In 2021, 795,492 children were born in Germany – about 22,000 more than in 2020. The total fertility rate rose again for the first time since 2017, from 1.53 births per woman in 2020 to 1.58 births per woman in 2021 , according to the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden on Wednesday 3 August. According to experts, the relatively stable situation in the labor market, combined with the special situation during the COVID-19 pandemic, contributed to the increase in the birth rate in Germany. In addition, the highest number of newborns occurred in the first and fourth quarters of 2021.

In the west the birth rate is rising, in the east it’s falling

In 2021, the birth rate has increased especially in the western federal states. The biggest increase was seen in Baden-Württemberg (+5%), followed by Bavaria and Hesse (+4% each). At the same time, only a slight increase of over 1-2 percent was recorded in the eastern German states. And in Thuringia and Saxony, the birth rate even declined slightly (-1%).

The highest birth rate in 2021 was recorded in Lower Saxony – 1.66 births per woman, while the lowest rate was recorded in Berlin – 1.39 births.

Among women with German citizenship, the birth rate in 2021 was significantly higher (1.49 births per woman) than in the previous year (1.43 births per woman). Among women residing in Germany with foreign citizenship, the birth rate remained almost unchanged and was 2.01 births per woman (in 2020 – 2.00 births per woman).

Women born in the 1970s have, on average, more children

The total number of children born throughout life averaged 1.53 children per woman in the age group born in 1972, in whose representatives the reproductive period ends in 2021, since the fertile period for a woman is determined by the World Organization of Health (WHO) to 49 years. This so-called absolute number of child births had already steadily declined in the age group of women born in the 1960s, and reached an all-time low – 1.49 children per woman – in the age group of women born in 1968.

Women born in the 1970s have, on average, more children. And the absolute number of births is expected to reach 1.6 children per woman born up to 1979. This indicator reflects the rising trend in the birth rate, especially among German women over 30 years old.

The age difference between the parents at the birth of the first child is 2.8 years

In 2021, the average age of mothers who gave birth to their first child was 30.5 years, while that of fathers was 33.3 years. In general, the average age of women who gave birth to a child in 2021, regardless of the type of baby they gave birth, was 31.8 years, and of the parents – 34.7 years.

In 2021, there was an average of 1.47 births per man

As in most economically developed countries, the average number of children per man in Germany – the so-called paternity rate – is lower than the total fertility rate for women, which measures how many children, on average, a woman gives birth during her lifetime. life. . This is mainly due to the fact that the number of potential fathers exceeds the number of potential mothers, since men maintain their reproductive function longer than women.

In Germany, there was an average of 1.47 births per man in 2021. In 2020, that number was lower: 1.43 births per man. As for the female fertility rate, it increased again in 2021 for the first time since 2017.