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
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.
Share of births that are twins in Germany, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1906 | 1.3% | — |
| 1907 | 1.3% | -1.0% |
| 1908 | 1.3% | +0.5% |
| 1909 | 1.3% | +0.2% |
| 1910 | 1.3% | -0.4% |
| 1911 | 1.3% | +1.1% |
| 1912 | 1.3% | -3.5% |
| 1913 | 1.3% | +0.8% |
| 1914 | 1.3% | +0.3% |
| 1915 | 1.2% | -1.3% |
| 1916 | 1.3% | +4.3% |
| 1917 | 1.3% | -4.0% |
| 1918 | 1.2% | -0.4% |
| 1919 | 1.3% | +7.3% |
| 1920 | 1.3% | -3.5% |
| 1921 | 1.2% | -4.7% |
| 1922 | 1.2% | -3.3% |
| 1923 | 1.2% | -2.1% |
| 1924 | 1.2% | -1.1% |
| 1925 | 1.2% | +3.2% |
| 1926 | 1.2% | -0.3% |
| 1927 | 1.2% | +0.9% |
| 1928 | 1.2% | -0.1% |
| 1929 | 1.2% | +0.1% |
| 1930 | 1.2% | -1.7% |
| 1931 | 1.2% | +3.2% |
| 1932 | 1.2% | -3.0% |
| 1933 | 1.2% | +1.2% |
| 1934 | 1.2% | +1.8% |
| 1935 | 1.2% | -0.9% |
| 1936 | 1.2% | +1.7% |
| 1950 | 1.2% | -5.1% |
| 1951 | 1.2% | +1.6% |
| 1952 | 1.1% | -3.5% |
| 1953 | 1.1% | -2.2% |
| 1954 | 1.1% | +2.2% |
| 1955 | 1.2% | +2.6% |
| 1956 | 1.2% | -0.3% |
| 1957 | 1.1% | -1.8% |
| 1958 | 1.1% | -0.4% |
| 1959 | 1.1% | -0.1% |
| 1960 | 1.1% | +0.9% |
| 1961 | 1.1% | -2.6% |
| 1962 | 1.1% | -0.4% |
| 1963 | 1.1% | -1.8% |
| 1964 | 1.1% | +1.4% |
| 1965 | 1.1% | -2.1% |
| 1966 | 1.0% | -3.5% |
| 1967 | 1.0% | -2.1% |
| 1968 | 1.0% | -2.0% |
| 1969 | 1.0% | -1.4% |
| 1970 | 1.0% | -1.0% |
| 1971 | 1.0% | -1.6% |
| 1972 | 0.9% | -1.4% |
| 1973 | 0.9% | -0.5% |
| 1974 | 0.9% | -0.5% |
| 1975 | 0.9% | -2.0% |
| 1976 | 0.9% | +2.2% |
| 1977 | 0.9% | -5.4% |
| 1978 | 0.9% | +1.0% |
| 1979 | 0.9% | +0.8% |
| 1980 | 0.9% | +2.1% |
| 1981 | 0.9% | -1.9% |
| 1982 | 0.9% | +1.2% |
| 1983 | 0.9% | +3.2% |
| 1984 | 1.0% | +3.5% |
| 1985 | 1.0% | +4.2% |
| 1986 | 1.0% | +2.3% |
| 1987 | 1.1% | +2.2% |
| 1988 | 1.1% | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 1.1% | +2.1% |
| 1990 | 1.1% | +2.2% |
| 1991 | 1.2% | +4.7% |
| 1992 | 1.2% | +2.1% |
| 1993 | 1.2% | +4.2% |
| 1994 | 1.3% | +2.8% |
| 1995 | 1.3% | +4.2% |
| 1996 | 1.4% | +5.4% |
| 1997 | 1.4% | +1.6% |
| 1998 | 1.5% | +5.7% |
| 1999 | 1.5% | -0.1% |
| 2000 | 1.5% | +1.1% |
| 2001 | 1.5% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 1.6% | +5.6% |
| 2003 | 1.6% | -0.8% |
| 2004 | 1.7% | +8.3% |
| 2005 | 1.5% | -10.9% |
| 2006 | 1.6% | +2.9% |
| 2007 | 1.6% | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 1.6% | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 1.7% | +4.7% |
| 2010 | 1.7% | +3.0% |
| 2011 | 1.7% | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 1.8% | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 1.8% | +2.7% |
| 2014 | 1.8% | +2.2% |
| 2015 | 1.8% | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 1.8% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 1.9% | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 1.8% | -2.6% |
| 2019 | 1.8% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 1.8% | -2.4% |
Germany compared with similar countries
- Germany's 1.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.4%, 1.3× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Germany's 1.8% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.4%, 1.2× the median. (15 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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 Greece 2.9% compare
- 2 South Korea 2.4% compare
- 4 Lithuania 1.7% compare
- 5 Spain 1.6% compare
- 6 United States 1.6% compare
More reference data data for Germany
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.6 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 16.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.94 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 16.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 15.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 9.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.87 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 80.38 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 10.56 (2050)
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
Number of twin deliveries per 100 deliveries.