Nearly 2 million highly educated Germans at risk of poverty

DW News · Feb 20, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Around 1.9 million people with university-level qualifications were at risk of poverty in 2025, an increase of 350,000 compared with 2022. The figures from Germany's official statistics office were released in response to a request from the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW). The rise comes as the number of graduates grew to 21 million nationwide. Yet data from the Federal Employment Agency show unemployment among academics climbed to 3.3%, up from 2.2% three years earlier. "Decline and poverty now affect all levels of education," Sahra Wagenknecht, founder of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance said, calling on policymakers to revive the economy and enable social mobility through hard work. Despite the trend, the poverty risk remains much higher for people with lower or medium levels of education. Of 14.3 million people with low qualifications, about 4.1 million were considered at risk in 2025. Under Germany's definition, anyone earning less than 60% of the median income is classed as at risk of poverty, or €1,446 per month for a single adult last year. Edited by: Roshni Majumdar