Bremen in Numbers
Facts and figures on the two-city state of Bremen
Did you know that ...
... Bremen is one of Germany’s leading industrial hubs? That the cities of Bremen and Bremerhaven together make up the federal state of Bremen? Travel for about an hour – and around 60 kilometres – through Lower Saxony and you end up back in Bremen.
We have put together a selection of other useful information and figures about Bremen and Bremerhaven, the local people and the business location for you.
- The federal state of Bremen has a population of around 676,000.
- The city of Bremen has a population of around 566,570.
- The metropolitan region of Bremen/Oldenburg has a population of around 2.7 million.
676,000 people
federal state of Bremen
federal state of Bremen
566,570 people
city of Bremen
city of Bremen
about 2.7 million people
metropolitan region
metropolitan region
- Bremen’s Chamber of Commerce (1451) and Chamber of Skilled Trades (1849) are the oldest in Germany.
- The export ratio, which is the share of sales to foreign customers in total sales, was with 23.95 billion euros at 69,6%.
- Industrial companies in the federal state of Bremen increased their sales by 31,5% to just under 35 billion euros in 2022.
- The federal state of Bremen had the second-highest economic growth of all the federal states in 2021 at 6,1% and the highest in 2022 at 5,1%.
- The Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen is Mercedes-Benz’s second-largest site in the world in terms of vehicle production numbers, and it employs around 12,500 people (2022).
- The world’s most popular beer is brewed in Bremen – with some 3,000 bottles of Beck’s beer being drunk every minute.
- Bremerhaven container terminal is the fourth-largest in Northern Europe and among the 25 largest in the world.
- Bremen is the second-largest port for car transshipment in Europe. In 2021, the transshipment volume was 1.7 million vehicles.
- Bremen has more than 1,300 industrial companies and service providers in the maritime sector.
- Bremen is the second-largest production and development site in Germany for Europe’s Airbus Group.
export ratio
2022: 69,6%
2022: 69,6%
sales industry
2022: plus 31,5%
2022: plus 31,5%
Mercedes-Benz plant
12,500 employees
12,500 employees
transshipment volume 2021:
1.7 mil. vehicles
1.7 mil. vehicles
- Bremen has nine universities and colleges with around 37,600 students (2020/2021).
- Around 50 technology research institutes (Fraunhofer and Max Planck institutes, German Aerospace Centre and German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence) are based in Bremen.
- The Alfred Wegener Institute is based in Bremerhaven.
- The drop tower at Bremen University’s Center for Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM), a huge laboratory where zero-gravity experiments are performed, is unique in Europe.
- Bremen is the greenest city in Germany.
- There are eleven lakes for swimming in Bremen.
- Bremen has four rivers: the Weser, Wümme, Ochtum and Lesum.
- The river Weser and its embankment are a popular leisure destination.
- The Weser promenade Schlachte with the ships and around 2,000 beer garden seats has an estimated 2 million visits annually.
- Bremen has a number of nature conservation areas.
- Bremen's Christmas market and Schlachte magic have around 3.4 million visits annually.
Museums in Bremen and Bremerhaven | Visits 2021:
(Source: Statistisches Landesamt Bremen)
- Universum Bremen 104,643
- Kunsthalle Bremen 58,300
- Übersee-Museum Bremen 47,137
- Focke-Museum, Bremer Landesmuseum 21,214
- Botanika - Science Center im Rhododendronpark 41,009
- Weserburg Bremen - Museum für moderne Kunst 10,779
- Dom-Museum im St.-Petri-Dom Bremen 8,696
- Kunstsammlungen Böttcherstraße 13,280
- Gerhard-Marcks-Haus - Bildhauermuseum 6,761
- Wilhelm-Wagenfeld-Haus - Design im Zentrum 5,404
- Klimahaus 8 Grad Ost 210,617
- Bremerhaven Zoo am Meer 214,621
- Deutsches Auswandererhaus Bremerhaven 71,270
- Deutsches Schifffahrtsmuseum 23,599
- U-Boot-Museum 67,991
- Historisches Museum Bremerhaven 15,358
All tourist highlights and offers can befound on Bremen's city portal pages.
- In 2022, the federal state of Bremen welcomed 1,311,736 arrivals and the city of Bremen welcomed 1,096,241 arrivals.
- There were 2,572,561 overnight stays in the federal state of Bremen and 2,164,380 overnight stays in the city of Bremen in 2022.
- The city has around 38.5 million day visitors a year (2019). In 2021, due to the Corona pandemic, the figure was around 33.4 million day visitors.
- In 2019 the total gross revenues from day trips and overnight stays are around €1.8 billion. In 2021, due to the Corona pandemic, the figure was around 1.2 billion.
- There are 110 hotels with 15,715 beds in the federal state of Bremen and 91 hotels with 12,537 beds in the city of Bremen.
- In 2020, 2,600 travellers embarked or disembarked at the Columbus Cruise Center in Bremerhaven.
38.5 mil. daily visits
1,311,763 guests
15,715 beds
- Bremen’s Roland statue and the town hall have UNESCO World Heritage status.
- The famous fairytale figures of the Bremen Town Musicians are immortalised in a bronze statue near the town hall. In 2019, Bremen celebrated the story’s 200th anniversary.
- The Breminale music festival is one of the four largest festivals in Germany (based on visitor numbers).
- The Rhododendron Park has 3,000 cultured varieties from almost 600 different species, making it the world’s second-largest collection of rhododendrons.
- Werder Bremen football club occupies third place in the all-time Bundesliga standings. The club’s stadium Weserstadion is located next to the river Weser.
- Bremen is the third most bike-friendly city in Europe, after Copenhagen and Amsterdam.
- Decaffeinated coffee was the invention of Bremen merchant Ludwig Roselius.
- Henrich Focke invented the first fully operational helicopter.
- The ARD, West Germany’s first public-service broadcaster, was founded in Bremen on June 10th, 1950.
- Bremen's TV show ‘3nach9’ was Germany’s first talkshow.
- in 1949, Bremen shoemaker Alexander Salot invented the screw-in stud mechanism for football boots.
- The rollo, a type of baked falafel wrap, was invented in Bremen.
- Radio and TV presenter, entertainer and satirist Jan Böhmermann is from Bremen North.
- Jürgen Trittin, known as the Federal Minister of the Environment of the party Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen was born in Bremen Vegesack.
- Actress Katja Riemann was born in Bremen.
- James Last, one of the most famous German musicians, was born in Bremen in 1929.
- Ernst Rowohlt, founder of the publishing house of the same name, was born in Bremen in 1887.
- Jörg Wontorra: The sports journalist began his career at NDR and Radio Bremen.
- Musician and singer of the band "Revolverheld" Johannes Strate was born in Bremen.
- Florian Wellbrock: The Bremen-born world champion of 2019 over 1,500 m freestyle and in the 10-km open water swim won the 2021 gold medal over the 10-km free water distance at the 2020 Olympic Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.