These are the results of a study conducted by researchers from the Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI) together with the auditing company BDO. The scientists analyzed indicators that are not standard for such statistics. Usually, the average number of children per woman is used as a basis, but this time the authors focused on the number of births per 1,000 inhabitants.

During the analysis, another negative aspect was revealed: Germany has very few women of reproductive age. Over the past twenty years, the death rate in the country has exceeded the birth rate, which means that year after year there are fewer women capable of carrying and giving birth to a child. In the period from 2009 to 2013, the indicator conditionally called “gross birth rate” by the researchers amounted to 8.2 children per 1,000 inhabitants. In the previous five-year period, from 2004 to 2009, Germany was also at the very bottom of the ranking. At that time, the “gross birth rate” was 8.34 children per 1,000 people.

In total, researchers analyzed data from 209 countries. The highest birth rates were recorded in the Republic of Niger (49.9), Mali (47.5), and the Republic of Chad (46.9). Among the countries with the lowest rates, after Germany, are Japan (8.36), Bosnia and Herzegovina (8.72), and Portugal (8.92).

Extremely low birth rates deeply concern German economists. According to expert forecasts, this will significantly affect Germany’s economic activity. Every year, fewer working-age people will enter the labor market. According to UN forecasts, by 2030 this share will decrease from the current 61 percent to 54 percent. This refers to people aged 20–65. In order to somehow compensate for the shortage of able-bodied citizens, Germany would need to accept an average of 533,000 migrants annually.