Federal states
State financial equalization: five contributors and eleven recipients
In 2023, 18.3 billion euros were redistributed in Germany as part of the state financial equalization. Bavaria once again paid in the most money – around 9.1 billion euros.
Accordingly, Bavaria once again paid in the most money – around 9.1 billion euros. This was followed by Baden-Württemberg (around 4.5 billion euros) and Hesse (around 3.4 billion euros). Hamburg gave around 934 million euros, Rhineland-Palatinate around 320 million euros. Berlin remained the largest recipient country with around 3.8 billion euros, ahead of Saxony (around 3.4 billion).
The state financial equalization redistributes money between financially strong and financially weak countries and is intended to ensure almost equal living conditions in Germany. Bavaria filed a lawsuit against the state financial equalization with the Federal Constitutional Court in 2023 because it had been paying in the most money for years.