Twenty-five years after the country was reunified, researchers believe that: "The gulf between east and west is currently even wider than it was immediately after German reunification".
The research indicated that social cohesion had increased across the whole country, but was stronger in the regions of the former West Germany.
In the eastern areas of the country, distrust among citizens was on average higher than it had been in the former East Germany.
The liberal think tank, Bertelsmann Foundation, measured community spirit by considering 31 factors, such as voter turnout, volunteer work and trust in institutions, as well as tolerance towards ethnic minorities and homosexuality.
Not only were distrust and lack of social cohesion greatest in the five regions of the east, but people there also were far more critical of how wealth was distributed in the country.
Only 20% of people believed they were getting their fair share of the national wealth. This rate is nearly as low as was found in the immediate wake of unification.
Tolerance of homosexuality has become greater since the 1990s in all parts of the country, including Catholic Bavaria.
But at the same time acceptance of different ethnic minority groups has weakened. There was less support for the concept of “immigrants adding to the cultural life in Germany”.
Research carried out last year by the Foundation showed that Germany ranked relatively low in global terms in its acceptance of social diversity, behind Australia, Scandinavia and North America.
Perhaps counter to expectations, the survey found that highest community spirit was found in regions which already have a large number of immigrants
"Where you get more diversity, people are more likely to respect it," said Kai Unzicker of the Bertelsmann Foundation.
