Health & Education · Wiesbaden
Germany's birth rate falls to 1.32, lowest level since 1997
The combined birth rate fell 2.7% from 2024 to 1.32 children per woman, the Federal Statistical Office reported. Total births in 2025 dropped to 654,241, the lowest post-war figure.
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In brief
The combined birth rate fell to 1.32 children per woman, the lowest since 1997. Total births dropped to 654,241, a post-war low.
Eastern states averaged 1.22 children per woman versus 1.34 in the west. Saxony recorded the lowest rate at 1.16.
The rate for women with foreign citizenship fell to 1.78, down 3.3% from 2024 and in decline since 2017.
Martin Bujard says crises have led to postponed family planning and calls for policy action on housing, childcare, and a more optimistic public narrative.
National fertility at 30-year low
The Federal Statistical Office reported that the combined fertility rate dropped to 1.32 children per woman in 2025, the lowest since 1997. That is a 2.7% decline from the 2024 rate of 1.35. The number of births fell to 654,241, a post-war low. The rate has been falling continuously since 2022. In the mid-1990s, the rate reached a trough of 1.24.
East-West divide persists
Eastern states (excluding Berlin) recorded 1.22 children per woman, compared to 1.34 in the west. Saxony had the lowest rate at 1.16, while Niedersachsen led with 1.38. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern saw the sharpest annual decline, down 6.3%.
- Sachsen
- 1.16 children per woman
- Berlin
- 1.19 children per woman
- Thüringen
- 1.2 children per woman
- Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
- 1.21 children per woman
- Brandenburg
- 1.3 children per woman
- Nordrhein-Westfalen
- 1.34 children per woman
- Niedersachsen
- 1.38 children per woman
Data from the article text
Foreign-born women also having fewer children
The rate among women with foreign citizenship was 1.78, down 3.3% from 2024. It has been declining since 2017 (except 2021). German women's rate fell to 1.20, a level not seen since 1996.
Expert: multiple crises delay family formation
Martin Bujard of the Federal Institute for Population Research attributes the decline to ongoing crises.
“Wars, economic problems and the climate crisis lead people to postpone family planning.”
Call for policy and narrative shift
Bujard warned that the effects will hit the labour market in about 20 years, when a generation one-third smaller enters. He urged action on housing and childcare.
“We need a future-optimistic narrative. We must get out of the crisis narrative, because we still live in a fairly prosperous society.”
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Sources and context
- Martin Bujard
- Research director at the Federal Institute for Population Research
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