Number of prostitutes registered in Germany rises slightly

The number of registered prostitutes in Germany is on the rise but remains below the number working before the coronavirus pandemic, according to government figures released on Friday.

At the end of 2023, around 30,600 prostitutes were registered with the authorities in Germany, 8.3% more than in the previous year, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

Although this is a further increase, it remains 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 one fifth (21%) were 45 years or older 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 when registering.

The number of valid or provisional permits for a prostitution business remained unchanged compared to the previous year at 2,300, according to the statistics authority. At the end of 2019, before the pandemic, the number of registered prostitution businesses was 2,200.

Physical establishments such as brothels made up 93% of the prostitution businesses registered at the end of 2023. Another 5% of businesses were prostitution agencies and 2% were prostitution vehicles or events.

Prostitution businesses require a permit in Germany. The agency said no information could be provided about businesses operating without the required permit.

Germany's Prostitution Act in 2002 designated prostitution as a normal trade in the country. Since 2017, the Prostitute Protection Act has also stipulated that brothels require an operating license.

Prostitutes are obliged to register their activity and undergo regular health counselling.