Germany closed the year 2025 with a population of 83.5 million, marking a drop of 110,000 people, or 0.1%, compared to the previous year. According to figures released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), this is the first time since 2020 that Germany has recorded a population decline. Between 2011 and 2024, the country had seen continuous growth, with only the pandemic year of 2020 serving as an exception due to reduced immigration during lockdowns. The 2025 figures suggest a broader shift is now underway.
Germany's population size is shaped by two forces: the natural balance between births and deaths, and the movement of people across its borders. In 2025, deaths outnumbered births by 352,000, slightly more than the 331,000 recorded in 2024. At the same time, net migration fell sharply from 430,000 in 2024 to just 235,000 in 2025.
This drop in migration was significant enough that the incoming population could no longer offset the country's birth deficit, tipping the overall balance into negative territory.
The population decline was not evenly distributed across the country. Eastern German states experienced a sharper fall of 0.5% (around 57,000 people), while western states declined by 0.1% (around 68,000 people).
The only regions to record population growth were the three city-states: Berlin and Hamburg each grew by 0.4%, while Bremen increased by 0.3%. Among the federal states hit hardest, Thuringia saw the steepest decline at 1.0%, followed by Saxony-Anhalt at 0.7% and Saarland at 0.5%.
Germany's demographic composition continued shifting in 2025, with notable variation across age groups. The only age group to grow was the 60 to 79 age bracket, which increased by 2.8%, adding around 358,000 people. This is largely driven by the baby boomer generation gradually reaching this stage of life.
In contrast, the population aged 80 and above shrank by 2.5% (roughly 151,000 people), reflecting the fact that the smaller birth cohorts from around the end of World War II are now reaching very old age. The number of children and teenagers under 20 fell by 0.6% (88,000 people), and the working-age group between 20 and 59 years old declined by 1.0%, a loss of approximately 409,000 people.
These shifts pushed the proportion of people aged 60 and over up by 0.5 percentage points to 31% of the total population. The age structure differs sharply between German and foreign nationals: only 13.4% of the foreign-born population are aged 60 or older, compared to 34.1% of German nationals. Conversely, 67.6% of foreign nationals fall within the 20 to 59 age group, against 47.4% of the German population.
Germany's foreign-resident population reached 12.4 million by the end of 2025, growing by just 39,000 people, a 0.3% increase. This is a dramatic slowdown compared to 2024, when the foreign population had grown by 283,000 (2.3%). The largest single-year surges occurred in 2015 and 2022, driven by refugee movements, when the foreign population rose by 1.1 million and 1.4 million respectively.
The five largest foreign-national communities remain unchanged: Turkish nationals lead with 1.385 million, followed by Ukrainians (1.167 million), Syrians (856,000), Romanians (763,000), and Poles (700,000).
The 2025 data confirms that Germany is moving through a significant demographic transition. A shrinking working-age population, a growing proportion of older residents, and a slowdown in net migration are converging simultaneously. Destatis had already signalled at the start of the year that a longer-term population decline was a likely scenario.
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