Changing living standards 1945-89

• Car ownership rose from 2 million in 1950 to over 12 million in 1965. In 1964, the average disposable income for a 4 person household was DM904; of this, DM823 was spent on private consumption, 2/3 of which went on essentials such as food, housing and clothing.
• Most citizens of the FRG considered themselves middle class - although families often needed 2 incomes to maintain their affluent lifestyle. This lifestyle would include, by the 1980s, more than 95% ownership of items such as washing machines, refrigerators, televisions and telephones, plus at least bi-annual foreign holidays.
• The improvement in the standard of living was fuelled by the relative cheap cost of living caused by relatively low inflation and restraint in wage demands.
• The FRG was a cheaper country to live in compared to its western neighbours. It was even cheaper than the communist GDR. If the price index represented 100 in the FRG in 1985, it was 121 in the GDR. What might be considered luxury items such as coffee beans cost a staggering four times as much in the GDR, while even clothing cost half as much in the FRG.
• The cost of living in terms of hours worked necessary to buy goods was falling. For example, 1 litre of milk was 0.14 hours in 1950, compared with only 0.03 hours in 1990.
• Although, housing was a problem in the immediate post war years and it was common for families to share houses. However, the number of rooms per person grew as more homes were built, from 0.9 in 1950 to 1.5 by the 1970s. Similarly, living space per person rose from 19m2 in 1950 to 30m2 by 1980.
• In many older properties, as many as 90% lacked either an inside toilet, shower or central heating in 1960 and even in 1983 this stood at 18%.
• While housing standards improved, the level of home ownership remained low. Comparatively few Germans bought their own homes - most FRG citizens preferred to rent. The figure of home ownership was 38% in 1987. In contrast, over 50% of citizens in other western European countries owned their homes in the 1980s.
• Prices rose 6% annually during the 1970s, although this wasn't as high as other western countries (in the UK - 24% in 1975). Nevertheless, citizens were aware the prices were rising and trade unions put in wage demands to account for this.
• Housing 1945:

  • 1/3 destroyed
  • 1/3 damaged
  • rents frozen
  • government minister for housing created
  • housing associations established
• Consumer goods:

  • 1963: 63% fridges, 42% TV, 36% washing machines
  • 1980: 82% fridges, 82% TV, 87% washing machines
• 1980 - 90% of Germans had access to benefits and healthcare. The majority of Germans received a state pension.
• However - Two Thirds Society:

  In the 1960s, the top 1% of Germans had 35% of the countries wealth, which increased to 45% by 1988.