Germany’s fertility rate fell to its lowest level in nearly three decades in 2025, underscoring the country’s growing demographic challenges as births dropped to a post-war record low, according to figures released by the Federal Statistical Office of Germany on Tuesday.

Data published by Destatis showed that Germany’s total fertility rate (TFR) declined to 1.32 children per woman in 2025, down from 1.35 in 2024. The figure represents a 2.7% decrease and marks the third consecutive annual decline since 2022.

The latest rate is the lowest recorded since 1997 and approaches levels last seen two decades ago, when the fertility rate stood at 1.33 children per woman in 2006. Germany’s all-time low was recorded in the mid-1990s, when the rate fell to 1.24 children per woman.

The decline was observed among both German and foreign women, indicating that falling birth rates are affecting all major population groups in the country.

According to the statistical office, a total of 654,241 children were born in Germany in 2025, the lowest number of births recorded since the end of World War II.

Demographers point to several factors behind the trend, including economic uncertainty, rising housing costs, changing family patterns, delayed parenthood and the shrinking size of younger generations entering childbearing age.

Officials noted that those born during the historically low-fertility years of the 1990s now make up a relatively small generation of potential parents, contributing further to the decline in births.

Regional differences remained significant. The state of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) recorded the highest fertility rate in the country, while Saxony (Sachsen) registered the lowest.

The data also included long-term cohort fertility figures, showing that women born in 1976 had an average of 1.58 children over their lifetimes.

Germany, like many European countries, faces increasing concerns over population aging, labor shortages and the long-term sustainability of pension and social welfare systems. Policymakers have increasingly relied on immigration and family-support measures to offset demographic pressures, but recent statistics suggest that reversing the downward trend in births remains a major challenge.

The latest figures place Germany among a growing number of developed economies experiencing fertility rates well below the replacement level of approximately 2.1 children per woman, the threshold generally required to maintain a stable population without migration. (ILKHA)