Germany records its highest post-war birth deficit in 2025

In 2025, Germany recorded a natural population deficit not seen since the end of the Second World War. The number of deaths (around 1.01 million) has in fact far exceeded that of births (around 654,300), according to data published Thursday by the federal statistics office Destatis.

“This is the largest birth deficit in the post-war period,” the institute said in a statement. Over one year, their number fell by 3.4%. This is also the fourth consecutive year of decline in the number of births, “which has reached its lowest level since 1946,” the press release added.

The cause, according to the institute, is the entry into their thirties of fewer generations born in the 1990s, combined with the drop in the fertility index since 2022. This drop is even more marked in eastern Germany, in the regions of the former GDR.

The phenomenon is part of a long-term trend of aging of the German population, regularly pointed out by economists in a country where the shortage of labor is already slowing down the growth of several sectors.

Migration debate

Germany thus has the oldest working population in the European Union, with a quarter of the country’s workers aged between 55 and 64, according to figures published in February. Other countries are affected by a drop in birth rates in 2025, such as France, Austria, Italy and Sweden. While Spain, the Netherlands and Finland “show signs of stabilization”, observes Destatis.

An increase in births in Germany would not be possible only with “a significant increase in the birth rate and at least moderate net immigration”, warns the institute.

The migration debate is marked by the hardening of the speech of conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), in power since May 2025, under pressure from the far-right AfD, credited with around 28% of voting intentions in the latest polls.