The number of homeless minors in Germany rose sharply last year, according to data the Federal Ministry of Housing supplied in response to a written question from the Greens, which the Rheinische Post reported in its Friday edition.
As of 31 January 2025, more than 137,000 people under 18 were registered as homeless nationwide. In 2024 the figure was just under 129,000, while in 2023 and 2022 it had been 105,500 and 47,000 respectively. The count of people aged 18 to 25 who were homeless also reached a new high in 2025, topping 55,500; in 2024 about 47,000 people in that age group were classified as homeless.
A related trend is the growing average length of shelter stays. Homeless minors between 14 and 18 years old spent an average of almost 150 weeks-just under three years-in suitable accommodation in the previous year. For comparison, the average was about 136 weeks in 2024 and 117 weeks in 2023.
Most homeless minors last year lived in the most populous state, North Rhine‑Westphalia, with roughly 32,000 children, followed by Baden‑Württemberg, which had more than 29,000. The federal government cites a number of factors for the uptick, including refugees from Ukraine and an “improvement in data reporting”.
Sahra Mirow, a Green party member of the Bundestag and spokesperson for social housing, described the rise as “an unprecedented social‑policy failure”. She told the newspaper that when a large portion of young people is forced to stay in accommodations that are mostly tailored to adults, the state “fatally denies them equal development opportunities”. Mirow accused the government of a policy that effectively tolerates the slide of youth into homelessness.
