Paderborn's population is melting: first loss since 1999!

Paderborn's population is melting: first loss since 1999!

The city of Paderborn is currently experiencing a surprising demographic development. Loud Westphalia sheet, the population on September 30, 2025 was a total of 156,829 people with their main residence. A sad record: compared to the same month last year, there was a decrease of 532 people. This minus is surprising, because in recent years the population has mostly been stable or even increasing.

But not everything is gloomy. Fortunately, the natural population development was positive in September. A total of 118 newborns and 98 deaths were registered, resulting in a birth surplus of 20 people - a value that is on average over the last seven years. The migration balance is also interesting: with 792 arrivals and 862 departures, Paderborn experienced its first loss of migration in September since 1999. This will result in a loss of 70 people, which could contribute to the further downward trend of the population.

The numbers in detail

The situation is made even more complex by subsequent reports and corrections, which resulted in an additional loss of 145 people. Particularly noteworthy is the proportion of the population with foreign nationality, which currently stands at 23,493 people and therefore accounts for 15 percent of the entire population. A significant decline was also recorded in the number of Ukrainians living in Paderborn, which fell slightly to 3,042. There is also a decline among Indian (minus 14 to 1,068) and Chinese (minus 24 to 696) residents.

The population breakdown shows 78,602 males and 78,208 females. The number of people with secondary residence is 1,558, which brings the population eligible to live there to 158,387 people. The core city of Paderborn has the largest part of the population with 89,962 people, followed by Neuhaus Castle (26,873), Elsen (16,301) and the other districts that also contribute to urban diversity.

A look into the future

The demographic changes raise questions about how Paderborn should react to these developments. It will be interesting to see whether and how the city responds to this challenge. The combination of excess births and loss of migration could have long-term effects on the city's infrastructure, economy and educational institutions.

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In a constantly changing environment, it remains exciting to see how Paderborn will develop and what opportunities arise from these challenges.