a local office is responsible. For statistical purposes the city is divided into 21 city areas.

The population figures refer to December 31 of each year (main residences).

Rostock local offices

Population development in Rostock since 1992 (subdivision)

	Surname	1992	2000	2006	2011	2014	2016	Development 2014-2016 in%	Development 1992-2016 in%
A.	Warnemünde	8,231	8,768	8,395	7,951	7,827	7,955	+1.6	−3.4
B.	Rostock Heath	2.007	1,756	1,600	1,567	1,565	1,570	+0.3	−21.8
C.	Lichtenhagen	18,034	14,535	13,467	13,854	14.091	14.309	+1.5	-20.7
D.	Big small	22,278	13,487	12,434	12,920	12,932	13,383	+3.5	-39.9
E.	Lütten Klein	23,581	18,867	17,439	17,000	16,931	17,068	+0.8	-27.6
F.	Evershagen	21,215	15,796	16,056	16,616	16,571	16,704	+0.8	-21.3
G	Schmarl	13,531	8,833	7,570	8,203	8,616	8736	+1.4	-35.4
H	Reutershagen	21,127	18,264	18,144	17.901	18,108	18,080	−0.2	-14.4
I.	Hansaviertel	9,848	8,730	8,571	8,593	8,456	8,432	−0.3	-14.4
J	Garden city / city pasture	2,350	2,684	3,331	3,314	3,362	3,327	−1.0	+41.6
K	Kröpeliner-Tor suburb	18,170	15.097	18.003	19,250	19,154	19,397	+1.3	+6.8
L.	Südstadt	15,158	13,614	14,354	14,515	14,703	15,035	+2.3	-0.8
M.	Biestow	567	2,927	2,997	2,918	2,817	2,781	−1.3	+390.5
N	City center	16,768	14.093	17,089	18.101	18,785	19,779	+5.3	+18.0
O	Brinckmansdorf	3,059	5,051	8,162	8,231	8,170	8,213	+0.5	+168.5
P	Dierkow -New	19,531	11,896	10,470	10,552	10,615	10,916	+2.8	-44.1
Q	Dierkow-Ost	1,395	1,296	1,172	1,131	1,092	1,081	−1.0	-22.5
R.	Dierkow-West	1,223	1,284	1,243	1,192	1,146	1,149	+0.3	−6.0
S.	Toitenwinkel	18,892	16,600	13.007	13,239	13,409	13,904	+3.7	-26.4
T	Gehlsdorf	2,639	3,103	3,621	3,874	4,321	4,468	+3.4	+69.3
U	Rostock-East	877	1,088	1,181	1,209	1,177	1,205	+2.4	+37.4
	Rostock	240,481	197,769	198,306	202.131	203,848	207,492	+1.8	-13.7

Source: City Office of the Hanseatic City of Rostock ; Population register city area atlas

See also

• History of Rostock
• List of the districts of Rostock

literature

• Imperial Statistical Office (Ed.): Statistical Yearbook for the German Empire , 1880–1918
• Statistisches Reichsamt (Ed.): Statistical yearbook for the German Reich , 1919–1941 / 42
• German Association of Cities (Ed.): Statistical Yearbook of German Communities , 1890 ff.
• State Central Administration for Statistics (Ed.): Statistical Yearbook of the German Democratic Republic , 1955–1989
• Bertelsmann Foundation (ed.): Who, where, how many? - Population in Germany 2025. Practical knowledge for municipalities. Bertelsmann Stiftung publishing house, Gütersloh 2009, ISBN 978-3-86793-042-0

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Statistisches Amt MV - population status of the districts, offices and municipalities 2019 (XLS file) (official population figures in the update of the 2011 census) ( help ).
2. ↑ Statistical Office Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Population development of the districts
3. ↑ Rostock: Facts and Figures , rostock.de, accessed on November 4, 2014
4. ↑ Real Estate Compass ( Memento of the original dated November 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Capital , accessed November 3, 2014 
5. ↑ Rostock continues to grow , Rostock Today, accessed on November 4, 2014
6. ↑ Statistical Office Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Population status of the districts, offices and communities
7. ↑ Statistical Office Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Population development until 2020
8. ↑ Bertelsmann Stiftung: Population forecast ( memento of the original from March 8, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
9. ↑ http://service.mvnet.de/statmv/daten_stam_berichte/e-bibointerth01/bevoelkerung--haushalte--familien--flaeche/a-i__/a143__/index.htm Central Register of Foreigners of the Statistical Office MV from 2000
10. ↑ Population as of December 31, 2007 Excel , PDF
11. ↑ Population as of December 31, 2008 Excel , PDF
12. ↑ Population as of December 31, 2009 Excel , PDF
13. ↑ Population as of December 31, 2010 Excel , PDF
14. ↑ Population as of December 31, 2011 Excel , PDF
15. ↑ Population as of December 31, 2012 Excel , PDF
16. ↑ Population as of December 31, 2013 Excel , PDF
17. ↑ Population as of December 31, 2014 Excel , PDF
18. ↑ Population as of December 31, 2015 Excel , PDF
19. ↑ Population as of December 31, 2016 Excel , PDF
20. ↑ Population as of December 31, 2017 Excel , PDF
21. ↑ City of Rostock: City area catalog ( Memento of the original from May 9, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
22. ↑ Hanseatic City of Rostock City Area Atlas . Hanseatic and university city of Rostock. Retrieved February 18, 2019.

Web links

• Statistical Office Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: population, households, families, area
• City of Rostock: facts and figures
• Bertelsmann Foundation: Guide to the community