According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), results from the 2025 Microcensus show that just under half of Germany’s population currently lives in a family unit, representing 49 percent. This figure is similar to the 48 percent recorded in 2015, marking a stabilization after a period of decline starting in the mid-2010s.
Looking back, the proportion living in a defined family unit was 57 percent in 1996. By contrast, the share of lone individuals has steadily increased, rising from 17 percent in 1996 to 23 percent in 2025. Meanwhile, the segment of the population living in childless partnerships has also grown, albeit less dramatically, increasing from 26 percent in 1996 to 28 percent in 2025.
Thomas Körner, a demography expert at Destatis, attributed the long-term decrease in the family population primarily to the aging of the post-war “baby boomer” generations, who have passed the typical family phase of raising children within the household. He added that since 2015, immigration has counteracted this decline, as immigrants and their descendants are generally younger and more likely to reside in family settings, thus helping stabilize the family’s proportion of the total population.
A significant difference is observed when comparing families with and without an immigration history. In 2025, 60 percent of people with an immigration background lived in families, compared to 43 percent of those without. Conversely, the rate of cohabitating as a couple without children was much lower among those with an immigration background (19 percent) than among those without (32 percent). The proportion of lone individuals was also lower for people with an immigration history (21 percent) compared to those without (25 percent). (A person is considered to have an immigration history if they or both parents migrated to the current German territory since 1950.)
The landscape of family forms has also changed substantially since the mid-1990s. The share of married couples with children has fallen from 78 percent in 1996 to 66 percent in 2025. Conversely, the proportion of single parents rose from 18 percent in 1996 to 24 percent in 2025, and the presence of non-marital cohabiting households with children increased from 4 percent to 10 percent. This shift reflects broader societal changes, particularly in West Germany, where non-traditional family structures have gained more acceptance, while these forms were already more common in East Germany.
Despite the changes in family form, the number of children residing in a family remains remarkably consistent. In 2025, half of all families (50 percent) lived with one child, while 37 percent had two children and 13 percent had three or more. This parallels the situation in 1996, when 51 percent had one child, 37 percent had two, and 12 percent had three or more (criteria applied only to children living in the parental household). The slight increase in families with three or more children is mainly linked to immigration starting in 2015.
Families with an immigration history tend to be larger. In 21 percent of families with an immigration history, there were three or more children, compared to only 10 percent in families without one. Correspondingly, the percentage of families with a single child is significantly lower for those with an immigration history (43 percent) than for those without (54 percent).
Furthermore, the percentage of families with an immigration history has dramatically grown, spurred particularly by migration since 2015. While only 17 percent of families had a migration history in 2005, this rate grew to 31 percent by 2025. This growth includes families where both parents immigrated, as well as those where parents or descendants have an immigration background. The share of families with only a unilateral immigration background (where one parent is an immigrant or descendant of an immigrant) has also increased, though less sharply, from six percent in 2005 to nine percent in 2025. Correspondingly, the proportion of families with no immigration history declined significantly, falling from 77 percent in 2005 to 61 percent in 2025.
