Germany news: Population shrinks for first time since 2020
Key takeaways
- A dip in net migration meant it could not cancel out Germany's low birth rates in 2025.
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- Hellweg had been known to be struggling for some time now, most recently announcing a series of store closures last month.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
A dip in net migration meant it could not cancel out Germany's low birth rates in 2025. Meanwhile, fuel prices fell amid news of a possible deal between the US and Iran. And Merz gives Trump a Germany jersey. More on DW.
https://p.dw.com/p/5FUYEThe population in former eastern states dipped more sharply than in the old west (FILE: April 2026)Image: Hendrik Schmidt/dpa/picture alliance Advertisement Skip next section What you need to know What you need to know Germany's population shrank by roughly 110,000, or 0.13%, last year Fuel prices near levels from before Iran war on news of potential peace deal Friedrich Merz presents Donald Trump with a German World Cup jersey as a birthday gift at the G7 summit Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt inaugurates a new hybrid threat defense center in Berlin Follow us for the latest news and analysis on developments from and about Germany on Tuesday, June 16, 2026.
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