Elisabeth Kaiser, the federal government’s representative for the East (SPD), now views the eastern states as regions of advancement rather than catch-up areas. This perspective is detailed in her 124-page 2026 annual report, which was presented on Wednesday.
However, the data compiled in the report reveals that core differences between the east and the west persist. A notable positive trend is that for the first time, over 100 executives in the highest levels of federal agencies are from eastern Germany. Their overall share rose to 16.3 percent (an increase of 0.8 percentage points, not including Berlin), though this figure stands at 8.9 percent if Berlin is excluded. The report describes this as a “positive trend,” but notes that it is still far from achieving equal representation corresponding to the region’s population share of approximately 20 percent.
The imbalance is particularly evident within the judiciary. Although the share of eastern judges in the highest federal courts surpassed the 10 percent mark for the first time, this increase is also partly attributable to a decrease in the total number of judges.
The report also addresses one of the most persistent disparities: During the four decades of the GDR, almost no private wealth was accumulated. Today, fortunes in eastern Germany remain significantly lower than those in the west. On average, an eastern household possesses 150,000 euros, compared to over 350,000 euros for a western household.
