The number of hospitalizations for skin cancer in Germany has nearly doubled over the past twenty years. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), 120,100 people were hospitalized with a diagnosis of skin cancer in 2024, representing a 94.5 percent increase compared to the 61,700 patients treated in 2004. For comparison, the total number of inpatient hospitalizations has increased by only 4.1 percent during the same period.
The increase is primarily driven by cases of what is described as “light skin cancer” which has more than doubled in two decades-from 43,300 cases in 2004 to 94,000 in 2024. Regarding “dark skin cancer” there were approximately 26,100 inpatient treatments in 2024, marking a 41.7 percent rise since 2004. Light skin cancer is suspected to be largely triggered by sun exposure.
In 2024, skin cancer was the primary diagnosis in 8.3 percent of all inpatient cancer treatments. The proportion of skin cancer among all cancer diagnoses has more than doubled in the last twenty years, rising from 4.0 percent in 2004. Men are affected more frequently than women, accounting for 57.2 percent of all inpatient skin cancer treatments recently.
In 2024, approximately 4,600 people died from skin cancer-a significant jump of 65.1 percent compared to the 2,800 deaths recorded in 2004. This is higher than the overall 10.1 percent increase in cancer deaths during the same period. As is typical for most cancers, the victims of skin cancer are predominantly older individuals; in 2024, over half (52.9 percent) of those who died from skin cancer were 80 years of age or older.
