Share of births that are twins in Germany

Germany: Share of births that are twins was 1.8% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
1.8%
Change on year
down 2.4%
World rank
3rd
of 23 countries
All-time high
1.9%
in 2017
All-time low
0.9%
in 1977
Years of data
102
1906–2020

Share of births that are twins in Germany, 1906–2020

00.511.52190619632020

Source: Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of births that are twins in Germany is 1.8%, measured in 2020.

The figure is down 2.4% on the previous year and up 3.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of births that are twins in Germany peaked at 1.9% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.9%, in 1977.

That places Germany 3rd out of 23 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 102 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1900s 1.3% 1.3% 1.3% 4
1910s 1.3% 1.2% 1.3% 10
1920s 1.2% 1.2% 1.3% 10
1930s 1.2% 1.2% 1.2% 7
1950s 1.1% 1.1% 1.2% 10
1960s 1.1% 1.0% 1.1% 10
1970s 0.9% 0.9% 1.0% 10
1980s 1.0% 0.9% 1.1% 10
1990s 1.3% 1.1% 1.5% 10
2000s 1.6% 1.5% 1.7% 10
2010s 1.8% 1.7% 1.9% 10
2020s 1.8% 1.8% 1.8% 1

Countries ranked near Germany

  1. 1 Greece 2.9% compare
  2. 2 South Korea 2.4% compare
  3. 4 Lithuania 1.7% compare
  4. 5 Spain 1.6% compare
  5. 6 United States 1.6% compare

See the full ranking of 23 places →

More reference data data for Germany

All data for Germany →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of births that are twins in Germany?
Share of births that are twins in Germany was 1.8% in 2020, according to Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of births that are twins recorded in Germany?
The highest recorded value was 1.9% in 2017.
What is the lowest share of births that are twins recorded in Germany?
The lowest recorded value was 0.9% in 1977.
How does Germany rank for share of births that are twins?
Germany ranks 3rd out of 23 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of births that are twins rising or falling in Germany?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Germany data come from?
The figures come from Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of births that are twins. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 102 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of births that are twins
Unit
%
Source
Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
23 places, 2,436 data points, 1815–2022
Last refreshed

The number of twin deliveries per 100 deliveries.