Editing Demographics of Germany (section)

== History ==

===1945–1990===
[[File:Population evolution Germany.svg|thumb|Population evolution of Germany, since 1950]]

After the [[World War II]] [[Territorial changes of Germany|border shifts]] and [[Expulsions of Germans after World War II|expulsions]], the [[Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950)|Germans from Central and Eastern Europe]] and the [[former eastern territories of Germany|former eastern territories]] moved westward to [[History of Germany since 1945|post-war Germany]]. During the partition of Germany, many Germans from [[East Germany]] fled to [[West Germany]] for political and economic reasons. Since Germany's reunification, there are ongoing migrations from the eastern ''[[New states of Germany|New Länder]]'' to the western ''Old Länder'' for economic reasons.

The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic followed different paths when it came to demographics. The politics of the German Democratic Republic was pronatalistic<ref>Holger Wunderlich. Springer VS. Familienpolitik vor Ort – Strukturen, Akteure und Interaktionen auf kommunaler Ebene. p. 52</ref> while that of the Federal Republic was compensatory.

Fertility in the GDR was higher than that in the FRG. Demographic politics was only one of the reasons. Women in the GDR had fewer "biographic options". Young motherhood was expected of them. State funded cost-free childcare was available to all mothers.<ref name="berlin-institut.org">{{cite web |title=Berlin-Institut für Bevölkerung und Entwicklung: Ostdeutschland |url=http://www.berlin-institut.org/online-handbuchdemografie/bevoelkerungsdynamik/regionale-dynamik/ostdeutschland.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813190526/http://www.berlin-institut.org/online-handbuchdemografie/bevoelkerungsdynamik/regionale-dynamik/ostdeutschland.html |archive-date=13 August 2017 |access-date=24 August 2017 |website=Berlin-institut.org}}</ref>

;Mother's mean age at first birth in East and West Germany 
Note: Berlin is included into East Germany for the year 2002 and 2008. Source: Kreyenfeld (2002); Kreyenfeld et al. (2010); HFD Germany (2010)<ref>{{citation |author1=Michaela Kreyenfeld |title=Fertility data for German-speaking countries What is the potential? Where are the pitfalls? |url=https://www.demogr.mpg.de/papers/working/wp-2011-003.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110202144245/http://www.demogr.mpg.de/papers/working/wp-2011-003.pdf |archive-date=2011-02-02 |url-status=live |work=Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research |author2=Kryštof Zeman |author3=Marion Burkimsher |author4=Ina Jaschinski}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable " style="text-align:right"
|-
! Year !! 1960!!1970!!1980!!1985!!2002!!2008
|-
| align="left"|West Germany || 24.9 ||23.8||25.0||26.2||27.6||28.7
|-
| align="left"|East Germany || 23.0 ||22.5||22.3||22.3||26.4||27.5
|}

===1990–today===
{{Main|New states of Germany}}

About 1.7 million people have left the new federal states (the East) since the fall of the Berlin Wall, or 12% of the population;<ref name="nyt0609">{{cite news |last=Kulish |first=Nicholas |date=19 June 2009 |title=In East Germany, a Decline as Stark as a Wall |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/19/world/europe/19germany.html |access-date=11 October 2009}}</ref> a disproportionately high number of them were women under 35.<ref name="sp07">{{Cite news |date=31 May 2007 |title=Lack of Women in Eastern Germany Feeds Neo-Nazis |newspaper=Spiegel Online |publisher=Spiegel International |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,485942,00.html |access-date=11 October 2009}}</ref>

After 1990, the total fertility rate (TFR) in the East dropped to 0.772 in 1994. This has been attributed to a "demographic shock": people not only had fewer children, they were also less likely to marry or divorce after the end of the GDR; the biographic options of the citizens of the former GDR had increased. Young motherhood seemed to be less attractive and the age of the first birth rose sharply.<ref name="berlin-institut.org" />

In the following years, the TFR in the East started to rise again, surpassing 1.0 in 1997 and 1.3 in 2004, and reaching the West's TFR (1.37) in 2007. In 2010, the East's fertility rate (1.459) clearly exceeded that of the West (1.385), while Germany's overall TFR had risen to 1.393, the highest value since 1990,<ref name="destatis.de">{{cite web |title=Zusammengefasste Geburtenziffer nach Kalenderjahren |url=https://www.destatis.de/DE/ZahlenFakten/GesellschaftStaat/Bevoelkerung/Geburten/Tabellen/GeburtenZiffer.html |access-date=13 April 2018 |website=Destatis.de}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=East Germany overtakes West Germany: recent trends in order-specific fertility dynamics |url=http://www.demogr.mpg.de/en/projects_publications/publications_1904/mpidr_working_papers/east_germany_overtakes_west_germany_recent_trends_in_order_specific_fertility_dynamics__4016.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923213632/http://www.demogr.mpg.de/en/projects_publications/publications_1904/mpidr_working_papers/east_germany_overtakes_west_germany_recent_trends_in_order_specific_fertility_dynamics__4016.htm |archive-date=23 September 2015 |access-date=24 August 2017 |website=Demogr.mpg.de}}</ref> which was still far below the natural replacement rate of 2.1 and the birth rates seen under communism. In 2016, the TFR was 1.64 in the East and 1.60 in the West.<ref>{{cite web |title=State & society – Births – Average number of children per woman – Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) |url=https://www.destatis.de/EN/FactsFigures/SocietyState/Population/Births/Tables/BirthRate.html |access-date=13 April 2018 |website=Destatis.de}}</ref>

Between 1989 and 2009, about 2,000 schools closed because there were fewer children.<ref name="nyt0609" />

In some regions the number of women between the ages of 20 and 30 has dropped by more than 30%.<ref name="nyt0609" /> In 2004, in the age group 18–29 (statistically important for starting families) there were only 90 women for every 100 men in the new federal states (the East, including Berlin).

Until 2007 family politics in the federal republic was compensatory, which means that poor families received more family benefits (such as the ''Erziehungsgeld'') than rich ones. In 2007 the so-called ''Elterngeld'' was introduced. According to [[Christoph Butterwegge]] the Elterngeld was meant to "motivate highly educated women to have more children"; the poor on the other hand were disadvantaged by the ''Elterngeld'', and now received lower child benefits than the middle classes.<ref>Christoph Butterwegge, Michael Klundt, Matthias Zeng: Kinderarmut in Ost- und Westdeutschland. 2., erweiterte und aktualisierte Auflage. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2008, {{ISBN|978-3-531-15915-7}}, p. 99–100</ref> The very well-off (who earn more than 250.000 Euro per annum) and those on welfare receive no Elterngeld payments.<ref>§ 10 Abs. 5 BEEG, BGBl. I, S. 1885, 1896</ref>

In 2013 the following most recent developments were noticed:<ref>Bujard, Martin (Hrsg.) (2013): Elterngeld und Elternzeit in Deutschland: Ziele, Diskurse und Wirkungen. Schwerpunktheft der Zeitschrift für Familienforschung, 25. Jg., Band 2,  Leverkusen: Verlag Barbara Budrich</ref>

* The income of families with young children has risen. Persons holding a college degree, persons older than 30 years and parents with only one child benefited the most. Single parents and young parents did not benefit.
* Fathers are becoming more involved in parenting, and 28% of them now take some time off work (3.3 months on average) when their children are born.
* Mothers are more likely to work and as a result less likely to be economically deprived than they used to be.
* The birth rate of college-educated women has risen.

In the new federal states the fertility rate of college-educated women is now higher than that of those without college degrees. Differences in value priorities and the better availability of childcare in the eastern states are discussed as possible reasons.<ref>Bundesintitut für Bevölkerungsforschung 2012. Talsohle bei Akademikerinnen durchschritten? Kinderzahl und Kinderlosigkeit in Deutschland nach Bildungs- und Berufsgruppen. Expertise für das Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend. p. 15</ref>

In 2019, the non-profit [[Austrian Institute of Economic Research]] and the [[Bertelsmann Stiftung]] published a study about the economic impact of demographics. The researchers assume a reduction in the [[per capita income]] of [[Euro|€]]3,700 until 2040.<ref>{{cite news |date=12 December 2019 |title=Prognose: Wohlstand in Deutschland wird sinken |language=de |newspaper=Handelsblatt |url=https://www.handelsblatt.com/dpa/wirtschaft-handel-und-finanzen-prognose-wohlstand-in-deutschland-wird-sinken/25326668.html |access-date=31 January 2020}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>