Status: 07/25/2022 10:54 am
Since the Federal Republic was founded, there have never been so few young people living in Germany as there are today. The proportion of 15 to 24-year-olds has been falling for years – the eastern German states are particularly hard hit.
Although the total population is growing, fewer young people live in Germany than ever before: At the end of 2021, out of 83.2 million people in the Federal Republic, only around 8.3 million were aged between 15 and 24. This corresponds to a share of ten percent of the total population, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office.
The number of young people has thus fallen to a new low, both in absolute terms and as a percentage. While in 1983 people aged 15 to 24 made up 16.7 percent of the total population, their share has been falling continuously since 2005. Only the year 2015 is an exception due to the high level of immigration as a result of the refugee crisis.
Proportion of young people in East Germany lower
The federal states in Germany are affected differently by this development: At eight percent, Brandenburg has the lowest proportion of young people. As a city state, Bremen had the highest proportion of 15 to 24 year olds at eleven percent at the end of 2021, followed by Baden-Württemberg.
In a European comparison, Germany is ten percent below the average: According to the EU statistical authority Eurostat, at the beginning of 2021 there were slightly fewer young people living in Germany than the average of all 27 member states of the European Union. The average of all EU member states is 10.6 percent.
EU-wide, Ireland had the highest proportion of 15 to 24 year olds with 12.6 percent, ahead of Denmark and Cyprus with 12.3 percent each. The fewest young people within the EU live in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, with a share of nine percent each.