The birth of twins, triplets, or quadruplets is rare in itself, and in Germany it has become even less common in recent years. In 2024, of the 680,017 babies born, 21,040 were multiples, meaning that one out of every 32 births was a multiple. That represents a share of 3.1 percent, the Statistical Office of Germany (Destatis) reported on Tuesday. The share has been falling after a decade‑long rise since 2017, reaching its lowest level since 1997.
A key driver of the decade‑long rise had been advances in modern reproductive medicine, where multiple embryos were often implanted during in‑vitro fertilisation. More and more clinics now implant only a single embryo, which reduces the number of multiple pregnancies. In 2024, 97.7 percent of the multiple babies were twins – 20,550 twin pairs and 453 triplets – with a handful of additional multiples.
The likelihood of a multiple birth increases with maternal age. Over the past 25 years in Germany, the average age of women who gave birth to multiples has consistently been about one to one and a half years older than the age of those who had a single child. In 2024, mothers of multiples were on average 32.9 years old, while mothers of a single child averaged 31.8 years old.
