Collective bargaining coverage — Employees with the right to bargain in Germany

Germany: Collective bargaining coverage — Employees with the right to bargain was 49 Percentage of employees in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
49 Percentage of employees
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
14th
of 29 countries
All-time high
85 Percentage of employees
in 1960
All-time low
49 Percentage of employees
in 2023
Years of data
37
1960–2024

Collective bargaining coverage — Employees with the right to bargain in Germany, 1960–2024

0204060801960199220241960: 85 Percentage of employees1965: 85 Percentage of employees1970: 85 Percentage of employees1975: 85 Percentage of employees1980: 85 Percentage of employees1985: 85 Percentage of employees1990: 85 Percentage of employees1995: 80.8 Percentage of employees1996: 75.7 Percentage of employees1997: 74.9 Percentage of employees1998: 73.6 Percentage of employees1999: 70.6 Percentage of employees2000: 67.8 Percentage of employees2001: 68.8 Percentage of employees2002: 67.8 Percentage of employees2003: 67.6 Percentage of employees2004: 65.8 Percentage of employees2005: 64.9 Percentage of employees2006: 63.3 Percentage of employees2007: 61.7 Percentage of employees2008: 61.3 Percentage of employees2009: 61.7 Percentage of employees2010: 59.8 Percentage of employees2011: 58.9 Percentage of employees2012: 58.3 Percentage of employees2013: 57.6 Percentage of employees2014: 57.8 Percentage of employees2015: 56.8 Percentage of employees2016: 56 Percentage of employees2017: 55 Percentage of employees2018: 54 Percentage of employees2019: 52 Percentage of employees2020: 51 Percentage of employees2021: 52 Percentage of employees2022: 51 Percentage of employees2023: 49 Percentage of employees2024: 49 Percentage of employees

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage of employees.

Analysis

The most recent figure for collective bargaining coverage — employees with the right to bargain in Germany is 49 Percentage of employees, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 37 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 15.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, collective bargaining coverage — employees with the right to bargain in Germany peaked at 85 Percentage of employees in 1960 and was at its lowest, 49 Percentage of employees, in 2023.

Germany ranks 14th of 29 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 37 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 85 Percentage of employees 85 Percentage of employees 85 Percentage of employees 2
1970s 85 Percentage of employees 85 Percentage of employees 85 Percentage of employees 2
1980s 85 Percentage of employees 85 Percentage of employees 85 Percentage of employees 2
1990s 76.77 Percentage of employees 70.6 Percentage of employees 85 Percentage of employees 6
2000s 65.07 Percentage of employees 61.3 Percentage of employees 68.8 Percentage of employees 10
2010s 56.62 Percentage of employees 52 Percentage of employees 59.8 Percentage of employees 10
2020s 50.4 Percentage of employees 49 Percentage of employees 52 Percentage of employees 5

Countries ranked near Germany

  1. 11 Australia 59.7 Percentage of employees compare
  2. 12 Luxembourg 57.3 Percentage of employees compare
  3. 13 Switzerland 51.5 Percentage of employees compare
  4. 15 Israel 45.8 Percentage of employees compare
  5. 16 Czechia 43.2 Percentage of employees compare
  6. 17 United Kingdom 40.2 Percentage of employees compare

See the full ranking of 37 places →

More reference data data for Germany

All data for Germany →

Frequently asked questions

What is collective bargaining coverage — employees with the right to bargain in Germany?
Collective bargaining coverage — employees with the right to bargain in Germany was 49 Percentage of employees in 2024, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest collective bargaining coverage — employees with the right to bargain recorded in Germany?
The highest recorded value was 85 Percentage of employees in 1960.
What is the lowest collective bargaining coverage — employees with the right to bargain recorded in Germany?
The lowest recorded value was 49 Percentage of employees in 2023.
How does Germany rank for collective bargaining coverage — employees with the right to bargain?
Germany ranks 14th out of 29 countries with data for 2024.
Is collective bargaining coverage — employees with the right to bargain rising or falling in Germany?
Over the last ten years it is down 15.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Germany data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Collective bargaining coverage — Employees with the right to bargain. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Collective bargaining coverage — Employees with the right to bargain in Germany. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/collective-bargaining-coverage-employees-with-the-right-to-bargain/germany/

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About this data

Indicator
Collective bargaining coverage — Employees with the right to bargain
Unit
Percentage of employees
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
37 places, 1,069 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed

The database on Institutional Characteristics of Trade Unions, Wage Setting, State Intervention and Social Pacts (ICTWSS) was developed by Prof. Jelle Visser at the University of Amsterdam. It was first released in May 2007. In its initial form, the ICTWSS database combined data from various sources and projects with a main focus on trade union in EU and OECD countries, collective bargaining and employment relations in Europe, and social pacts. In 2021, the ICTWSS database was rebranded as the OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database to reflect the joint effort by the OECD and AIAS-HSI to ensure the continuation of the database following Prof. Visser’s retirement. The OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database is publicly available at: http://www.oecd.org/employment/ictwss-database.htm