Editing Demographics of Germany (section)

===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
|}