GERMANY’S birth rate has plummeted as worries about the economy, the Ukraine war and the Covid pandemic saw families put off having children, a think tank said recently.
Natality fell to 1.35 children per woman last year, compared to 1.58 in 2021, with the biggest decline seen in the formerly communist-ruled eastern states.
The number of births in Europe’s biggest economy tumbled from 795,000 in 2021 to 693,000 in 2023, a slump of almost 13%, according to research from the Ifo institute.
It noted a “disproportionate decline” of 17.5% in eastern German states.
“The coronavirus crisis, the outbreak of war in Ukraine, and the subsequent drop in real income due to high inflation have clearly prompted many young families to put off having children for the time being,” said Ifo’s Joachim Ragnitz.
The string of shocks “may have contributed to increased uncertainty, especially among younger people”, according to the research.
When it comes to the east, one reason for the sharp fall was the dropping number of women there aged 27 to 36, who account for the majority of births, it said.
Declining fast
Birth rates began to decline in Germany in 2015 but the trend has accelerated significantly in recent times, according to the institute.
“Overall, almost 80,000 fewer children were born in 2022 and 2023 than would have been expected,” said Ragnitz.
Across the whole country however, the number of women of childbearing age has risen slightly, largely due to the influx of Ukrainian refugees following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
Germany gained almost 500,000 foreigners of childbearing age between 2021 and 2023.
But since most of the women who fled Ukraine came to Germany without partners, this did not lead to a corresponding increase in births, Ifo said.
Germany is not alone in having plummeting natality, a common problem in developed economies.
Fewer young people spells major challenges for German businesses, which are already grappling with a severe shortage of skilled labour. – AFP Relaxnews
