Overview
- Destatis reports 4,059,400 children in care as of March 1, 2025, down 33,800 or 0.8% year over year, marking the series’ first nationwide decline.
- Under‑threes fell for a second year to 801,300 (−5.6%), while the care rate in this age group edged up to 37.8% because the overall number of under‑threes shrank faster than those enrolled.
- The number of facilities rose to roughly 61,000 (+0.6%) and employed staff increased to 795,700 (+2.2%), with men accounting for 67,400 positions or 8.5%.
- Publicly funded family day care continued to contract, with the number of childminders down 5.9% to 37,400 after a fifth straight annual decrease.
- Regional gaps remain pronounced, with an under‑three care rate of 54.9% in eastern states including Berlin versus 34.5% in the West, and large pockets of spare capacity such as more than 30,000 free places in Berlin and about 34,000 in Brandenburg.