Germany Birth Rate Plunges to Lowest Level Since 1997

Germany’s birth rate has contracted to its lowest level since 1997. The federal statistical office reported Wednesday that the national fertility rate dropped to 1.32 children per woman in 2025.

This marks a 2.7 percent decline from the 1.35 rate recorded the previous year. The metric has registered a continuous downward trajectory since 2022.

The national rate last hovered near this floor nearly two decades ago, at 1.33.

Post-War Low

The demographic shift drove the absolute number of births to its lowest level in the post-war era.

Final calculations indicate only 654,241 children were born across the country last year.

Statisticians attribute the contraction to a structural demographic squeeze. The cohort born during the previous mid-1990s slump, when the rate hit a trough of 1.24, now constitutes a relatively small generation of prospective parents.

Regional Disparities

Fertility varies sharply across regional lines. The Eastern states averaged 1.22, trailing the Western states' 1.34 average.

Saxony recorded the lowest regional output at 1.16, its weakest level since hitting 1.11 in 1998.

Conversely, Lower Saxony led the nation at 1.38, maintaining a top position it has held since 2018.

However, the state slipped below the 1.40 threshold for the first time since 2009.

Citizenship Divide

A clear divide is also evident between domestic and foreign citizens. The fertility rate among German women dropped to 1.20, marking a near-three-decade low, the lowest since 1.22 in 1996.

Women with foreign citizenship recorded a notably higher rate of 1.78.

Despite the higher baseline, this demographic also experienced a 3.3 percent contraction from the 1.84 rate recorded the previous year.

Excluding a brief pause in 2021, foreign female fertility has been declining continuously since 2017.