Germany’s fertility rate fell to 1.35 children per woman in 2024, its lowest level since 2006, according to provisional data released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). The figure is below both the replacement threshold of 2.1 and the European Union’s 2023 average of 1.38, underscoring a protracted demographic squeeze that economists warn will strain pension and health-care systems. Destatis recorded 677,117 births last year, a two-percent drop from 2023. The fertility rate for women with German citizenship slipped to 1.23, the lowest in almost 30 years, while the rate for women with foreign citizenship declined two percent to 1.84, continuing a downward trend that began in 2017. Regional gaps persist. Lower Saxony posted the highest fertility rate at 1.42, whereas Berlin registered just 1.21. Western states averaged 1.38, compared with 1.27 in the east. All 16 states saw declines, led by Thuringia with a seven-percent fall to 1.24; Baden-Württemberg experienced the smallest drop at one percent, ending the year at 1.39. Although the pace of decline has slowed from the eight-percent fall in 2022 and seven percent in 2023, the data highlight Germany’s long-running struggle to reverse low birth rates. Destatis noted that the average age of first-time mothers remained at 30.4 years in 2024, indicating that delayed parenthood is now entrenched.