Why the birth rate in Germany continues to nosedive
When Julia Brandner recently presented her book "I'm Not Kidding," the 30-year-old influencer and comedian was confronted by a barrage of insults. One 72-year-old mother of three children took to the floor and attacked her in front of the audience as an egoist, Brandner told DW.
However, the book, in which the Austrian-born and Berlin-based Brandner explains, with great humor and frankness, why she never wanted to become pregnant and underwent sterilization for that reason, also drew many positive reactions.
Speaking about the hate that she has experienced from several quarters, she said: "You get stamped as a revolutionary. If you say you don't want children, you are very quickly blamed for sabotaging the pension system and the intergenerational contract, and actually for singlehandedly bringing about the extinction of the human race."
This criticism is fueled by a number that many young women celebrate as a sign of progress in female self-determination, but that others see as a fearful portent of dwindling prosperity and a continuously shrinking population: 1.35.
That's the average number of children had by women in Germany in 2024, according to the Federal Statistical Office. The average birth rate for women with German nationality was just 1.23, a figure that rose to 1.89 for non-German nationals. In total, 677,117 children were born in Germany in 2024, a decrease of 15,872 from the year before.
Brandner was 28 years old when she was sterilized. Her gynecologist demanded a psychiatric assessment of her mental capacity before carrying out the operation.
Brandner was surprised by the controversy caused by her book. She said she is noticing an increasing rightward shift in these tumultuous times, along with a return to more "traditional" values, where women stand at the stove and are supposed to look after the children.
The far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) has also latched onto the topic of the sinking fertility rate and is........
© Deutsche Welle
