The essay examines components of population changes with particular attention to East-West comparison. In the early 1990s Germany was confronted with a high level of immigration (max. 1992, gain of 593 000 foreigners). Whereas in west Germany showed
population gains, in the new Länder heavy losses by emigration and a dramatic birth decline were characteristic. In the following years these disparities between West and East were reduced. The East-West migration (1991 about 250 000 persons) continually
Because the few cross-border roads between the former Federal Republic and West Berlin were entirely unable to cope with the dramatic increase in West-East traffic after 1989, primary importance was given to the development of the most significant
East-West axes within the framework of the Verkehrsprojekte Deutsche Einheit. These projects got important impacts for the accessibility of East German regions and economic development in their close vicinity. After industry collapsed the railway lost
more than half of its previous volume of transports, and road transport of goods increase to a similar position as in the West. The development of personal transport in the new Länder is characterised by a previously unseen growth in motorised
Since 1990 the number of agricultural holdings in West Germany decreased from 630 000 to 485 000 until 1998, whereas it increased in the new Länder from 4 750 to about 32 000. In eastern Germany all agricultural production cooperatives and state
farm enterprises cultivate about 49 ha, this is twice the size of corresponding farms in West Germany. The radical transformation process was accompanied by a massive reduction of employment to only one sixth of the initial employment figure. Today
, medium-sized farms in the new Länder are even more profitable than their counterparts in the West. - (HPB)
. The settlement development between West and East shows significant differences. In West Germeny the process of urbanisation is concentrated on rural areas and hinterland regions instead of central cities. In the new Länder all categories of settlement-structural
The sectoral structure has converged at a considerable pace, wages in the new Länder have grown faster than in the old ones and productivity is also increasingly approaching West German levels. What remains, however, is a markedly higher
a continuing lack of competitiveness. Despite far-reaching initiatives to introduce modern technology and quality standards, there remains a gap in labour productivity between East and West Germany. Unemployment rates stayed high, about double those of the old
not be brought to a halt. In addition to this, the process of catching up in East Germany with regard to suburbanisation has proceeded in the same way as in West Germany before unification, even though this development was already recognised as being ecologically