Last year the number of homeless minors rose sharply. According to answers from the Ministry of Housing to a parliamentary question from the Left, reported by the “Rheinische Post”, more than 137,000 people under 18 were counted as homeless nationwide on 31 January 2025. In 2024 nearly 129,000 minors were recorded as homeless; in the two preceding years fewer people were counted (2023: 105,500, 2022: 47,000).
The same trend was seen among young adults: the group aged 18 to 25 reached a new high in 2025 with over 55,500 homeless individuals, compared with roughly 47,000 that year.
The average length of stay in shelters for homeless minor children (ages 14-18) also climbed. In 2024 the average was about 136 weeks, and in 2023 it was 117 weeks; last year this rose to almost 150 weeks-nearly three years on average.
North Rhine‑Westphalia, the most populous state, had the highest number of homeless minors last year (about 32,000), followed by Baden‑Württemberg with more than 29,000. The federal government cites, among other reasons, Ukrainian refugees and an “improved data reporting” system as factors behind the rise.
Sahra Mirow, a Member of Parliament for the Left and spokesperson for social housing, described the increase as an “unprecedented social‑political failure”. She said, “Those who have to spend a major part of their youth in accommodations that are often geared toward adults are denied equally fatal developmental opportunities by the state”. Mirow criticized the government’s policy as one that effectively “permits the slide of young people into homelessness”.