According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), Germany had 10.8 million children under the age of 14 at the end of 2025, representing 12.9 percent of the total population. This marks a slight increase in the proportion of children within the last decade; in 2015, that percentage was 12.3 percent, corresponding to 10.1 million children. Historically, however, the proportion of children has generally declined amidst demographic change. For instance, in 1975, 19.6 percent of the population on the current federal territory was under 14, dropping to 15.1 percent by 1995.
The structure of the population, including the share of those under 14, varies regionally within Germany. In 2025, the highest shares were recorded in Baden-Württemberg and Bremen, both at 13.4 percent, followed by Hamburg and Bavaria, both at 13.2 percent. The lowest percentages were found in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Thuringia, both at 11.3 percent, alongside Saxony-Anhalt, which reported 11.2 percent.
Comparing these figures to the European Union, data from the beginning of 2025 provided by Eurostat showed that the EU average for the proportion of children stood at 13.3 percent, slightly higher than Germany’s figure of 13.0 percent. Ireland led the EU in terms of child proportion, reporting 17.0 percent. Other countries with above-average numbers of children under 14 included Sweden (15.6 percent) and France (15.3 percent). Conversely, Italy (10.9 percent), Malta (11.3 percent), and Portugal (11.7 percent) recorded the lowest child percentages in the EU.
