Overview
- The Federal Statistical Office reported on Wednesday that Germany's total fertility rate fell to 1.32 children per woman in 2025 and that 654,241 babies were born, the fewest in the postwar era.
- The decline affected both German and foreign women, with rates of 1.20 and 1.78 respectively, and nearly all federal states saw falls while Hamburg recorded a slight rise.
- Demographers point to cohort effects because the smaller generation born in the 1990s is now of childbearing age and to later parenting — mothers averaged 31.9 years and fathers 34.8 years at birth in 2025.
- Researchers at the ifo Institute and Stanford find that regular access to home office is associated with higher birth rates and could add modestly to births, but they and statisticians say workplace flexibility alone will not reverse the trend.
- Officials warn the continued fall since 2022 raises risks for future labour supply and pension funding and experts recommend policies such as affordable housing, more childcare and flexible work while noting Destatis introduced a cell-key method for 2025 data to protect individual privacy.