Frankfurt, 1 July 2026
.de transcends borders – from a country code to a global quality domain
The German country code .de continued to grow slightly in 2025, reaching around 17.7 million .de domains worldwide by the end of the year. The annual domain statistics from DENIC eG provide information on the exact geographical distribution within Germany. The central registry for all domains with the national code has published the analysis for the year 2025.
As of 31 December 2025, approximately 15.5 million domains were registered across the 400 German cities and districts. In addition, there are approximately 2.15 million registrations by holders residing abroad. In total, 17,663,886 domains were registered with DENIC at the end of 2025. Statistically speaking, one in five inhabitants of the Federal Republic of Germany has a .de domain.
Regional comparison – Lower Saxony and Brandenburg are the winners
At national level, ten of the federal states recorded an increase, with Lower Saxony and Brandenburg showing particularly strong growth. North Rhine-Westphalia remains in the lead with 3.4 million domains, followed by Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Of the 400 cities and districts analysed, 188 ended the year with a healthy increase.
City comparison: The biggest domain strongholds
In terms of absolute domain numbers, the major cities continue to dominate. With 929,612 .de domains, Berlin remains well ahead of Hamburg (627,674) and Munich (524,028), despite a slight decline. In terms of population, the top rankings remain largely unchanged: among cities, Osnabrück takes the top spot with 1,965 .de domains per 1,000 inhabitants, ahead of Wiesbaden (522) and Munich (347).
District comparison: Bavaria remains the leader in the domain market
Among the districts with the highest domain density per capita, the Free State of Bavaria once again occupies the top spots. With 539 .de domains, Miesbach remains ahead of Starnberg (519) and Freising (396).
The national average stands at 174 .de domains per 1,000 inhabitants.
Federal states: Hesse makes it into the top 3
Consistency also characterises the rankings of the federal states in terms of domain distribution per capita in 2025. Hamburg, with 329 domains per 1,000 inhabitants, remains well ahead of Berlin (246). It is followed by Hesse (203) and Bavaria (201). The bottom positions are still occupied by Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Thuringia, each with 109 domains, and Saxony-Anhalt with 88 domains per 1,000 inhabitants.
National population growth also declined slightly by 0.35% in 2025: the figure stood at 15,496,399 in 2025, compared with 15,551,210 recorded across Germany the previous year. Lower Saxony saw the most significant increase at +1.82%, followed by Brandenburg (+1.09%) and Saxony-Anhalt (+1.05%). In total, ten federal states recorded growth.
The average percentage change in 2025 in the eastern federal states (-0.084%) is lower than that in the western federal states (+0.082%). Lower Saxony is the federal state with the highest absolute growth in 2025 (27,731), followed by Baden-Württemberg (15,381) and Rhineland-Palatinate (5,487).
Growth abroad: Internationalisation is growing significantly
Almost 2.15 million .de domains are registered from outside Germany by the end of 2025. Year on year between 2024 and 2025, the total number of .de domains held by non-domestic domain holders rose by 3.3 per cent, corresponding to an increase of 69,400 .de domains. A total of 12.2 per cent of domains were registered to non-domestic domain holders by the end of the year, who were the main drivers of overall growth.
Foreign holders of .de domains come from all over the world. German domains continue to be in highest demand in the USA (31.3%) and the Netherlands (12%). These are followed by Portugal (10.6%), Austria (7.7%) and Switzerland (4.8%). .de remains particularly popular within the EU.
Detailed data available online
Interactive domain maps and dynamic tables for all 400 cities and districts, as well as extensive data and graphical material, are available in the statistics section of the DENIC website. In addition to absolute figures, relative data on the domain-to-population ratio is available, as well as maps and diagrams showing the absolute and relative distribution of domestic domains and of domain holders residing outside Germany.
