Coal-exit billions
Federal structural funding for the coal exit earmarked by law until 2038 (InvKG), per inhabitant of each state, 2026 (ceilings to 2038)
Of the €41.1bn that the coal-exit law earmarks for the mining regions until 2038, €25.3bn (61%) goes to the five eastern states, home to 15% of Germany's population. That is €2,045 per inhabitant in the East against €235 in the West, 8.7 times as much. Brandenburg (€4,044 per head) and Saxony (€2,494) top the list.
< €674€674€1,348€2,022€2,696≥ €3,370
Inner-German border 1949–1990 ·16 states · 2026 (ceilings to 2038)
Former West
€235
excl. Berlin
Former East
€2,045
excl. Berlin
Berlin
€0
Germany
€492
The East's figure is 8.7× the West's (2026 (ceilings to 2038)).
By state
- Brandenburg€4,044
- Sachsen€2,494
- Sachsen-Anhalt€2,238
- Nordrhein-Westfalen€860
- Saarland€128
- Thüringen€43
- Mecklenburg-Vorpommern€33
- Niedersachsen€31
- Berlin€0
- Schleswig-Holstein€0
- Hamburg€0
- Bremen€0
- Hessen€0
- Rheinland-Pfalz€0
- Baden-Württemberg€0
- Bayern€0
2026 (ceilings to 2038)
Notes & caveats
- Amounts are the maximum sums fixed in the law ("bis zu"), not money already paid out: €14.0bn in grants to the lignite states (§ 1, split by § 3), €26.0bn in federal measures in the same regions such as rail links and new federal agencies (§ 27(2), split the same way), and €1.1bn for hard-coal power-plant sites and the former Helmstedt lignite area (§ 11).
- Grants and federal measures are split by the law's shares: Brandenburg 25.8%, North Rhine-Westphalia 37%, Saxony 25.2%, Saxony-Anhalt 12%.
- Thuringia's €90m for the Altenburger Land comes out of the Central German lignite region's money. The law does not say from which state's part, so we deduct it from Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony in that region's 60:40 split; this does not change the eastern total.
- States without a coal region get nothing under this law and show €0. Our calculation: earmarked amount ÷ population on 31.12.2025. Spending runs to 2038, so per-head values would change with population.
- Reference: the law as in force in 2026 (Art. 5 G v. 20.7.2026 I Nr. 215).
Show the table
| State | Side | 2026 (ceilings to 2038) |
|---|---|---|
| Saarland | west | €128 |
| Berlin | berlin | €0 |
| Brandenburg | east | €4,044 |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | east | €33 |
| Sachsen | east | €2,494 |
| Sachsen-Anhalt | east | €2,238 |
| Thüringen | east | €43 |
| Schleswig-Holstein | west | €0 |
| Hamburg | west | €0 |
| Niedersachsen | west | €31 |
| Bremen | west | €0 |
| Nordrhein-Westfalen | west | €860 |
| Hessen | west | €0 |
| Rheinland-Pfalz | west | €0 |
| Baden-Württemberg | west | €0 |
| Bayern | west | €0 |