North Rhine-Westphalia orNorth-Rhine/Westphalia,[a] commonly shortened toNRW,[b] is astate (Land) inWestern Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is themost populous state in Germany. Apart from the city-states (Berlin,Hamburg andBremen), it is also themost densely populated state in Germany. Covering an area of 34,084 km2 (13,160 sq mi), it is thefourth-largest German state by size.
North Rhine-Westphalia features 30 of the 81 German municipalities with over 100,000 inhabitants, includingCologne (over 1 million), the state capitalDüsseldorf (630,000),Dortmund andEssen (about 590,000 inhabitants each) and other cities predominantly located in theRhine-Ruhrmetropolitan area, the largest urban area in Germany and the fourth-largest on theEuropean continent. The location of the Rhine-Ruhr at the heart of the EuropeanBlue Banana makes it well connected to other major European cities and metropolitan areas like theRandstad, theFlemish Diamond and theFrankfurt Rhine-Main Region.
Culturally, North Rhine-Westphalia is not a uniform area; there are significant differences, especially in traditional customs, between the Rhineland region on the one hand and the regions of Westphalia and Lippe on the other.Its economy is the largest amongGerman states by GRDP but is below the national averagein GRDP per capita.
The first written account of the area was by its conqueror,Julius Caesar, the territories west of the Rhine were occupied by theEburones and east of the Rhine he reported theUbii (across from Cologne) and theSugambri to their north. The Ubii and some other Germanic tribes such as theCugerni were later settled on the west side of the Rhine in the Roman province ofGermania Inferior. Julius Caesar conquered the tribes on the left bank, and Augustus established numerous fortified posts on the Rhine, but the Romans never succeeded in gaining a firm footing on the right bank, where the Sugambri neighboured several other tribes including theTencteri andUsipetes. North of the Sigambri and the Rhine region were theBructeri.
As the power of theRoman Empire declined, many of these tribes came to be seen collectively asRipuarian Franks and they pushed forward along both banks of the Rhine, and by the end of the fifth century had conquered all the lands that had formerly been under Roman influence. By the eighth century, the Frankish dominion was firmly established in western Germany and northern Gaul, but at the same time, to the north, Westphalia was being taken over bySaxons pushing south.
TheMerovingian andCarolingian Franks eventually built an empire which controlled first their Ripuarian kin, and then the Saxons. On the division of theCarolingian Empire at theTreaty of Verdun, the part of the province to the east of the river fell toEast Francia, while that to the west remained with the kingdom ofLotharingia.[7]
As the central power of theHoly Roman Emperor weakened, the Rhineland split into numerous small, independent, separate vicissitudes and special chronicles. The old Lotharingian divisions became obsolete, although the name survives for example inLorraine in France, and throughout the Middle Ages and even into modern times, the nobility of these areas often sought to preserve the idea of a preeminentduke within Lotharingia, something claimed by theDukes of Limburg, and theDukes of Brabant. Such struggles as theWar of the Limburg Succession therefore continued to create military and political links between what is now Rhineland-Westphalia and neighbouringBelgium and theNetherlands.
In spite of its dismembered condition and the sufferings it underwent at the hands of its French neighbours in various periods of warfare, the Rhenish territory prospered greatly and stood in the foremost rank of German culture and progress.Aachen was the place of coronation of the German emperors, and the ecclesiastical principalities of the Rhine bulked largely in German history.[7]
After theCongress of Vienna, Prussia was awarded the entireRhineland, which included theGrand Duchy of Berg, the ecclesiastic electorates ofTrier andCologne, the free cities ofAachen and Cologne, and nearly a hundred small lordships and abbeys. The PrussianRhine province was formed in 1822 and Prussia had the tact to leave the lower Rhenish districts in undisturbed possession of the liberal institutions to which they had become accustomed under the republican rule of the French.[7] In 1920, the districts ofEupen andMalmedy were transferred to Belgium (seeGerman-speaking Community of Belgium).
Around AD 1, numerous incursions occurred through Westphalia and perhaps even some permanentRoman or Romanized settlements. TheBattle of Teutoburg Forest took place near Osnabrück and some of theGermanic tribes who fought at this battle came from the area of Westphalia.Charlemagne is thought to have spent considerable time inPaderborn and nearby parts. HisSaxon Wars also partly took place in what is thought of as Westphalia today. Popular legends link his adversaryWidukind to places nearDetmold,Bielefeld,Lemgo, Osnabrück, and other places in Westphalia. Widukind was buried inEnger, which is also a subject of a legend.
Parts of Westphalia came underBrandenburg-Prussian control during the 17th and 18th centuries, but most of it remained divided duchies and other feudal areas of power. ThePeace of Westphalia of 1648, signed in Münster and Osnabrück, ended theThirty Years' War. The concept of nation-state sovereignty resulting from the treaty became known as "Westphalian sovereignty".
As a result of theProtestant Reformation, there is no dominant religion in Westphalia. Catholicism andLutheranism are on relatively equal footing. Lutheranism is strong in the eastern and northern parts with numerous free churches.Münster and especiallyPaderborn are thought of as Catholic. Osnabrück is divided almost equally between Catholicism and Protestantism.
Theflag of North Rhine-Westphalia is green-white-red with the combined coats of arms of theRhineland (white line before green background, symbolizing the river Rhine),Westfalen (the white horse) andLippe (the red rose). After the establishment of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1946, the tricolor was first introduced in 1948, but was not formally adopted until 1953.[8] The plain variant of the tricolor is considered thecivil flag and state ensign, while government authorities use thestate flag (Landesdienstflagge) which is defaced with thestate's coat of arms.[8] The state ensign can easily be mistaken for a distressedflag of Hungary, as well as the former nationalflag of Iran (1964–1980). The same flag was used by theRhenish Republic (1923–1924) as a symbol of independence and freedom.
The horse on the coat of arms is a reference to theSaxon Steed, a heraldic motif associated with both Westphalia andLower Saxony. The horse first featured in the 15th century coat of arms of the Duchy of Westphalia, before being inherited by the Prussian province of Westphalia and finally the modern state of North Rhine-Westphalia.[9]
The highest peaks in North Rhine-Westphalia are located in the Rothaar Mountains.
The planimetrically determined centre of North Rhine-Westphalia is located in the south of Dortmund-Aplerbeck in the Aplerbecker Mark (51° 28' N, 7° 33' Ö). Its westernmost point is situated nearSelfkant close to the Dutch border, the easternmost nearHöxter on theWeser. The southernmost point lies nearHellenthal in theEifel region. The northernmost point is the NRW-Nordpunkt nearRahden in the northeast of the state. The Nordpunkt has located the only 100 km to the south of the North Sea coast. The deepest natural dip is arranged in the district Zyfflich in the city ofKranenburg with 9.2 m above sea level in the northwest of the state. Though, the deepest point overground results from mining. The open-pit Hambach reaches atNiederzier a deep of 293 m below sea level. At the same time, this is the deepest human-made dip in Germany.
The most important rivers flowing at least partially through North Rhine-Westphalia include: theRhine, theRuhr, theEms, theLippe, and theWeser. The Rhine is by far the most important river in North Rhine-Westphalia: it enters the state asMiddle Rhine near Bad Honnef, where still being part of theMittelrhein wine region. It changes into theLower Rhine near Bad Godesberg and leaves North Rhine-Westphalia near Emmerich at a width of 730 metres. Almost immediately after entering the Netherlands, the Rhine splits into many branches.
ThePader, which flows entirely within the city ofPaderborn, is considered Germany's shortest river.
For many, North Rhine-Westphalia is synonymous with industrial areas and urban agglomerations. However, the largest part of the state is used for agriculture (almost 52%) and forests (25%).[10]
State border with North Rhine-Westphalia nearWarburg; in the background theDesenberg, with 345 m landmark and highest point in the Warburger Börde near theborder triangle NRW -Hesse -Lower Saxony
The state consists of fivegovernment regions (Regierungsbezirke), divided into 31 districts (Kreise) and 23urban districts (kreisfreie Städte). In total, North Rhine-Westphalia has 396 municipalities (1997), including the urban districts, which are municipalities by themselves. The government regions have an assembly elected by the districts and municipalities, while theLandschaftsverband has a directly elected assembly.
The five government regions of North Rhine-Westphalia each belong to one of the twoLandschaftsverbände:
The state's area covers a maximum distance of 291 km from north to south, and 266 km from east to west. The total length of the state's borders is 1,645 km. The following countries and states have a border with North Rhine-Westphalia:[11]
North Rhine-Westphalia has a population of approximately 18.1 million inhabitants (more than the entireformer East Germany, and slightly more than theNetherlands) and is centred around the polycentricRhine-Ruhrmetropolitan region, which includes the industrialRuhr region with the largest city ofDortmund and the Rhenish cities ofBonn,Cologne andDüsseldorf. 30 of the80 largest cities in Germany are located within North Rhine-Westphalia. The state's capital is Düsseldorf; the state's largest city is Cologne. In 2022, there were 164,496 births and 234,176 deaths.
The following table shows the population of the state since 1930. The values until 1960 are the average of the yearly population, from 1965 the population at year end is used.
As of 2023[update], 32.7% of the population of the state adhered to theRoman Catholic Church, 20.8% to theProtestant Church in Germany, and 46.5% of the population wasirreligious or adhered to other denominations or religions. North Rhine-Westphalia ranks first in population among German states for both Roman Catholics and Protestants.[16]
The politics of North Rhine-Westphalia takes place within a framework of afederalparliamentaryrepresentative democratic republic. The two main parties are, as on the federal level, the centre-rightChristian Democratic Union and the centre-leftSocial Democratic Party. From 1966 to 2005, North Rhine-Westphalia was continuously governed by the Social Democrats or SPD-led governments.
The state's legislative body is theLandtag ("state parliament house").[19] It may pass laws within the competency of the state, e.g. cultural matters, the education system, matters of internal security, i.e. the police, building supervision, health supervision and the media; as opposed to matters that are reserved to Federal law.[19]
North Rhine-Westphalia uses the same electoral system as the Federal level in Germany: "Personalized proportional representation". Every five years the citizens of North Rhine-Westphalia vote in a general election to elect at least 181 members of the Landtag. Only parties who win at least 5% of the votes cast may be represented in parliament.[19]
The Landtag, the parliamentary parties and groups consisting of at least 7 members of parliament have the right to table legal proposals to the Landtag for deliberation.[19] The law that is passed by the Landtag is delivered to the Minister-President, who, together with the ministers involved, is required to sign it and announce it in the Law and Ordinance Gazette.[19]
The vote was held on 15 May, 2022. In the aftermath of the2022 election, the Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) both had talks with the Greens. An alliance between the Greens and the SPD would have required the help of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) to gain a majority, but the FDP did not take part in these conversations. Rather, its top candidate believed that a Green/CDU alliance was the most likely outcome.[21] All mainstream parties tend to refuse to cooperate with the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD).[22] Ultimately, the CDU/Green alliance was the one that prevailed.[23] The new coalition reelectedHendrik Wüst, who had been the Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia during the last portion of the previous CDU/FDP coalition on 28 June, 2022.[24]
This sectionneeds expansion with: cultural differences between for the twoLandschaftsverbände+TheRuhr Area. Bonn, Cologne, Düsseldorf and their whole lot of museums/art institutions; Düsseldorf/Neuss and Fashion. You can help byadding to it.(April 2011)
Pumpernickel bread one of the most famous German breads. It is made from a dark rye, and has a unique and subtly sweet flavor. It has been baked for centuries and has acquired its popular name from the war era, when bread was being rationed. It means flatulence and bad spirits.[26][27]
North Rhine-Westphalia has always been Germany's powerhouse with the largest economy among theGerman states by GDP figures.[28] In 2024, Westphalia was the first state to reach GDP ofUS$1.0 trillion.[3]
In the 1950s and 1960s, Westphalia was known asLand von Kohle und Stahl (Land of Coal and Steel). In the post-World War II recovery, theRuhr was one of the most important industrial regions in Europe, and contributed to the GermanWirtschaftswunder. As of the late 1960s, repeated crises led to contractions of these industrial branches. On the other hand, producing sectors, particularly in mechanical engineering and metal and iron working industry, experienced substantial growth. Despite this structural change and an economic growth which was under national average, the 2024 GDP of €872 billion (1/5 of the total German GDP) made NRW the economically strongest state of Germanyby GDP figures, as well as one of the most important economical areas in the world.[3] Of Germany's top 100 corporations, 37 are based in North Rhine-Westphalia. On a per capita base, however, North Rhine-Westphalia remains one of the weaker among theWestern German states.[29]
North Rhine-Westphalia attracts companies from both Germany and abroad. In 2009, the state had the most foreign direct investments (FDI) anywhere in Germany.[30] Around 13,100 foreign companies from the most important investment countries control their German or European operations from bases in North Rhine-Westphalia.[31]
There have been many changes in the state's economy in recent times. Among the many changes in the economy, employment in the creative industries is up while the mining sector is employing fewer people.[25]Industrial heritage sites are now workplaces for designers, artists and the advertising industry.[25][32] TheRuhr region has – since the 1960s – undergone a significant structural change away from coal mining and steel industry. Many rural parts of EasternWestphalia,Bergisches Land and theLower Rhine ground their economy on "Hidden Champions" in varioussectors.
As of June 2014, the unemployment rate is 8.2%, second highest among all western German states.[33] In October 2018 the unemployment rate stood at 6.4% and was higher than the national average.[34]
With its central location in themost important European economic area, high population density, strong urbanization and numerous business locations, North Rhine-Westphalia has one of the densest transport networks in the world.
Transportsystem Rhein-Ruhr in 2014Stadtbahn inDortmund
The regional rail network is organised around the big cities on the Rhine and Ruhr such asCologne,Düsseldorf andDortmund. The public transport companies in the Ruhr area and Düsseldorf are run under the umbrella of theVerkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr, which provides a uniform ticket system valid for the area. The region of Cologne and Bonn is run under theVerkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg. There is also a ticketing system calledNRW-Tarif which offers tickets between all the regions of North Rhine-Westphalia. The state is well-integrated into the national rail system, theDeutsche Bahn, for both passenger and goods services, each city in the region has at least one or more train stations. The bigger central stations have frequent direct connections to most bigger German cities and European cities such asAmsterdam,Brussels,Paris andBasel. Some direct trains run toVienna andZürich.
The Rhein-Ruhr area also contains some of the longesttram system in the world, with tram andStadtbahn services fromWitten toKrefeld in the VRR zone andCologne toBad Honnef andSiegburg viaBonn within the VRS zone. Besides the local public transportation there is an interconnected commuter rail network, with theRhine-Ruhr S-Bahn network serving the Ruhr area as well as Düsseldorf and theS-Bahn Köln serving the area around Cologne.
As of 2012[update], the VRR network alone consists of 978 lines,[36] of which there are:
North Rhine-Westphalia has the densest network ofAutobahns in Germany and similar Schnellstraßen (expressways). The Autobahn network is built in a grid network, with five east–west (A2,A4,A40,A42,A44) and eight north–south (A1,A3,A43,A45,A52,A57,A59,A61) routes. The A1, A2, A3, A4 and A61 are mostly used by through traffic, while the other autobahns have a more regional function.
Both the A44 and the A52 have several missing links, in various stages of planning. Some missing sections are currently in construction or planned to be constructed in the near future.
Additional expressways serve as bypasses and local routes, especially around Dortmund and Bochum. Due to the density of the autobahns and expressways,Bundesstraßen are less important for intercity traffic. The first Autobahns in the Region opened during the mid-1930s. Due to the density of the network, and the number of alternative routes, traffic volumes are generally lower than other major metropolitan areas in Europe. Traffic congestion is an everyday occurrence, but far less so than in theRandstad in the Netherlands, another polycentric urban area. Most important Autobahns have six lanes.
The region benefits from the presence of several airport infrastructure. The main airport isDüsseldorf Airport, world class, which hosted 25.5 million passengers in 2019 and offers flights to various international destinations. Düsseldorf is the fourth-largest airport in Germany afterFrankfurt,Munich andBerlin and serves as ahub forEurowings and as focus city for several more airlines. The airport has three passenger terminals and two runways and can handle wide-body aircraft up to theAirbus A380.[39]
The second airport isCologne Bonn Airport servingGermany's fourth-largest cityCologne, and also servesBonn, former capital ofWest Germany. With around 10 million passengers passing through it in 2023, it is the sixth-largest passenger airport in Germany and the third-largest in terms of cargo operations. It is also a hub for Eurowings, but also for some cargo airlines. By traffic units, which combines cargo and passengers, the airport is in fifth position in Germany.[40] As of March 2015, Cologne Bonn Airport had services to 115 passenger destinations in 35 countries.[41] It is named afterKonrad Adenauer, a Cologne native and the first post-war Chancellor of West Germany.
RWTH Aachen is one of Germany's leading universities of technology and was chosen byDFG as one of the GermanUniversities of Excellence in 2007, 2012 and again in 2019. North Rhine-Westphalia is home to14 universities and over 50 partly postgraduate colleges, with a total of over 742,000 students.[42] Largest and oldest university is theUniversity of Cologne(Universität zu Köln), founded in 1388 AD, since 2012 also one of Germany's eleven Universities of Excellence.University of Duisburg-Essen (Universität Duisburg-Essen), is also well known and is one of the largest universities in Germany.
^abc"Bruttoinlandsprodukt, Bruttowertschöpfung" [Gross domestic product, gross value added].statistikportal.de (in German). Statistisches Bundesamt Obere Bundesbehörde im Geschäftsbereich des Bundesministeriums des Innern und für Heimat. 28 March 2025. Retrieved8 April 2025.
^"Bevölkerung NRW".Landesdatenbank Nordrhein-Westfalen. Landesbetrieb für Information und Technik Nordrhein-Westfalen. Retrieved26 August 2010.Zahlen sind Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes. Die Zahlen ab 1965 beziehen sich auf die Bevölkerung zum 31. Dezember des jeweiligen Jahres. Bis 1960 Mittlere Jahresbevölkerung. Bis einschließlich 1986 geschätzte Werte. Die Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes basiert ab 1987 auf den Ergebnissen der Volkszählung von 1987. Daten vor 1977 wurden auf den Gebietsstand 1. Juli 1976 umgerechnet
^"Bevölkerung".Statistische Ämter des Bundes Und der Länder. Retrieved13 October 2023.
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