Berlin-More than 20 years have passed since as many babies were born in Germany as in March 2021. A total of 65,903 children were born, the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden announced on Tuesday - the last time more than 65,000 births in March was in 1998.
Compared to March 2020, the number of births increased by around 10 per cent. February 2021 already saw an uptick in births.
The kids weren't conceived during lockdown
According to the statisticians, the increase coincides with the end of the first lockdown and the levelling off of the first wave of the pandemic in May 2020. No more children than usual were conceived during the actual lockdown, meaning January 2021 saw no rise in births.
In most other European countries, too, births were up in March. In countries that were particularly hard hit by the corona pandemic, such as Spain, France and Belgium, birth rates that declined during strict lockdowns have stabilised.
Other nations reported a sharp increase compared to the same month last year. In Romania, 15 per cent more children were born, followed by Estonia and Lithuania (each +13 per cent) and the Netherlands, Finland and Hungary (+10 per cent).
