Lowest pool density in city states, the North-East and in North Rhine-Westphalia

The number of swimming pools in Germany has been declining gradually for decades. According to the German Lifesaving Society (DLRG), the number of public pools has fallen by approx. 1.500 since the year 2000, which corresponds to an annual decline of about 80 pools. The DLRG has warned of the resulting negative effects for a long time, especially due to the lack of swimming lessons in schools. Because of the reduction of public pools in Germany, about a quarter of primary schools can already no longer offer swimming lessons. Thus, Germany threatens to become a country of non-swimmers! According to a Forsa survey, 59% of 10-year-olds are no longer safe swimmers. Due to a petition, the sports committee of the German Bundestag hast just started to deal with the problem of the declining number of swimming pools in January 2020.

Reason enough to look at the regional distribution of pools to see in which federal states the swimming pool emergency is greatest or where the equipment with pools – related to the number of inhabitants – is more positive.