The Statistical Federal Office (Destatis) recently released data based on an evaluation of approximately 10,500 municipalities, revealing that the more rural a community in Germany is, the faster it has aged over the past 15 years.
While large cities, which already have the youngest populations, saw only a marginal increase in average age between 2011 and 2025-rising by just 0.3 years from 43.2 to 43.5-the average age in rural towns climbed significantly by 2.5 years, moving from 44.3 to 46.8 years. Smaller towns also experienced a notable rise, with their average age increasing by 2.2 years, from 44.1 to 46.3 years. Medium-sized cities showed a steady increase of 1.6 years, aging from 43.8 at the end of 2011 to 45.4 at the end of 2025.
Overall, the average age of the population across Germany rose by well over one year during this period, increasing from 43.9 in 2011 to 45.0 by the end of 2025.
When comparing the 16 federal states, the city-states maintain the youngest populations. In 2025, Hamburg had the youngest average population at 42.3 years, followed by Berlin (42.8 years) and Bremen (43.2 years). Saksen-Anhalt recorded the oldest population with an average age of 48.4 years, while Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (48.3 years) and Thuringia (48.2 years) also registered high average ages.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has aged the most sharply over the last 15 years, with its average age in 2025 being 2.5 years higher than in 2011. In contrast, Bremen, the federal state with the least aging, experienced a slight decrease in average age of 0.7 years, meaning the population of the city-state became slightly younger on average, according to the federal office.
