Number of live births in Germany
Germany: Number of live births was 784,884 births in 2017. ▼ Falling
Number of live births in Germany, 1956–2017
Source: Human Fertility Database (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in births.
Analysis
In 2017, number of live births in Germany stood at 784,884 births.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.9% on the previous year and up 14.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of live births in Germany peaked at 1.36 million births in 1964 and was at its lowest, 662,685 births, in 2011.
Germany ranks 3rd of 34 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 62 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.18 million births | 1.14 million births | 1.24 million births | 4 |
| 1960s | 1.29 million births | 1.14 million births | 1.36 million births | 10 |
| 1970s | 859,624 births | 782,310 births | 1.05 million births | 10 |
| 1980s | 853,284 births | 812,292 births | 892,993 births | 10 |
| 1990s | 804,204 births | 765,221 births | 905,675 births | 10 |
| 2000s | 702,409 births | 665,126 births | 766,999 births | 10 |
| 2010s | 715,720 births | 662,685 births | 792,131 births | 8 |
Countries ranked near Germany
- 1 United States 3.60 million births compare
- 2 Russia 1.58 million births compare
- 4 Japan 727,288 births compare
- 5 France 686,564 births compare
- 6 United Kingdom 673,275 births compare
More population data for Germany
- Population growth rate, by level of development -0.0% (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 3.11 million people (2100)
- Population density 202.93 people per km² (2100)
- World population growth -0.0% (2100)
- Total fertility rate vs. wanted fertility rate 1.36 births per woman (2024)
- Refugees by country of asylum 2.75 million people (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. unmet need for contraception 1.36 births per woman (2024)
- Total fertility rate vs. contraceptive prevalence 1.36 births per woman (2024)
- Natural population growth rate -0.4% (2023)
- Fertility rate: births per woman 1.44 live births per woman (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of live births in Germany?
- Number of live births in Germany was 784,884 births in 2017, according to Human Fertility Database (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of live births recorded in Germany?
- The highest recorded value was 1.36 million births in 1964.
- What is the lowest number of live births recorded in Germany?
- The lowest recorded value was 662,685 births in 2011.
- How does Germany rank for number of live births?
- Germany ranks 3rd out of 34 countries with data for 2017.
- Is number of live births rising or falling in Germany?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Germany data come from?
- The figures come from Human Fertility Database (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of live births. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 62 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The total number of live births recorded in a given year.