Overview
- Destatis, in a Tuesday release, reported a 2024 median of 3.1 years between the first and second child of the same mother.
- The figure is down from 3.3 years in 2014, marking a slight decline over the past decade.
- Spacing grows with later births, reaching 3.8 years between the second and third child and 3.6 years between the third and fourth.
- The East–West split is stark, with a 3.8‑year gap in the east, excluding Berlin, versus 3.0 years in the west for the first two children.
- Statisticians point to younger first‑birth ages in the east, at 29.2 years versus 30.5 in the west, as a likely factor in the larger gaps.