The number of registered prostitutes in Germany is rising but remains below the number working before the coronavirus pandemic, according to government data released on Friday.
At the end of 2023, around 30,600 prostitutes were registered with authorities in Germany, 8.3% more than in the previous year, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
Although this is a further increase, it is still lower than the number of registered sex workers in the country before the pandemic. At the end of 2019, 40,400 prostitutes were registered.
German law has required sex workers to register since 2017.
Unregistered sex workers are not included in the statistics.
According to the data, three quarters of registered prostitutes were between 21 and 44 years old, around a fifth (21%) were 45 years old or over and 4% were between 18 and 20 years old.
Only 18% of registered sex workers had German citizenship. The most common nationality was Romanian (36%), while 11% had Bulgarian nationality and 7% had Spanish nationality.
The government does not track gender information for sex workers, which is not required to be disclosed upon registration.
The number of valid or provisional permits for a prostitution business remained unchanged compared to the previous year at 2,300, according to the statistical authority. At the end of 2019, before the pandemic, the number of registered prostitution businesses was 2,200.
Physical establishments, such as brothels, represented 93% of registered prostitution businesses at the end of 2023. Another 5% of businesses were prostitution agencies and 2% were prostitution vehicles or events.
Prostitution businesses require a license in Germany. The agency said no information could be provided about companies operating without the required license.
Germany’s 2002 Prostitution Law designated prostitution as a normal trade in the country. Since 2017, the Prostitutes Protection Law has also stipulated that brothels require an operating license.
Prostitutes are required to register their activity and receive regular health advice.
