Posted by Chinenye on Tue 28th Apr, 2026 - tori.ng
Germany is facing a deepening demographic crisis as official figures show its birth rate has fallen to the lowest level since 1946.
According to official figures released on Tuesday, Germany's birth rate has dropped to its lowest point since 1946 as the nation faces the difficulties of an aging population.
According to statistics bureau Destatis, there were about 654,300 births in 2025, down from 677,117 the year before—a decrease of about 3.4%.
The number of births had decreased for the fourth consecutive year.
According to the agency, there was the biggest "birth deficit" in the post-war era in 2025, with almost 1.01 million deaths compared to 352,000 births.
According to Destatis, the growth is mostly due to two developments: the comparatively small number of individuals born in the 1990s are now approaching the age at which they are most likely to become parents, and the decline in the total fertility rate since 2022.
The average number of children a woman is predicted to have during her lifetime is determined by the total fertility rate.
Approximately 19 million Germans, or roughly 23% of the country's entire population, were 65 years of age or older in 2024, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
Just 15% of people were over 65 in 1991.
On June 30, a government-appointed pensions commission is scheduled to deliver its reform recommendations.
When Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated last week that the state pension should only be viewed as a "basic provision" to be supplemented with other income, he sparked a backlash.
Unions and the center-left SPD, which is in a governing coalition with Merz's conservatives, strongly condemned the remarks.
Merz later clarified that there would be “no cuts to statutory pensions” under the current government.