A Statistical Look at 1914 Germany

The statistics presented in the tables below have been selected from the 1914 edition of the Statistisches Jahrbuch fuer das Deutsche Reich published by the Kaiserliches Statistische Amt.  It is hoped that these figures will help the reenactor to better understand war-time Germany.  For example, the population table shown below illustrates just how many different regions and forms of government were brought together during the unification of Germany in the late 19th century.  Because this summary was prepared for the Kuerassier Regiment Graf Gessler, (Rheinisches) Nr. 8, the comparison between Germany as a whole and the Prussian Rhineland Province is made, where possible.

A map showing the unification of Germany has been included with this article.  Readers are also encouraged to spend a few minutes reading about Germany’s unification in the second half of the 19th century.  One such article, entitled German Unification (1871) and written by historian Dennis E. Showalter, is available on-line at http://encarta.msn.com.



Table 1:  The Relative Size of Germany in the World
 
Country                 Population                 Size (1,000 km2)
Russia                       125.5                             21,473
United States              92.0                               7,839
Germany                     64.9                                  541
Austro-Hungary         51.4                                  676
Great Britain 
and Ireland                 45.2                                  314
France                         39.6                                 536
Belgium                        7.4                                    29

Table 2:  The Federal States and Their Population (as of 1 December 1910)
 

Province of Eastern Prussia   2.1 million
Prov. Western Prussia    1.7
City of Berlin     2.1
Prov. Brandenburg    4.1
Prov. Pommern     1.7
Prov. Posen     2.1
Prov. Schlesien     5.2
Prov. Sachsen     3.1
Prov. Schleswig-Holstein    1.6
Prov. Hannover     2.9
Prov. Westfalen     4.1
Prov. Hessen-Rassau    2.2
Prov. Rhineland     7.1
Hohenzollern     0.1
Kingdom of Prussia (aggregate)   40.2

Bavaria, Right of the Rhine   6.0
Bavaria, Left of the Rhine    0.9
Kingdom of Bavaria (aggregate)   6.9


Kingdom of Sachsen    4.8
Kingdom of Wuerttemberg   2.4		 Grand Duchy of Baden    2.1
GD Hessen     1.3
GD Mecklenburg-Schwerin   0.6
GD Sachsen     0.4
GD Mecklenburg-Strelitz    0.1
GD Oldenburg     0.5
Duchy of Braunschweig    0.5
D Sachsen-Meiningen    0.3
D Sachsen-Altenburg    0.2
D Sachsen-Coburg-Gothal    0.3
D Anhalt     0.3

Principality of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen  0.1
P Waldeck     0.1
P Reutz, older line    0.1
P Reutz, newer line    0.2
P Schaumburg-Lippe    0.1
P Lippe      0.2

Hansastadt Luebeck    0.1
H Bremen     0.3
H Hamburg     1.0

Elsass-Lothringen    1.8

German Empire Total    64.9

Note how many of the regions of Germany were provinces of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1914.
 

Table 3:  Governmental Income and Expenditures in 1913
 

Inflows                    (Amount in million Marks)

Imperial Post and Telegraph                 842.4
Imperial Printing Office                           12.1
Imperial Railroads                                 153.8
Various Administrative Fees                   82.6
Duties, Taxes, and Fees                     1,655.3
Other                                                      834.1


Total Inflows                                       3,580.3
 
 
 
 
 
 


*One-time items include payments of 580.6 million Marks to the Imperial Army and 233.2 million Marks to the Imperial Navy.  As a result, the Imperial Army and Navy accounted for 50% of the German Empire’s routine expenditure budget in the last year of peace.		 Outflows                    (Amount in million Marks)

Reichstag                                                     2.2
Reichs Chancellory                                     0.3
Foreign Department                                  19.0
Department of the Interior                       96.7
Imperial Army                                         775.9
Imperial Navy                                          197.4
Justice Department                                     2.8
Treasury Department                               40.6
Colonial Department                                   2.9
Railroad Department                                  0.5
Federal Debt                                            238.1
Accounting Department                              1.3
General Pension Funds                           142.5
Imperial Post & Telegraph                     699.3
Imperial Printing Office                              8.9
Imperial Railroads                                  108.2
General Finance Admin.                         113.3
One-time Items *                                  1,130.1


Total Outflows                                      3,580.3

Note:  Extraordinary inflows and outflows amounted to only 118.6 million Marks.
 

Table 4:  Significant Sources of Duty, Tax and Fee Income in 1913:
 

Category                                                         Amount
Trade Duties                                                      721.5
Sugar Tax                                                           157.6
Brandy / Spirits Tax                                          195.5
Beer Brewing Tax                                             124.8
Stamp to Trade Securities                                  61.8
Salt Tax                                                               59.7
Lottery Proceeds                                                50.9

Total Duties, Taxes & Fees                          1,655.3

Note:  Even at the turn of the century governments knew what items to tax.

Note:  It is interesting that customs duties accounted for almost half of this category and 20% of the total cash inflows.
 

Table 5:  The German Colonies
 

Name                                                       Since                 Population
East Africa                                               1885             7,646 thousand
Cameroon                                                1884              2,649      "
Logo                                                         1884              1,032      "
Southwest Africa                                     1884                   81      "
New Guinia                                              1884                 600      "
Carolina, Marshall and Other Islands   1899 
Samoa                                                      1900                   35      "
Kiautschau (a China Province)              1897                 187       "

Table 6:  1912 Elections:  Votes by Party and Reichstag Composition

Population                                   64.9 mil.
Population Entitled to Vote            14.4
Population that Voted                     12.2
 

Party                                                    Votes                    Reichstag Seats

Social Democratic Party                        4.3 mil.                        110
Center Party                                           2.0                                 88
National Liberal Party                           1.7                                 46
Various Peoples Parties                        1.5                                 44 (various parties combined)
German Conservative Party                 1.1                                 43

Numerous other parties received < 500,000 votes.

Table 7:  Population Growth Rates
 

Decade                         Growth Rate
1871-1880                          +1.08%
1880-1890                          +0.89%
1890-1900                          +1.31%
1900-1910                          +1.41%

Table 8:  German Population by Community Size (as of 1 December 1910)
 

Population in Communities of 

< 100 Citizens                          0.8 million
100 – 500                               10.3
500 – 1,000                              8.1
1,000 – 2,000                           6.8
2,000 – 5,000                           7.3
5,000 – 20,000                         9.2
20,000 – 100,000                    8.7
100,000 +                              13.8

Table 9:  Germany’s Largest Cities (as of 1 December 1910)
 

Berlin                2.1
Hamburg          0.9
Leipzig              0.6
Munich             0.6
Breslau             0.5
Cologne            0.5
Dresden            0.5

Note that Cologne is one of Germany’s 10 largest cities.

Table 10:  Population by Sex and Marital Status (as of 1 December 1910)
 
 

Classification          Male           Female            Combined
Single                      19.5 mil.      18.6 mil.            38.1 mil.
Married                  11.6             11.6                   23.2
Widowed                  0.9               2.6                     3.5
Divorced                < 0.1             < 0.1                  < 0.1

Table 11:  Population by Religion (as of 1 December 1910)
(German Prov. Rhineland)
 

Classification                         .

Christian—Evangelical                  40.0 mil.  2.1% of total nation
Christian—Roman Catholic          23.8         4.9
Christian—Other                             0.3         0.1
Jewish                                              0.6          0.1
Other                                                0.2         0.1

Total                                               64.9         7.1

Note that the population of Catholics, as a percentage of total population, is much higher in the Rhineland than in Germany as a whole.  Bavaria, likewise, has a higher Catholic population.

Table 12:  Marriage, Birth and Death Rates (in 1912)
 

Marriages               523,491

Births                    1,925,883
Deaths                  1,085,996

Difference             +839,887

Table 13:  Average Remaining Life Expectancy at Various Years
 

At age:               Male            Female
0                          44.8                48.3
1                          55.1                57.2
2                          56.4                58.5
10                        51.6                53.4
20                        42.6                44.8

Note:  This table is interesting in that it reminds one of the higher infant mortality rates in previous periods of history.  Note that the expected remaining life of a 20 year-old male is 42.6 years, or a life of 62.6 years.  In contrast, a male baby at birth is only expected to live 44.8 years.

Table 14:  Business Establishments and Employees by Size and Sex in 1907
 

                                                             Number  of People Employed
Classification by Size                             Female                  Male

Small Business (1-5 people)                 3,124,198            5,353, 576
Medium (6-50)                                         267,410            3,644,415
Large (51+)                                                32,007            5,350,025
Total                                                      3,448,378          14,435,922

Table 15:  Business Establishments and Employees by Industry Group in 1907

In Germany
 

                                                                                   Number of People Employed
Classification by Industry                                            Female              Male

Gardening, animal husbandry and fishery                    53,316            154,111
Industry, including mining and construction            2,086,368       10,852,873
Trade and transporation, lodging  and brewing       1,283,931         3,341,032
Music, theater, etc.                                                       24,763              87,906

In the Rhineland Province
 

                                                                                  Number of People Employed
Classification by Industry                                            Female              Male

Gardening, animal husbandry and fishery                      3,717              10,438
Industry, including mining and construction               213,066         1,376,407
Trade and transporation, lodging  and brewing          177,291            259,816
Music, theater, etc.                                                         2,437                 7,435

Table 16:  Workers in Business with 10 or more Employees by Age and Sex (1912)
 

           Age                   Male           Female             Total     ,
> 16 years old         5,339,975      1,379,546         6,709,521
14-16 years old          358,327         179,964            538,291
< 14 years old                7,780             6,133              13,913
Total                                                                       7,271,725

Table 17:  Average Daily Wages in Selected Cities (in Reichsmarks)
 

City                       Wage  (Marks, Pfennig)
Berlin                                3,60 
Kiel                                   3,20
Duesseldorf                      3,50
Munich                             3,70
Leipzig                              3,50
Stuttgart                           3,50
Hamburg                          3,40

Note:  These wages are for males over age 16.  Another chart suggest that wages for women were typically 1-2 Marks less.

Table 18:  Marital Status and Ages of Those Employed
 

Category              Males        Females
Single                      42%             67%
Married                  56%             21%
Widowed                  2%              12%

Age        .
< 20                        19%               n.a.
20-30                      28%               n.a.
30-40                      24%               n.a.
40-50                      16%               n.a.
50-60                        9%               n.a.
60+                           4%               n.a.

Note:  The above statistics are for the industrial sector, including mining and construction, only.

Note:  In contrast to today, 80% of German women working are either single or widowed.  The one exception is in the agricultural sectors, where a much higher percentage of working women are married.

Table 19:  Strike and Lock-Out Data—1913
 

Item                                                      Germany         Rhineland       Percentage
Firms affected by strikes in 1913           9,007                 895                  9.9%
Employees affected                             572,842            33,181                  5.8%

Firms affected by lock-outs                    6,579                 948                14.4%
Employees affected                              82,556            22,655                27.4%

Note:  Lock-outs are actions taken by employers.

Table 20:  Motor Vehicles in the German Empire as of 1 January 1914
 

Item                                                      Germany         Rhineland       Percentage
Total vehicles primarily used
 To transport people                              83,333               8,320              10.0%
 To transport cargo                                  9,739               1,256              12.9%

Table 21:  Banknotes in Circulation—1913
 
 

Issuer                                                             Amount     .
Reichsbank                                           2,593.4 million marks
Bayerische Notenbank                             66.1
Saechsische Bank zu Dresden                 54.7
Wuerttembergische Notenbank               21.2
Badische Bank                                          17.8

Note:  The issuance of banknotes (and separate banks) for all four Kingdoms and the Grand Duchy of Baden is further evidence of the unique structure of the German political system post unification in 1871.

Table 22:  Foreign Exchange Rates on the Berlin Exchange—1913
 

Exchange/Currency                       Exchange Rate
Vienna, per 100 Kronen                (in marks)  84.65 
St. Petersburg, per 100 Rubels                      215.00
Amsterdam, per 100 Floren                           168.84
Paris, per 100 Franc                                         81.04
London, per Pound                                           21.47
New York, per 100 Dollars                            419.94

Table 23:  Broad Outline of Key German Insurance Programs in 1913

Health Insurance (Krankenversicherung)
 

  • Required for all hourly and salaried employees.  Voluntary for family members of employers and small firms.
  • The system is organized through regional insurance companies (Ortliche Krankenkassen) and Ersatzkassen.
  • In 1912:  66 million inhabitants, 17 million employees and 22,838 insurance companies.
  • The insured person pays 2/3 of the premium and the employer pays 1/3 of the premium.
  • Major Benefit:  Free treatment (Freie Kur) and sick-pay (Krankengeld) at 50% of the daily wage for up to 26 weeks.

Disability, Old-Age, and Widows and Orphans Insurance
(Invaliden-, Alters, und Hinterbliebendenversicherung)
 

  • Required for all hourly and salaried employees and small firms.
  • The system is organized through state insurance companies (Landesversicherungsanstalten).
  • In 1912:  41 state insurance companies.
  • In general, the insured and the employer split the premium.
  • Major Benefits:  Disability payments of 2/3 of the daily wage and possible increase for children; Old-age payments after age 70; Widows and Orphans insurance up to 1.5 times the disability payments.

Note:  Obviously, the above summary is an extreme simplification.  However, Germany has always prided itself on its social insurance programs that were started in the second half of the 19th century.
 

Randal Gaulke
March 2001

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