Dthe age of fathers in Germany is increasing. If fathers were on average 31.0 years old when a child was born in 1991, in 2022 this figure was significantly higher – 34.7 years. This is according to a study by researchers from the Federal Institute for Population Research and the University of Oldenburg. Therefore, this trend can be observed in many countries.
The supposedly drastically high average age is “neither new nor unusual,” says Sebastian Klüsener, director of research at the Federal Institute and co-author of the study. Researchers found similarly high median ages in many Western countries at the beginning of the last century. In France around 1900, fathers were on average about 34 years old at birth, as they are now.
The researchers observed the development of the average age of fathers in several countries, it was similar in all of them: from the beginning of the 20th century, the age of fathers decreased, and in 1970-1980 it reached its lowest point. After that, it rose again in all the countries considered. In countries with data for such a long period, it usually reaches a value similar to 100 years earlier in the new millennium.
As an explanation, wealth and understanding of roles
For Germany, this cannot be determined because researchers have had consistent data since 1991 on the age of fathers when their children were born. Researchers explain the development with economic and social changes: at the beginning of the century, young men did not earn much money, but then had children over many years.
Later growing wealth made it possible to start a family at a young age. Due to the change in the understanding of the roles of women and men since the 1970s and the increasing importance of the service sector, the training times of women and men were later lengthened, which in turn was reflected in the age of fathers.