New data released Tuesday by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reveals significant variations in age demographics across Germany’s states and municipalities.
Hamburg recorded the youngest average age in 2024, standing at 42.2 years. Berlin (42.8 years) and Bremen (43.1 years) followed closely behind. Baden-Württemberg held the distinction of being the youngest state by area, with an average age of 44.0 years. Conversely, Sachsen-Anhalt registered the oldest average age at 48.3 years, trailed by Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (48.1 years) and Thuringia (47.9 years). The average age for all residents of Germany in 2024 was 44.9 years.
The ratio of older to younger residents also differed markedly. Hamburg displayed the most favorable ratio, with 28.6 individuals aged 65 or older for every 100 residents aged 20 to 64. Sachsen-Anhalt, on the other hand, had a considerably higher proportion of older residents, reflected in a value of 51.9. Nationally, there were an average of 38.8 individuals aged 65 or older for every 100 people in the 20-64 working-age group.
At the municipal level, the youngest community in Germany was Lautzenhausen, located in the Rhein-Hunsrück district of Rhineland-Palatinate. The average age of its 1,122 residents was 33.7 years. The oldest community, also situated in Rhineland-Palatinate, was Welschenbach, in the Mayen-Koblenz district. Despite its proximity to Lautzenhausen – less than a ninety-minute drive apart – Welschenbach’s population of 48 residents had an average age of 63.0 years.