Overview
- Destatis reports 4.06 million children in care on March 1, 2025, down 33,800 from a year earlier (−0.8%).
- The number of under‑threes in care fell by 47,100 (−5.6%) to 801,300, while their care rate nudged up to 37.8% as the age group shrank.
- Daycare centers rose to about 61,000 and staff increased by 17,500 to 795,700, but the number of childminders fell to 37,400 (−5.9%).
- Sharp regional differences persist, with a 54.9% under‑three care rate in the East including Berlin versus 34.5% in the West.
- Berlin had more than 30,000 unfilled places at the March cut‑off, and unions urged using spare capacity to improve staff‑to‑child ratios rather than close sites.