Leisure boats - Arena Fritidsbåt

2.3.3 Country Middle Class
Definition and development of a country’s middle class (“Mittelschicht”) is of great
interest, however, it is also controversial and not always international comparable
because different calculation methods are used. According to the German Institute for
Economic Research (DIW), a single person household statistically belongs to the "middle
class" population group if it has an equivalent income 70-150 % of median household
real income. Households earning 90-110 % of the median are referred to as "average
earner".
According to press releases from German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) in June
2010, the income polarization in Germany is increasing, meaning that while the rich are
getting richer, the poor have become poorer. In 2009 did 60 % of people in Germany
belong to the middle class, having a net income of € 860-1844. In 2000 did 66 % belong
to the middle class. The share of population belonging to the higher-income groups rose
from about 16 to 18 % between 2000 and 2009. The middleclass has gained slightly on
behalf of the high income class in 2009, probably as an effect of the financial crisis
(German Institute for Economic Research, 2010).
Figure 2. German income groups, development from 1993-2009 (from left; low,
medium, high)
Source; German Institute for Economic Research (2010)
2.3.4 Housing statistics
There are about 40 million dwelling units and 37 million households in Germany. The
total vacancy rate (share of empty dwellings) is 8.1 % on average. Germany's population
is living almost exclusively in residential buildings, i.e. buildings in which more than 50 %
of the total floor space is used for residential purposes (Destatis, 2010).
Table 3. German dwellings, 2006
INBDP 2010 Leisure boats Germany 10