BERLIN, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The prosperity gap between German regions remains large, according to a study by the Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI) of the Hans-Boeckler-Foundation published on Wednesday.
The most recent figures showed that in Germany's most prosperous district Starnberg in Bavaria, the average disposable per capita income of households was 34,987 euros (39,215 U.S. dollars).
This was more than twice as high as in Gelsenkirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia, which was at the bottom of the income ranking at 16,203 euros per capita, according to the study.
"The great inequality between the regions is primarily due to differences in the economic structure,"study author Eric Seils told Xinhua on Wednesday, adding "The Ruhr region still suffers from the decline of the old industries."
Among Germany's largest cities, the richest was the Bavarian state capital of Munich, where on average, private households had a disposable income of 29,685 euros.
The city of Heilbronn in Baden-Wuerttemberg had the second highest figures nationwide.
The authors of the WSI study cautioned, however, that the high average income was probably also "due to the fact that several very wealthy people are registered in Heilbronn, including the billionaire Dieter Schwarz, who owns the Lidl retail group".
In contrast, the city of Leipzig was among the 20 percent of the poorest districts in Germany with an average disposable income of 17,700 euros.
Achieving "uniform" or "equivalent" living conditions across the whole of Germany "has been the mission of the German constitution for almost 70 years," said the WSI study.
However, a detailed look at the average disposable incomes of households in German administrative districts and cities showed just how difficult this goal was to achieve, the authors wrote.
The WSI study showed that eastern Germany was lagging significantly behind the rest of the country in terms of income.
In only six out of 77 eastern German districts and urban districts did per capita income exceed the 20,000-euro mark.
In western Germany, 284 out of 324 districts and cities exceeded this mark.
The WSI researchers calculated that after deducting price increases, disposable income in Germany grew by an average of 12.3 percent between 2000 and 2016.
During this time, real growth in east Germany, at 13.9 percent, was slightly higher than in the west, although the starting level was much lower.
While the average per capita income in eastern Germany in the year 2000 was 81.5 percent of that in western Germany, it had risen to 84.7 percent in 2016.
Nonetheless, a recent study by the research facility Prognos AG found that although eastern Germany has to some degree caught up economically with the west, this trend would not last.
According to Prognos' forecasts, the gap "will widen again by 2045" due to migration and low birth rates.
Last year, the federal government announced a support programme for structurally weak regions in Germany in order to contribute to equal living conditions throughout the country.
