At the end of 2025, there were 83.5 million inhabitants in Germany. According to data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Tuesday, the population decreased by 110,000 people, or 0.1 percent, in 2025.
Since 2011, the population had shown continuous growth, with the exception of 2020. The decline in 2020 was attributed to reduced immigration during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even in 2024, the population increase was lower at +0.1 percent compared to previous years. For the first time since 2020, the German population has seen a drop in 2025.
This demographic trend is a result of changes in both births and deaths, as well as net migration. In 2025, the number of deaths exceeding births stood at +352,000, slightly higher than the previous year’s figure (+331,000). Simultaneously, the net migration balance-the difference between people entering and leaving Germany-significantly decreased, falling from +430,000 in the preceding year to +235,000 in 2025. Consequently, net immigration was insufficient to offset the natural population deficit.
The population decline was more pronounced in the eastern states, registering a decrease of -0.5 percent (57,000 people), compared to -0.1 percent (68,000 people) in the western states. Only the three city-states-Berlin, Hamburg (both at +0.4 percent), and Bremen (+0.3 percent)-recorded a population increase. The remaining larger states experienced either a decline or remained relatively stable. Thuringia (-1.0 percent), Saxony-Anhalt (-0.7 percent), and Saarland (-0.5 percent) were the most affected by the population decrease.
The population trends varied significantly across age groups. The only age group that saw growth was the 60-to-79-year-olds, whose numbers increased by 2.8 percent (+358,000). This growth in the older age brackets reflects the aging of large birth cohorts (the Baby Boomers). Conversely, the number of people aged 80 and over dropped by 2.5 percent (-151,000), primarily due to the cohorts born during the less fruitful years following the end of World War II. A slight reduction was also observed among children and teenagers under 20 years old (-0.6 percent or 88,000 people) and adults aged 20 to 59 years (-1.0 percent or 409,000 people).
These differing age group developments are influencing the overall age structure. In 2025, the number of older individuals aged 60 and above rose by 387,000, increasing their share of the total population by 0.5 percentage points to 31 percent. This structure differs markedly when comparing the total population to the foreign population. For instance, the share of people over 60 in the foreign population was significantly lower at 13.4 percent than in the German population (34.1 percent). Correspondingly, the proportion of non-German adults aged 20 to 59 was much higher in the foreign population (67.6 percent) compared to the German population (47.4 percent).
In 2025, the foreign population grew by 39,000 people (+0.3 percent), reaching 12.4 million at year-end. This growth is substantially lower both absolutely and relatively than during the last 15 years. In the previous year, the foreign population had increased by 283,000 people (+2.3 percent). The period of greatest growth for the foreign population occurred in 2015 (+1.1 million people) and 2022 (+1.4 million people), linked to mass refugee movements.
The proportion of foreigners varies by age group. The highest percentage of foreigners is found among the 20-to-59-year-old group, at 20.0 percent, while the lowest is among those aged 60 and over, at 6.5 percent. The proportion of foreigners among children and teenagers under 20 years old is 15.2 percent. The largest foreign groups remain Turkish nationals (1,385,000), followed by Ukrainian citizens (1,167,000), Syrians (856,000), Romanians (763,000), and Poles (700,000).
