Number of births in Germany at lowest level since 2013

The number of births and weddings in Germany fell to the lowest level in years in 2023, according to preliminary figures from the Federal Statistical Office, reported dpa.

Around 693,000 children were born in Germany last year, the lowest level since 2013, according to the figures. The number fell by 6.2% compared to the previous year, when 738,819 births were counted.

In eastern Germany, the number of births in 2023 fell by 9.2% compared to the previous year, from 86,227 to around 78,300, a much sharper decline than in western Germany, where the number of newborns fell by 5.9% from 616,863 to around 581,000.

The number of marriages also fell in 2023 by 7.6% compared to the previous year to around 361,000. In 2022, 390,743 couples married.

According to the figures, this was the second-lowest number of marriages since the start of records in 1950, after 2021, when it was 357,785 and which was heavily affected by the restrictions imposed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Of the 361,000 marriages across Germany, around 351,800 were between a man and a woman and 9,200 between people of the same sex.

The number of marriages in eastern Germany also fell more sharply than in western Germany, dropping from 56,971 in 2022 to around 51,800 in 2023. In the west, the number fell by 7.4% from 321,431 to around 297,700.