Due to the increasing difference between births and deaths and the decrease in immigration, Germany’s population decreased last year for the first time since 2020.
Elchi.az reports that the country’s population decreased by approximately 100,000 people last year, falling to 83.5 million.
The German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) has released preliminary data on population growth for 2025.
According to this data, the country’s population will decrease by 100,000 people in 2025 due to a decrease in births and immigration. Thus, the population will fall to 83.5 million.
Due to a significant increase in net migration, Germany’s population increased by 340,000 and 100,000 people in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
As in all years since German reunification, the number of deaths exceeded the number of births in 2025. However, unlike previous years, the difference between births and deaths increased last year.
The migration balance (net migration) also decreased significantly last year.
For the first time since 2020, the difference between births and deaths could not be offset by net migration gains, which led to a decrease in population.
It is estimated that between 640,000 and 670,000 births and slightly more than 1 million deaths occurred in Germany last year. Thus, a birth difference (the difference between births and deaths) of between 340,000 and 360,000 was calculated for 2025.
Net migration was projected to be between 220,000 and 260,000 people last year. In 2024, net migration to the country was recorded as 430,183. It is noteworthy that net migration will decrease by at least 40 percent compared to 2024.
Net migration remained at a similar low level (220,251) in 2020, the year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The average annual net migration from 1990 to 2024 was 356,000 people.
Meanwhile, as the German economy needs hundreds of thousands of skilled immigrants every year due to its aging population, immigration remains a controversial issue in the country, and the government is addressing the need for foreign workers with reforms that facilitate naturalization. On the other hand, according to research, the German economy is facing an increasing labor shortage and a shortage of skilled workers due to demographic changes and the departure of those born between World War II and the Cold War (baby boomers) from the labor market.
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