Germany’s Federal Statistical Office published data at the end of January showing that Germany’s total population fell to around 83.5 million in 2025, a decrease of about 100,000 people compared to the end of 2024. This is the first real population decline since 2010 (excluding the pandemic year of 2020). In terms of births, around 654,300 babies were born in Germany in 2025, a year-on-year decrease of 3.4%, marking the fourth consecutive decline and the lowest figure since World War II. The number of deaths was about 1.01 million, resulting in a birth deficit of 352,000 people, the largest gap since the war. The statistics office noted that the key driver of this net population decline is a double effect: while the birth deficit widened further, net migration plummeted from around 430,000 in 2024 to roughly 220,000 to 260,000 people — a drop of over 40% — and for the first time since 2020 was unable to offset the birth deficit. By region, births in the eastern federal states fell by 4.5% and by 3.2% in the western states. The only state to record positive growth nationwide was Hamburg.
In terms of demographic causes, the Federal Statistical Office pointed out that the birth rate has been falling in recent years, partly because the number of German women in the prime childbearing age group (25 to 35) is itself relatively small — after a sharp drop in the birth rate in the early years following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, this cohort is now of childbearing age. The decline in the number of immigrants is directly linked to the policy of tighter border controls and stricter asylum conditions implemented by Chancellor Merz’s government since it took office in May 2025. Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel warned that demographic change is one of the most serious challenges of our time, and 83% of German citizens believe they cannot maintain their retirement income on public pensions alone. Meanwhile, the proposal by the Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy to raise the retirement age to 70 has sparked intense controversy within the governing coalition.