German Fertility Rate Falls to Lowest Level Since 2006

Germany's total fertility rate fell to 1.32 children per woman in 2025, continuing a decline that began in 2022. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the figure is the country's lowest since 2006, while the number of births – 654,241 – reached a postwar record low.

Lower Saxony recorded Germany's highest fertility rate at 1.38 children per woman, while Saxony had the lowest at 1.16. Overall, fertility remained lower in eastern Germany than in the west. The rate declined among both German women, to 1.20, and foreign women, to 1.78. Fertility among foreign women has been falling since 2017.

Women born in 1976 had an average of 1.58 children over their lifetime. If current trends continue, women born in the 1980s and 1990s are expected to have even fewer children.

The average age of first-time parents also continues to rise. Last year, first-time mothers were 30.5 years old on average, while first-time fathers were 33.3. The average age gap between parents at the birth of their first child narrowed from 3.2 years in 2015 to 2.8 years in 2025. The stillbirth rate remained stable at 4.3 per 1,000 births.

The trend extends beyond Germany. Across the EU, the average fertility rate has fallen by 12% over the past five years to 1.34 children per woman. Germany now sits close to the EU average. Bulgaria records the bloc's highest fertility rate at 1.72, while Malta has the lowest at 1.01.

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