In 2025, a total of 1,571 researchers successfully completed their Habilitation-a post-doctoral academic qualification-at universities and equivalent higher education institutions across Germany. According to data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Wednesday, this total represents a minor increase of 0.4 percent compared to the previous year, when 1,564 Habilitations were completed.
Regarding gender distribution, the number of female Habilitated individuals slightly decreased by 2.5 percent compared to the previous year (554 versus 568). Conversely, the number of male Habilitated individuals rose by 2.1 percent (1,017 versus 996). Consequently, the proportion of women among the qualified researchers settled at 35 percent, a slight drop from the 36 percent recorded previously.
The Habilitation serves as formal proof of special competence for research and teaching within a specific field. In 2025, the Human Medicine/Health Sciences area dominated, accounting for the largest number of qualifications (911, or 58 percent). Other major fields included STEM disciplines, which accounted for 16 percent of the total, and the Humanities, which accounted for 13 percent.
Gender representation varied significantly across these academic fields. In the Humanities and Human Medicine/Health Sciences groups, the female proportion was slightly above the overall average in 2025 (39 percent and 36 percent, respectively). In contrast, the STEM fields showed a noticeably lower representation of women at 22 percent.
The average age of the individuals who completed the Habilitation in 2025 remained stable at 42 years, mirroring previous years. Furthermore, 192 Habilitations were successfully obtained by international researchers in Germany. This brought the foreign participation rate in the Habilitation process to 12 percent in 2025, up from 11 percent the year before.
