Destatis publishes 16th coordinated population projection for Germany

In 2025, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) published the 16th coordinated population projection, its regular long-term forecast of how Germany's population will develop. The projection is prepared together with the statistical offices of the federal states, which is why it is called "coordinated".

Like earlier editions, it did not offer a single forecast. Instead it set out several scenarios built on different assumptions about births, immigration and life expectancy. The new edition updated those assumptions to reflect recent data, including how life expectancy had developed in the years after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The projection mattered because policymakers, pension insurers and economists rely on such figures. Assumptions about how long people will live feed into planning for statutory pensions, health care and long-term care, as well as into debates about the retirement age. Revisions to the life expectancy assumptions therefore draw attention beyond statistics circles, and they are a reference point in the current discussion about whether Germans are living shorter lives.