knowledge Overview
Lower Saxony lies in northwestern Germany, stretching from the North Sea coast to the foothills of the Harz. The state capital is Hanover. The state covers around 47,700 km² and is thus the second-largest federal state; about 8.0 million inhabitants (2022 census) live here. Its ISO-3166-2 code is DE-NI. Lower Saxony was founded in 1946 by the British occupying power.
Administrative divisions
Until the end of 2004 there were 4 government regions (Braunschweig, Hannover, Lüneburg, Weser-Ems); these were dissolved on 1 January 2005. Below the state level there are 37 rural districts (including the Region Hannover as a special municipal association) and 8 urban districts.
Major cities
- Hanover (around 640,000 inhabitants)
- Braunschweig (around 220,000 inhabitants)
- Oldenburg (around 170,000 inhabitants)
- Osnabrück (around 165,000 inhabitants)
- Wolfsburg (around 125,000 inhabitants)
Transport
Hanover is a central ICE hub and trade-fair location; the motorways A 2 and A 7 cross in the state. With the JadeWeserPort container port in Wilhelmshaven, the nearby seaport of Bremerhaven and Hanover Airport, the state is logistically well connected.
Economy
Lower Saxony is strongly shaped by the automotive industry (Volkswagen in Wolfsburg), agriculture and the food industry, wind energy on the coast and the North Sea, and mechanical engineering.