Status: 04/28/2022 11:30 a.m
As many births as last in 1997, but as few marriages as not since the First World War: The second Corona year 2021 is causing interesting developments. There was a boom with the third child.
Almost never before have so few couples married in Germany as in 2021, according to figures from the Federal Statistical Office. “The number of marriages in Germany fell to a new historical low in 2021,” writes the authority.
Only about 357,800 couples got married in the past year. That was another 4.2 percent less than in 2020. In the first year of the pandemic, the number had already fallen by 10.3 percent. There were fewer marriages only during the First World War in the years 1915 to 1918. No data are available for the war years 1944 and 1945.
Fewer weddings in East Germany
In East Germany, the number of all marriages fell by 8.6 percent, more than in West Germany by 3.5 percent. The statistical office stated that the number of people around 30 in East Germany is currently decreasing as a possible reason. Marriage rates are usually highest among people around 30 years of age – in the East, the weak birth cohorts from the early 1990s are currently at this age.
Last year, 349,000 marriages between men and women and 8,700 same-sex marriages were concluded nationwide.
Increase in births of third children
However, the number of births increased. In the second year of Corona, more children were born than since 1997. According to figures from the Federal Statistical Office, around 795,500 children were born in Germany in 2021. According to the office, the number of births rose by two percent compared to the average for the years 2018 to 2020.
What was striking for the statisticians: “Across Germany, an increase in the births of third children could be observed.” The trend towards more children increased throughout Germany: the number of births of third children rose by 3.9 percent. In contrast, first births increased by a total of only 1.2 percent.
In western Germany, the number of births increased by 3.3 percent compared to the annual average from 2018 to 2020. In eastern Germany, births fell by 5.1 percent – also due to the decreasing number of potential parents.