Demographic Disaster: Young Adult Marriage Falls to Record Low in Germany

The number of married young adults has fallen to a record low amid the growing demographic disaster in Germany, the country’s official statistician has revealed.

In a report on the lifestyles of 15 to 24-year-olds in Germany, government statistical office Destatis disclosed on Monday that the number of married people in that age group fell to its lowest level since records began after German reunification in 1991.

The dataset showed that by the end of 2021, just 136,000 people between the ages of 15-24 were married, compared to ten years prior when over 246,500 people were either married or in a civil partnership. The decline is more dramatic compared to three decades ago, when over 990,000 in the age group were married, representing 9.6 per cent of the group compared to 1.6 per cent today.

The number of young parents has also been on the decline in Germany, with just 2.4 per cent (197,000) of 15-24 year-olds being recorded as having at least one child last year. In comparison, 3.7 per cent of the group (327,000) were recorded as being parents in 2011, meaning there has been nearly a 40 per cent decline in just ten years.

In May, the statistician reported that the average age of first-time mothers has climbed to over 30 years old, an increase of over one year compared to a decade ago and a troubling sign for population stability, as women over the age of 30 are less likely to have more children.

The trend of women forgoing childbirth until later in life has not only impacted Germany, with Eurostat reporting earlier this year that the age for women to have their first child rose to an average of 29.5 years old across the European Union.

The Western demographic crisis has also hit the United Kingdom, with the Office for National Statistics reporting that as of 2020, the majority of women remained childless by the age of 30 — the first time in the history of the nation that occurred. In the same year, the country also saw its lowest pregnancy rate in 17 years.

To deal with the demographic collapse, some in Germany have called for increased migration, with the Chairman of the German Board of the Federal Employment Agency, Detlef Scheele claiming last year that the country will need at least 400,000 migrants per year in order to maintain its economic production.

The country has already been radically altered as a result of the open borders agenda pursued by former Chancellor Angela Merkel, which her successor Olaf Scholz has doubled down on, and indeed promised to open up more avenues for migration to the country. As of this year, Germany now has over one-quarter of its population having a migrant background, meaning that they are either a migrant themselves or were born to at least one migrant parent.

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