Birth rate in Germany reaches historical low!

Birth rate in Germany reaches historical low!

The birth rate in Germany is still in a decline. With only 1.35 children per woman, she reaches a new low. If you compare this with the previous year, there is even a decline of two percent, because in 2023 the rate was still 1.38 children. A total of 677,117 children were born last year, which corresponds to a decline of 15,872 newborns compared to 2023. This is reported by the Welt .

The differences between the federal states are striking. Lower Saxony leads with a birth rate of 1.42 children per woman, while Berlin is at the other end of the scale with lean 1.21 children per woman. The birth rate of women with German citizenship is also worrying, because with 1.23 children per woman, it just barely missed the lowest value for 30 years - in 1996 the value was 1.22 children. Women with foreign citizenship, on the other hand, have a little better and are in 1.84 children, although a decrease of two percent is recorded compared to the previous year.

lows and trends

A detailed analysis shows that the birth rate in women with foreign nationality has been continuously decreasing since 2017. These developments raise questions, especially if the annual review of the statistical offices has shown that the birth rate has dropped in all federal states. The largest burglaries were found in Thuringia, where the birth number fell from 1.33 to 1.24 children per woman, a decline of 7 percent. Baden-Württemberg recorded the slightest decline at only 1 percent, but here too the birth rate has fallen from 1.41 to 1.39 children. The birth number in the eastern federal states is an average of 1.27 children per woman, while the western federal states are in 1.38 children. According to Destatis , the development as in many other European countries remains a topic that will continue to keep us busy.

But what are the entire social effects of these low birth rates? The 1975 vintage, for example, brought it to an average of 1.58 children. In addition, the average age of the mothers increases at birth: in 2024 it was 31.8 years, while the fathers were 34.7 years old. This could also lead to family planning and births to be thought through again.

A look at Europe

compares the numbers in Germany with those of the rest of the EU, you can see that the European average in 2023 was 1.38 children per woman, which also represents a decline since 2013 (then 1.51 children per woman). In the entire EU, Bulgaria with a birth number of 1.81 children is the exception, while Malta with 1.06 and Spain with 1.12 children are at the end of the scale. The data clearly show that Germany is not alone with this trend.