Thirty years after German reunification, East Germany, once under communism, has largely reached the West in economic terms, but the “Oshis” ‘s confidence in democracy remains lower, according to an annual report released on Wednesday.
Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the territory of the former so-called German Democratic Republic (GDR) has reached 79.1% of GDP in the rest of the country, according to a report submitted to the government.
At the same time, on the day of reunification on October 3, 1990, East Germany’s GDP was only 37% compared to West Germany.
“Some things have taken longer than planned, but in many areas we can generally say that the merger is complete,” said Marko Vandervic, the government’s envoy for the former East German states.
Income inequality has also narrowed. In 1918, the average income of “ashes” was 88.3% of the income of “ashes”, and this equalization was partly ensured by the development of small and medium-tech enterprises, according to the authors of the report.
However, disparities persist and can be partly explained by the lowest population density in the eastern part of the country, where there are larger rural areas and less developed urban environments.
Another reason for the economic inequality is the “small scale” of the eastern economy, that is, the lack of headquarters for large corporations in the former GDR.
If in 2005 the unemployment rate in eastern Germany still exceeded 15%, now it has fallen below ten percent, but in some areas it does not even exceed six percent, which is already comparable to the four percent registered in some regions of southern Germany.
The authors of the report believe that this is partly due to the retirement of previous generations.
In some areas, “ashes” are already doing even better than “ashes”. The authors of the report cite as an example the fact that full-time employment among women reaches 74% in East Germany, while only 68% in the West.
Despite these successes, some indicators do not point to such a favorable situation.
While in West Germany 91% of Germans trust democracy, in the East only 78%.
The attitude of “ashites” and “vesis” towards immigrants is also different, Vandervics points out.
With the exception of Berlin, other East German countries have higher support for immigrant parties, reaching 20%.
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