At the end of 2018, about 3.6 million people lived in Berlin. How are all these people distributed across the city you may ask? This is where the parameter population density comes in. It describes the number of people living on one hectare of land. There are currently an average of 42 inhabitants per hectare (inh./ha) in the capital; a middling number when compared to other German and European cities.
The more people inhabit a city, the greater the environmental burdens – caused by for example noise and road traffic emissions. To fight these actively, we need to know how the population density compares across the city. In highly populated areas, for example, green spaces can be planned for compensation.
Berlin’s population density varies across its districts. With 117 inhabitants per hectare, the density is well above average in the city centre. Alongside uninhabited areas such as forests and agricultural areas, there are also relatively sparsely populated settlement areas with 5 to 70 inhabitants per hectare on the outskirts of the city. These areas belong to our urban structure type “Low buildings with yards”. They extend along the city boundary like a ribbon. The large estates Marzahn and Hellersdorf on the eastern outskirts of the city form an exception.
The maps presented here provide detailed information on population density and how it is distributed across the city.