The decline in birth rates in Germany continued into 2024
The German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced the birth statistics for 2024.
Accordingly, the number of babies born alive in 2024 decreased by 2 percent or 15,872 compared to 2023, reaching 677,117.
The "total fertility rate," which expresses the average number of children a woman can have during her reproductive period (15-49 age group), was 1.38 children in 2023 and 1.35 children in 2024. The total fertility rate decreased by 8 percent and 7 percent in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
The average age of mothers giving birth in 2024 was 31.8.
It is noteworthy that the fertility rate in the eastern states of Germany, at 1.27 children per woman, is significantly lower than in the western states, where it is 1.38.
For women with German citizenship, this rate dropped to 1.23 children per woman, while for women with foreign citizenship, it was 1.84 children per woman. It was noted that the fertility rate among foreign-born women has been declining almost continuously since 2017.
The data show that the downward trend in the total fertility rate is not unique to Germany. The average birth rate across European Union (EU) member states was 1.38 children last year.
According to the total fertility rates of the 27 EU member states, the country with the highest total fertility rate in 2023 was Bulgaria with 1.81 children, while the country with the lowest fertility rate was Malta with 1.12 children.
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