The total population of Germany was estimated at over 84.4 million inhabitants in 2025, although it is projected to drop in the coming years and fall below 80 million in 2043. Germany is the most populous country located entirely in Europe, and is third largest when Russia and Turkey are included. Germany's prosperous economy makes it a popular destination for immigrants of all backgrounds, which has kept its population above 80 million for several decades. Population growth and stability has depended on immigration In every year since 1972, Germany has had a higher death rate than its birth rate, meaning its population is in natural decline. However, Germany's population has rarely dropped below its 1972 figure of 78.6 million, and, in fact, peaked at 84.7 million in 2024, all due to its high net immigration rate. Over the past 75 years, the periods that saw the highest population growth rates were; the 1960s, due to the second wave of the post-WWII baby boom; the 1990s, due to post-reunification immigration; and since the 2010s, due to high arrivals of refugees from conflict zones in Afghanistan, Syria, and Ukraine. Does falling population = economic decline? Current projections predict that Germany's population will fall to almost 70 million by the next century. Germany's fertility rate currently sits around 1.5 births per woman, which is well below the repacement rate of 2.1 births per woman. Population aging and decline present a major challenge economies, as more resources must be invested in elderly care, while the workforce shrinks and there are fewer taxpayers contributing to social security. Countries such as Germany have introduced more generous child benefits and family friendly policies, although these are yet to prove effective in creating a cultural shift. Instead, labor shortages are being combatted via automation and immigration, however, both these solutions are met with resistance among large sections of the population and have become defining political issues of our time.

In 2023, 40-59-year-olds made up the largest age group in Germany, at almost 23 million people. The most recent figures confirm that the next-largest age group was 65 years and older, at 18.89 million. Aging population With the number of people belonging to older age groups visibly outstripping younger ones, in recent years it has become clear that Germany’s population is aging. In fact, figures on age structure in Germany depict a constant trend of a slowly increasing population share aged over 65 since 2012. Meanwhile, the share of population members aged 0 to 14 years has been falling, which was also reflected in the fluctuating national birth rate in recent years. A look at the future Germany’s current total population stands at 84.7 million. While this number is predicted to increase, the same goes for the age group of 65 years and older. This means that the national population will continue to age.

Chart and table of Germany population from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

This statistic shows the number of foreigners in Germany in 2023, by country of origin. As of 2023, around 1.55 million people from Turkey living in Germany. Foreigners are those who are not German based on Article 116 Paragraph 1 of the German constitution. These include stateless persons and those with unclear citizenship as well as the population group with a migration background. Individuals with a migration background can either have immigrated into Germany or been born in the country to at least one parent who was born a foreigner.

Germany DE: Population: as % of Total: Female: Aged 15-64 data was reported at 61.528 % in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 61.854 % for 2022. Germany DE: Population: as % of Total: Female: Aged 15-64 data is updated yearly, averaging 64.197 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2023, with 64 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 67.752 % in 1960 and a record low of 61.528 % in 2023. Germany DE: Population: as % of Total: Female: Aged 15-64 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Female population between the ages 15 to 64 as a percentage of the total female population. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.;United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2024 Revision.;Weighted average;Relevance to gender indicator: Knowing how many girls, adolescents and women there are in a population helps a country in determining its provision of services.

This data collection contains electoral and demographic data at several levels of aggregation (kreis, land/regierungsberzirk, and wahlkreis) for Germany in the Weimar Republic period of 1919-1933. Two datasets are available. Part 1, 1919 Data, presents raw and percentagized election returns at the wahlkreis level for the 1919 election to the Nationalversammlung. Information is provided on the number and percentage of eligible voters and the total votes cast for parties such as the German National People's Party, German People's Party, Christian People's Party, German Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, and Independent Social Democratic Party. Part 2, 1920-1933 Data, consists of returns for elections to the Reichstag, 1920-1933, and for the Reichsprasident elections of 1925 and 1932 (including runoff elections in each year), returns for two national referenda, held in 1926 and 1929, and data pertaining to urban population, religion, and occupations, taken from the German Census of 1925. This second dataset contains data at several levels of aggregation and is a merged file. Crosstemporal discrepancies, such as changes in the names of the geographical units and the disappearance of units, have been adjusted for whenever possible. Variables in this file provide information for the total number and percentage of eligible voters and votes cast for parties, including the German Nationalist People's Party, German People's Party, German Center Party, German Democratic Party, German Social Democratic Party, German Communist Party, Bavarian People's Party, Nationalist-Socialist German Workers' Party (Hitler's movement), German Middle Class Party, German Business and Labor Party, Conservative People's Party, and other parties. Data are also provided for the total number and percentage of votes cast in the Reichsprasident elections of 1925 and 1932 for candidates Jarres, Held, Ludendorff, Braun, Marx, Hellpach, Thalman, Hitler, Duesterburg, Von Hindenburg, Winter, and others. Additional variables provide information on occupations in the country, including the number of wage earners employed in agriculture, industry and manufacturing, trade and transportation, civil service, army and navy, clergy, public health, welfare, domestic and personal services, and unknown occupations. Other census data cover the total number of wage earners in the labor force and the number of female wage earners employed in all occupations. Also provided is the percentage of the total population living in towns with 5,000 inhabitants or more, and the number and percentage of the population who were Protestants, Catholics, and Jews.

Germany DE: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data was reported at 14.879 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 14.429 % for 2010. Germany DE: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 11.828 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2015, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 14.879 % in 2015 and a record low of 7.518 % in 1990. Germany DE: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. International migrant stock is the number of people born in a country other than that in which they live. It also includes refugees. The data used to estimate the international migrant stock at a particular time are obtained mainly from population censuses. The estimates are derived from the data on foreign-born population--people who have residence in one country but were born in another country. When data on the foreign-born population are not available, data on foreign population--that is, people who are citizens of a country other than the country in which they reside--are used as estimates. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 people living in one of the newly independent countries who were born in another were classified as international migrants. Estimates of migrant stock in the newly independent states from 1990 on are based on the 1989 census of the Soviet Union. For countries with information on the international migrant stock for at least two points in time, interpolation or extrapolation was used to estimate the international migrant stock on July 1 of the reference years. For countries with only one observation, estimates for the reference years were derived using rates of change in the migrant stock in the years preceding or following the single observation available. A model was used to estimate migrants for countries that had no data.;United Nations Population Division, Trends in Total Migrant Stock: 2008 Revision.;Weighted average;

Germany DE: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data was reported at 209.000 Person in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 162.000 Person for 2022. Germany DE: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data is updated yearly, averaging 162.000 Person from Dec 1991 (Median) to 2023, with 33 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,297.000 Person in 1999 and a record low of 5.000 Person in 1992. Germany DE: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Origin data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Refugees are people who are recognized as refugees under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, the 1969 Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, people recognized as refugees in accordance with the UNHCR statute, people granted refugee-like humanitarian status, and people provided temporary protection. Asylum seekers--people who have applied for asylum or refugee status and who have not yet received a decision or who are registered as asylum seekers--are excluded. Palestinian refugees are people (and their descendants) whose residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948 and who lost their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict. Country of origin generally refers to the nationality or country of citizenship of a claimant.;United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Refugee Data Finder at https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/.;Sum;

In 1800, the region of Germany was not a single, unified nation, but a collection of decentralized, independent states, bound together as part of the Holy Roman Empire. This empire was dissolved, however, in 1806, during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras in Europe, and the German Confederation was established in 1815. Napoleonic reforms led to the abolition of serfdom, extension of voting rights to property-owners, and an overall increase in living standards. The population grew throughout the remainder of the century, as improvements in sanitation and medicine (namely, mandatory vaccination policies) saw child mortality rates fall in later decades. As Germany industrialized and the economy grew, so too did the argument for nationhood; calls for pan-Germanism (the unification of all German-speaking lands) grew more popular among the lower classes in the mid-1800s, especially following the revolutions of 1948-49. In contrast, industrialization and poor harvests also saw high unemployment in rural regions, which led to waves of mass migration, particularly to the U.S.. In 1886, the Austro-Prussian War united northern Germany under a new Confederation, while the remaining German states (excluding Austria and Switzerland) joined following the Franco-Prussian War in 1871; this established the German Empire, under the Prussian leadership of Emperor Wilhelm I and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. 1871 to 1945 - Unification to the Second World War The first decades of unification saw Germany rise to become one of Europe's strongest and most advanced nations, and challenge other world powers on an international scale, establishing colonies in Africa and the Pacific. These endeavors were cut short, however, when the Austro-Hungarian heir apparent was assassinated in Sarajevo; Germany promised a "blank check" of support for Austria's retaliation, who subsequently declared war on Serbia and set the First World War in motion. Viewed as the strongest of the Central Powers, Germany mobilized over 11 million men throughout the war, and its army fought in all theaters. As the war progressed, both the military and civilian populations grew increasingly weakened due to malnutrition, as Germany's resources became stretched. By the war's end in 1918, Germany suffered over 2 million civilian and military deaths due to conflict, and several hundred thousand more during the accompanying influenza pandemic. Mass displacement and the restructuring of Europe's borders through the Treaty of Versailles saw the population drop by several million more.

Reparations and economic mismanagement also financially crippled Germany and led to bitter indignation among many Germans in the interwar period; something that was exploited by Adolf Hitler on his rise to power. Reckless printing of money caused hyperinflation in 1923, when the currency became so worthless that basic items were priced at trillions of Marks; the introduction of the Rentenmark then stabilized the economy before the Great Depression of 1929 sent it back into dramatic decline. When Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, the Nazi government disregarded the Treaty of Versailles' restrictions and Germany rose once more to become an emerging superpower. Hitler's desire for territorial expansion into eastern Europe and the creation of an ethnically-homogenous German empire then led to the invasion of Poland in 1939, which is considered the beginning of the Second World War in Europe. Again, almost every aspect of German life contributed to the war effort, and more than 13 million men were mobilized. After six years of war, and over seven million German deaths, the Axis powers were defeated and Germany was divided into four zones administered by France, the Soviet Union, the UK, and the U.S.. Mass displacement, shifting borders, and the relocation of peoples based on ethnicity also greatly affected the population during this time. 1945 to 2020 - Partition and Reunification In the late 1940s, cold war tensions led to two distinct states emerging in Germany; the Soviet-controlled east became the communist German Democratic Republic (DDR), and the three western zones merged to form the democratic Federal Republic of Germany. Additionally, Berlin was split in a similar fashion, although its location deep inside DDR territory created series of problems and opportunities for the those on either side. Life quickly changed depending on which side of the border one lived. Within a decade, rapid economic recovery saw West Germany become western Europe's strongest economy and a key international player. In the east, living standards were much lower, although unemployment was almost non-existent; internationally, East Germany was the strongest economy in the Eastern Bloc (after the USSR), though it eventually fell behind the West by the 1970s. The restriction of movement between the two states also led to labor shortages in the West, and an influx of migrants from...

Germany DE: Population Density: People per Square Km data was reported at 238.017 Person/sq km in 2020. This records an increase from the previous number of 237.823 Person/sq km for 2019. Germany DE: Population Density: People per Square Km data is updated yearly, averaging 228.349 Person/sq km from Dec 1961 (Median) to 2020, with 60 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 238.017 Person/sq km in 2020 and a record low of 210.173 Person/sq km in 1961. Germany DE: Population Density: People per Square Km data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population density is midyear population divided by land area in square kilometers. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of their country of origin. Land area is a country's total area, excluding area under inland water bodies, national claims to continental shelf, and exclusive economic zones. In most cases the definition of inland water bodies includes major rivers and lakes.;Food and Agriculture Organization and World Bank population estimates.;Weighted average;

This dataset is about cities in Germany, featuring 3 columns: city, country, and population. The preview is ordered by population (descending).

Political attitudes and behaviors with regard to demographic change.

Topics: Assessment of the national economic situation (retrospective, current, prospective); concern regarding demographic change; anticipated problems caused by an aging society; perceived age limit of older and younger people; knowledge test: Proportion of the country´s population over 65; perception of commonalities in own age group; perceived frequency of media reports on generational conflicts; political interest; assessment of one´s own economic situation (retrospective, current, prospective); voter turnout (Sunday question); party preference (voters and non-voters); perceptions of social conflicts between selected social groups (people with and without children, politically left and right, young and old, poor and rich, employed and retired, Germans and foreigners, East Germans and West Germans); most important political goals (post-materialism, Inglehart indicators); opinion on selected statements about old and young (frequent abuse of social benefits in Germany, assessment of representation of younger people´s interests in politics, assessment of representation of older people in political positions, older people should organize their own party, older people should support younger people and younger people should support older people); perceived strength of general intergenerational support; financial support of a family member of another generation resp. frequency of self-received financial support (intergenerational transfers); frequency of support from a person in everyday life who belongs to another generation or frequency of self-received support; satisfaction with democracy; political trust (Bundestag, politicians, Federal Constitutional Court, federal government, media); opinion on selected statements about young and old (importance of contact with significantly younger persons, evaluation of the representation of the interests of older persons in politics, older persons live at the expense of the following generations, older persons have built up what the younger persons live on today, importance of contact with significantly older persons, evaluation of the representation of younger persons in political positions; political efficacy; electoral norm (voter turnout as a civic duty); sympathy scalometer of political parties (CDU/CSU, SPD, FDP, Greens, Die Linke); satisfaction with selected policy areas (reduction of unemployment, health, education, financial security for the elderly, family, care in old age); preferred level of government spending in the aforementioned areas; preferred government responsibility in the aforementioned areas; most competent party to solve the problems in the aforementioned areas (problem-solving competence); salience of the aforementioned policy areas; self-ranking on a left-right continuum; assessment of the representation of older people´s interests by political parties (CDU/CSU, SPD, FDP, Greens, Die Linke); assessment of the representation of younger people´s interests by political parties (CDU/CSU, SPD, FDP, Greens, Die Linke); recall Bundestag elections 2013 (voter turnout, voting decision); expected occurrence of various future scenarios (conflicts between older and younger people, refusal of younger people to pay for the pensions of older people, older people more likely to assert their political interests than younger people, increasing old-age poverty, refusal of younger people to pay for the medical care of older people, Germany will no longer be able to afford current pension levels, Elderly will no longer receive all available medical benefits); reliance most likely on state, family or self for own retirement; knowledge test: Year of phased introduction of retirement at 67; civic engagement; hours per week of volunteering; perception of social justice; general life satisfaction; party affiliation and strength of party identification; concerns regarding own retirement security (financial/medical) or feared unemployment; religious affiliation; religiosity; salience of selected life domains (family and friends, health, leisure, politics, income, education, work, and occupation); self-assessment of class affiliation; residence description.

Demography: age (grouped) and year of birth; sex; household size; number of persons under 18 in household; household composition (one, two, or three generations); number of children and grandchildren; regrets about own childlessness; partnership; living with partner; married to partner; German citizenship; German citizenship since birth or year of acquiring German citizenship; country of birth (in the old federal states (West Germany, in the new federal states (East Germany or former GDR) or abroad); highest school degree; university degree; current and former employment; current and former occupation.

Additionally coded were: Federal state; area; region West East; weighting factors; interview date.

This map shows the percentage of the population under the age of 15 in Germany by multiple levels of geography. These levels are Country, State, District, Municipality, and Neighborhood (Country, Bundeslaender, Kreise, Gemeinden, and Wohnquartier, respectively). Nationally, 13.7% of the German population is under the age of 15.The pop-up is configured to include the following information for each geography level:Total PopulationPopulation under the age of 15 (count and % of population)Count of population by ageBeneath the administrative layer, there is a postal boundary layer available. The postal layer contains the same classification and pop-up configuration, but utilizes postal boundaries (Postal Zone, Postal Region, and Postcode). The source of this information is Nexiga. The vintage of the data shown is 2021. For more information about Esri demographics including geography levels, click here.Permitted use of this data is covered in Section 4.0 DATA of the Esri Master Agreement (E204CW) and these supplemental terms.

Germany DE: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data was reported at 2,075,445.000 Person in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,255,694.000 Person for 2021. Germany DE: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data is updated yearly, averaging 578,866.000 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2022, with 63 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,075,445.000 Person in 2022 and a record low of 83,500.000 Person in 1978. Germany DE: Refugee Population: by Country or Territory of Asylum data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Refugees are people who are recognized as refugees under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, the 1969 Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa, people recognized as refugees in accordance with the UNHCR statute, people granted refugee-like humanitarian status, and people provided temporary protection. Asylum seekers--people who have applied for asylum or refugee status and who have not yet received a decision or who are registered as asylum seekers--are excluded. Palestinian refugees are people (and their descendants) whose residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948 and who lost their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict. Country of asylum is the country where an asylum claim was filed and granted.;United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and UNRWA through UNHCR's Refugee Data Finder at https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/.;Sum;

The United Nations Energy Statistics Database (UNSTAT) is a comprehensive collection of international energy and demographic statistics prepared by the United Nations Statistics Division. The 2004 version represents the latest in the series of annual compilations which commenced under the title World Energy Supplies in Selected Years, 1929-1950. Supplementary series of monthly and quarterly data on production of energy may be found in the Monthly Bulletin of Statistics. The database contains comprehensive energy statistics for more than 215 countries or areas for production, trade and intermediate and final consumption (end-use) for primary and secondary conventional, non-conventional and new and renewable sources of energy. Mid-year population estimates are included to enable the computation of per capita data. Annual questionnaires sent to national statistical offices serve as the primary source of information. Supplementary data are also compiled from national, regional and international statistical publications. The Statistics Division prepares estimates where official data are incomplete or inconsistent. The database is updated on a continuous basis as new information and revisions are received. This metadata file represents the population statistics during the expressed time. For more information about the country site codes, click this link to the United Nations "Standard country or area codes for statistical use": https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/overview/

Germany DE: Population: Female: Ages 25-29: % of Female Population data was reported at 5.436 % in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 5.493 % for 2022. Germany DE: Population: Female: Ages 25-29: % of Female Population data is updated yearly, averaging 6.283 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2023, with 64 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 8.280 % in 1992 and a record low of 5.436 % in 2023. Germany DE: Population: Female: Ages 25-29: % of Female Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Female population between the ages 25 to 29 as a percentage of the total female population.;United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2024 Revision.;;

This horizontal bar chart displays urban population (people) by country full name using the aggregation sum and is filtered where the country includes Germany. The data is about countries per year.

Abstract

IPUMS-International is an effort to inventory, preserve, harmonize, and disseminate census microdata from around the world. The project has collected the world's largest archive of publicly available census samples. The data are coded and documented consistently across countries and over time to facillitate comparative research. IPUMS-International makes these data available to qualified researchers free of charge through a web dissemination system.

The IPUMS project is a collaboration of the Minnesota Population Center, National Statistical Offices, and international data archives. Major funding is provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Additional support is provided by the University of Minnesota Office of the Vice President for Research, the Minnesota Population Center, and Sun Microsystems.

Geographic coverage

National coverage

Analysis unit

Household

UNITS IDENTIFIED: - Dwellings: No - Vacant units: No - Households: No - Individuals: Yes - Group quarters: Yes - Special populations: No

UNIT DESCRIPTIONS: - Dwellings: A dwelling, in terms of a survey unit, is defined as a self-contained set of rooms intended for living purposes which enable persons to keep their own household. - Households: A household consists of all persons who live in the same dwelling and have a common housekeeping budget. Also. persons living and keeping house alone as well as lodgers are counted as households. - Group quarters: Persons in institutions, homes or the like are covered if they live there, are registered at that address with the police or relevant authorities and, fully or partly, make use of communal catering arrangements or of any joint facilities.

Universe

Total population entitled to reside in households

Kind of data

Census/enumeration data [cen]

Sampling procedure

MICRODATA SOURCE: Federal Statistical Office

SAMPLE UNIT: Person

SAMPLE FRACTION: 5%

SAMPLE SIZE (person records): 3,094,845

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

2 questionnaires: (f1) population census questionnaire: 90% of the population received a questionnaire comprising 18 questions, the remaining 10% received a questionnaire containing 39 questions; (f2) local unit questionnaire

Response rate

COVERAGE: 100%

In 2023, the most populated federal state in Germany is North Rhine-Westphalia in the west, with a population of almost 18.2 million. The state capital is Düsseldorf. Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in the south rounded up the top three, both with over ten million inhabitants.

This horizontal bar chart displays female population (people) by demonym using the aggregation sum and is filtered where the country is Germany. The data is about countries per year.