Germany is experiencing a sharp decline in the birth rate, especially in the East, where the health crisis, the war in Ukraine and inflation have pushed many families to delay their plans to have children, according to Ifo.
The number of births in Germany has decreased by almost 13% in two years, going from 795,500 in 2021 to 693,000 in 2023, with an especially marked decrease in the eastern part (-17.5%), says the Ifo economic institute in a article published Wednesday.
That is, the birth rate in Germany increased to 1.35 children per woman, compared to 1.58 in 2021.
“It is clear that the Covid crisis, the outbreak of war in Ukraine and the loss of real income due to high inflation have pushed many young families to postpone their plans to have children,” explains Joachim Ragnitz, from the Ifo Institute of Dresden (east).
Another explanatory factor is the sharp decrease in the number of women between 27 and 36 years old living in eastern Germany and who account for the majority of births.
The analysis shows that the decline in the birth rate began in 2015, but has recently accelerated significantly.
More women of childbearing age
However, the number of women of childbearing age in Germany has increased slightly recently, mainly due to the influx of Ukrainian war refugees.
Between 2021 and 2023, the number of foreign women of childbearing age increased by almost 500,000, while the number of German women of the same age group decreased by more than 100,000.
However, most Ukrainian women arrived without their partners, which did not lead to an equivalent increase in births, Ifo notes.
Births in Germany increased by 7% in 2016, the year fertility reached a level not seen since 1973, an advance due in particular to foreign mothers following a historic influx of immigrants, mostly Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans.
Source: BFM TV
