BERLIN, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Germany's fertility rate fell by 2 percent in 2024 to an average of 1.35 children per woman, according to the latest report released Thursday by the Federal Statistical Office.
Last year, a total of 677,117 children were born in Germany, representing a decrease of 15,872. While the drop remains significant, it is less steep than in the two years prior, when birth rates fell by 8 percent in 2022 and 7 percent in 2023.
The fertility rate among women with German citizenship fell 3 percent to 1.23 children per woman in 2024, a level last seen nearly 30 years ago, when the rate stood at 1.22 in 1996. In contrast, women with foreign citizenship had a fertility rate of 1.84, though this too marked a 2 percent year-on-year decline. "The birth rate among foreign women has been falling almost continuously since 2017," the office reported.
The trend toward later parenthood also persists. In 2024, the average age of mothers at the birth of their first child was 30.4 years, while fathers averaged 33.3 years. "Over the past decade, parents have tended to become older at the time of the birth of their first child," the office noted. In 2015, the average age was 29.7 for mothers and 32.8 for fathers.
Germany's declining birth rate mirrors broader trends across the European Union (EU). Data from the European statistics agency Eurostat for 2023 indicate that fertility rates continued to drop in most EU member states. Across the bloc, the average fertility rate stood at 1.38 children per woman in 2023, down from 1.51 a decade earlier. ■