In Germany, the rate of cesarean sections has reached a new high of 32.6% in 2023, according to data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) on Monday. This means that almost one-third of all births in hospitals in the country were performed through a cesarean section, surpassing the previous record of 32.2% set in 2011. Over the past 30 years, the proportion of such surgical procedures has almost doubled: In 1993, 16.9% of women gave birth to their child through a Sectio caesarea, the medical term for a cesarean section.
Besides cesarean sections, there are other, albeit less commonly used, methods of childbirth: A suction cup was used in 6.5% of deliveries in 2023 and a forceps in 0.2%. 60.6% of women in hospitals gave birth naturally.
There are significant regional differences in Germany regarding childbirth methods. The highest proportion of cesarean sections was in Saarland (36.4%), followed by Hamburg with a rate of 36.2%. Sachsen had the lowest cesarean section rate at 25.6%, followed by Brandenburg at 29.3%.
Internationally, comparable data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for 29 countries up to 2022 show that Turkey had 60 cesarean sections per 100 live births in 2022, followed by Romania with 48 and Bulgaria with 47. The lowest numbers were in Israel, Iceland and Norway, with 15 and 16 cesarean sections per 100 live births, respectively. Germany ranked in the upper-middle range of the 29 OECD countries with 31 cesarean sections per 100 live births in 2022.
The number of hospitals in Germany offering childbirth services has decreased significantly. In 2023, only slightly more than a third (31.4%) of the country’s 1,874 hospitals performed deliveries. In 1993, it was nearly half (49.4%) of the total of 2,354 hospitals.
Approximately 680,000 children, including twins and multiple births, were born in hospitals in 2023. This was 6.4% or roughly 46,000 fewer than the previous year. The proportion of live births in 2023 was 99.6%, according to statisticians.