Germany Divided

Fun facts

Compare: McDonald's & Burger King vs Snack bars per chain outlet

Drag across the map: left, mcDonald's and Burger King restaurants per 100,000 inhabitants; right, independent snack bars, kebab shops and other fast food for every McDonald's or Burger King, OpenStreetMap. Each map has its own colour key.

McDonald's & Burger KingSnack bars per chain outlet
McDonald's & Burger King
< 2.0 per 100k≥ 2.0 per 100k≥ 2.2 per 100k≥ 2.5 per 100k≥ 2.7 per 100k≥ 2.9 per 100k
Snack bars per chain outlet
< 16.9≥ 16.9≥ 21.2≥ 25.6≥ 30.0≥ 34.3

Former West

2.7 per 100k

excl. Berlin

Former East

2.3 per 100k

excl. Berlin

Berlin

1.8 per 100k

The East stands at 85% of the West's level (September 2026).

Fun fact · Our own analysis of OpenStreetMap data, not official statistics. How we measured it

Snack bar or burger chain?

Independent snack bars, kebab shops and other fast food for every McDonald's or Burger King, OpenStreetMap, September 2026

The East sticks with its Imbiss: 26.6 independent fast-food places for every McDonald's or Burger King, against 16.1 in the West. Berlin has the most (38.7), Bavaria the fewest (12.5). McDonald's is almost equally common on both sides (1.6 and 1.7 per 100,000 inhabitants); Burger King is rarer in the East (0.7 against 1.0).

< 16.916.921.225.630.0≥ 34.3

Inner-German border 1949–1990 ·16 states · September 2026

Former West

16.1

excl. Berlin

Former East

26.6

excl. Berlin

Berlin

38.7

Figures in independent fast-food places per McDonald's or Burger King

The East's figure is 1.7× the West's (September 2026).

By state

Former WestFormer EastBerlin
  1. Berlin38.7
  2. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern36.4
  3. Sachsen33.2
  4. Thüringen25.9
  5. Saarland23.4
  6. Bremen22.1
  7. Brandenburg21.3
  8. Schleswig-Holstein19.8
  9. Sachsen-Anhalt18.8
  10. Nordrhein-Westfalen18.5
  11. Baden-Württemberg17.2
  12. Hamburg17.1
  13. Hessen15.7
  14. Niedersachsen14.7
  15. Rheinland-Pfalz14.0
  16. Bayern12.5

September 2026

How we measured this

We counted fast-food places in OpenStreetMap: McDonald's and Burger King by their brand tag, and independent places as fast-food outlets with no brand tag at all. The figure is the ratio of independents to the two burger chains, which cancels out differences in how thoroughly each state is mapped. The chain totals match the companies' own restaurant counts (about 1,400 McDonald's and 750 Burger King in Germany). We counted with the QLever SPARQL service (University of Freiburg) on the OpenStreetMap planet file of 21 September 2026; each place is assigned to the state or district whose boundary contains it. Rates are our calculation with official denominators.

  • Small regional chains without a brand tag count as independent.
  • OpenStreetMap is compiled by volunteers. Coverage in Germany is good but not complete, and it varies with how active local mappers are.
  • Our counts are released under the Open Database License (ODbL), as OpenStreetMap requires.

Notes & caveats

  • Mapped in Germany: 1,388 McDonald's, 759 Burger King and 39,058 fast-food places without a brand.
Show the table
StateSideSeptember 2026
Saarlandwest23.4 independent fast-food places per McDonald's or Burger King
Berlinberlin38.7 independent fast-food places per McDonald's or Burger King
Brandenburgeast21.3 independent fast-food places per McDonald's or Burger King
Mecklenburg-Vorpommerneast36.4 independent fast-food places per McDonald's or Burger King
Sachseneast33.2 independent fast-food places per McDonald's or Burger King
Sachsen-Anhalteast18.8 independent fast-food places per McDonald's or Burger King
Thüringeneast25.9 independent fast-food places per McDonald's or Burger King
Schleswig-Holsteinwest19.8 independent fast-food places per McDonald's or Burger King
Hamburgwest17.1 independent fast-food places per McDonald's or Burger King
Niedersachsenwest14.7 independent fast-food places per McDonald's or Burger King
Bremenwest22.1 independent fast-food places per McDonald's or Burger King
Nordrhein-Westfalenwest18.5 independent fast-food places per McDonald's or Burger King
Hessenwest15.7 independent fast-food places per McDonald's or Burger King
Rheinland-Pfalzwest14.0 independent fast-food places per McDonald's or Burger King
Baden-Württembergwest17.2 independent fast-food places per McDonald's or Burger King
Bayernwest12.5 independent fast-food places per McDonald's or Burger King