Germany vs OECD: Trade union density
Trade union density over time
- Germany
- OECD
How they compare
OECD currently reports 15.16 Percentage of employees against 14.1 Percentage of employees in Germany, a difference of 1.06 Percentage of employees.
That makes OECD's figure about 1.1 times Germany's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 65 shared years of data; in 1960 it was OECD ahead.
Germany ranks 19th and OECD ranks 18th of 31 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Germany averaged higher in 3 and OECD in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Germany | OECD | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 32.37 Percentage of employees | 36.92 Percentage of employees | 4.55 Percentage of employees | OECD |
| 1970s | 32.85 Percentage of employees | 37.75 Percentage of employees | 4.9 Percentage of employees | OECD |
| 1980s | 32.18 Percentage of employees | 31.01 Percentage of employees | 1.17 Percentage of employees | Germany |
| 1990s | 27.9 Percentage of employees | 24.11 Percentage of employees | 3.79 Percentage of employees | Germany |
| 2000s | 19.75 Percentage of employees | 18.93 Percentage of employees | 0.8155 Percentage of employees | Germany |
| 2010s | 16.23 Percentage of employees | 16.48 Percentage of employees | 0.2529 Percentage of employees | OECD |
| 2020s | 14.54 Percentage of employees | 15.51 Percentage of employees | 0.972 Percentage of employees | OECD |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher trade union density, Germany or OECD?
- OECD, at 15.16 Percentage of employees against 14.1 Percentage of employees in Germany as of 2024.
- What is the difference in trade union density between Germany and OECD?
- 1.06 Percentage of employees, with OECD ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and OECD?
- 65 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2024.
- How do Germany and OECD rank globally for trade union density?
- Germany ranks 19th and OECD ranks 18th of 31 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Trade union density. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
The database on Institutional Characteristics of Trade Unions, Wage Setting, State Intervention and Social Pacts (ICTWSS) was developed by Prof. Jelle Visser at the University of Amsterdam. It was first released in May 2007. In its initial form, the ICTWSS database combined data from various sources and projects with a main focus on trade union in EU and OECD countries, collective bargaining and employment relations in Europe, and social pacts. In 2021, the ICTWSS database was rebranded as the OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database to reflect the joint effort by the OECD and AIAS-HSI to ensure the continuation of the database following Prof. Visser’s retirement. The OECD/AIAS ICTWSS database is publicly available at: http://www.oecd.org/employment/ictwss-database.htm