Beach litter in Germany

Germany: Beach litter was 80,125 number in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)
80,125 number
Change on year
down 43.9%
World rank
53rd
of 71 countries
All-time high
2.11 million number
in 2016
All-time low
16,956 number
in 2019
Years of data
7
2015–2022

Beach litter in Germany, 2015–2022

0500.0k1.0M1.5M2.0M2015201820222015: 101.1k number2016: 2.1M number2017: 43.3k number2018: 386.1k number2019: 17.0k number2021: 142.9k number2022: 80.1k number

Source: United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in number.

Analysis

In 2022, beach litter in Germany stood at 80,125 number.

That represents a change of down 43.9% on the previous year and down 20.7% over ten years.

That places Germany 53rd out of 71 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.

Beach litter in Germany, year by year

Annual values for Beach litter in Germany, 2015 to 2022.
Year number Change
2015 101,061 number
2016 2.11 million number +1984.5%
2017 43,348 number -97.9%
2018 386,139 number +790.8%
2019 16,956 number -95.6%
2021 142,909 number +742.8%
2022 80,125 number -43.9%

Germany compared with similar countries

  • Germany's 80,125 number is below the median for high income countries, which is 159,732 number, 50% of the median. (41 countries reporting)
  • Germany's 80,125 number is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 63,949 number, 1.3× the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 530,815 number 16,956 number 2.11 million number 5
2020s 111,517 number 80,125 number 142,909 number 2

Countries ranked near Germany

  1. 50 South Africa 122,938 number compare
  2. 51 Dominican Republic 100,638 number compare
  3. 52 Ecuador 88,797 number compare
  4. 54 Uruguay 71,547 number compare
  5. 55 New Zealand 69,581 number compare
  6. 56 Belgium 69,243 number compare

See the full ranking of 71 places →

More reference data data for Germany

All data for Germany →

Frequently asked questions

What is beach litter in Germany?
Beach litter in Germany was 80,125 number in 2022, according to United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest beach litter recorded in Germany?
The highest recorded value was 2.11 million number in 2016.
What is the lowest beach litter recorded in Germany?
The lowest recorded value was 16,956 number in 2019.
How does Germany rank for beach litter?
Germany ranks 53rd out of 71 countries with data for 2022.
Is beach litter rising or falling in Germany?
Over the last ten years it is down 20.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Germany data come from?
The figures come from United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Beach litter. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 7 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Beach litter in Germany. Statizoid, drawing on United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/beach-litter/germany/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/beach-litter/germany/">Beach litter in Germany</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Beach litter
Unit
number
Source
United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
71 places, 425 data points, 2015–2023
Last refreshed

Beach litter per square kilometer (Number).