Roderich Egeler
President of the Federal Statistical Office
Press release January 13, 2009
Elections to the European Parliament 2009: 64.3 million persons entitled to vote in Germany
WIESBADEN – According to a first estimate by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), about 64.3 million German citizens and other citizens of the European Union - among them 33.2 million women and 31.1 million men - will be entitled to vote in Germany in the seventh direct elections to the European Parliament on 7 June 2009.
As before, Germany will be represented in the European Parliament by 99 members, unless the Treaty of Lisbon enters into force before the European elections. The total number of members of the European Parliament will decrease from currently 785 to 736 after the 2009 European elections, which will also lead to changes in the distribution of seats between the member states. The number of German members will however remain unchanged.
Approximately 62.2 million Germans will be entitled to vote in the elections of the members of the European Parliament from the Federal Republic of Germany. Apart from the German European Union citizens, about 2.1 million other European Union citizens will be entitled to vote, namely the citizens of other European Union member states who are resident in the Federal Republic of Germany. They can decide whether to exercise their right to vote in the European elections in Germany or in their country of origin. Just as the German voters, they must fulfil the legal requirements for voting in Germany according to the European Elections Act. For example, special rules for enrolment in the registers of voters apply to non-German European Union citizens who live in Germany. For further information please refer to the website of the Federal Returning Officer at www.bundeswahlleiter.de.
The total number of persons entitled to vote will include nearly 4.6 million first-time voters. Some 4.3 million German citizens will have attained the age of 18 until the day of the election and will for the first time be allowed to vote in the elections to the European Parliament. This figure comprises 2.2 million men and 2.1 million women who were born in the period from 14 June 1986 to 7 June 1991. About 0.1 million other European Union citizens will have reached the age of 18 before the 2009 European elections. In addition, about 0.1 million Bulgarians and Romanians who are resident in Germany will for the first time be entitled to participate in the elections to the European Parliament in Germany now that their countries have joined the European Union.
| Age in years | Estimated number in millions male |
Estimated number in millions female |
Estimated number in millions total |
| 18 – 20 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 2.6 |
| 21 – 44 | 12.1 | 11.7 | 23.8 |
| 45 - 59 | 8.8 | 8.7 | 17.5 |
| 60 or over | 8.9 | 11.5 | 20.4 |
| Total | 31.1 | 33.2 | 64.3 |
For further information please contact:
Karina Schorn,
tel: (+49-611) 75-2317,
contact: www.destatis.de/contact
EU member states besides Germany:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.