Census results of great significance: numbers of inhabitants - Part 2: Bundesrat (Federal Council)
© Bundesrat
Like the German Bundestag, the Bundesrat participates in the legislative process, being the body which represents the interests of the Länder. In the Bundesrat, the representatives of the 16 governments of the Länder are directly involved in shaping federal policy.
The Bundesrat has a total of 69 regular members and thus 69 votes. These votes are distributed among the 16 Länder in accordance with their number of inhabitants. The more inhabitants it has, the more votes a Land is entitled to.
Smaller Länder always have 3 votes. Länder with more than 2 million inhabitants have 4 votes, Länder with more than 6 million inhabitants 5 votes and Länder with more than 7 million inhabitants have 6 votes.
The Land of Hessen is certainly awaiting the census results with great excitement: presently, Hessen has slightly over 6 million inhabitants and consequently 5 votes in the Bundesrat. If it turns out in the 2011 Census that Hessen’s official number of inhabitants actually is below 6 million, Hessen will lose a vote in the Bundesrat.
Land | Number of inhabitants | Votes in the Bundesrat |
|---|---|---|
| Baden-Württemberg | 10,78 | 6 |
| Bayern | 12,58 | 6 |
| Berlin | 3,50 | 4 |
| Brandenburg | 2,51 | 4 |
| Bremen | 0,66 | 3 |
| Hamburg | 1,81 | 3 |
| Hessen | 6,09 | 5 |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 1,64 | 3 |
| Niedersachsen | 7,92 | 6 |
| Nordrhein-Westfalen | 17,84 | 6 |
| Rheinland-Pfalz | 4,00 | 4 |
| Saarland | 1,01 | 3 |
| Sachsen | 4,14 | 4 |
| Sachsen-Anhalt | 2,32 | 4 |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 2,84 | 4 |
| Thüringen | 2,22 | 4 |
Source: Bundesrat
