NRW records slight marriage drop and ongoing birth decline in 2025

In 2025 North Rhine‑Westphalia (NRW) saw 76,900 couples marry, a 0.4 % decrease from the previous year. The month of May remained the most popular, with about 10,000 weddings. Approximately 2,073 of the marriages were between same‑sex couples, reflecting partnership diversity.

Births in the region fell to 147,959, down 3.1 % from 2024 and marking the fourth consecutive year of decline. While most districts experienced fewer births, some cities showed modest increases: Gelsenkirchen (+2.5 %), Bonn (+2.3 %) and the Kreis Olpe (+1.6 %). The sharpest drops occurred in the Rheinisch‑Bergischer Kreis (‑10.5 %), Bottrop (‑9.4 %) and Siegen‑Wittgenstein (‑8.9 %). In the town of Bocholt, the number of births reached the second‑lowest level since 1962, continuing a four‑year downward trend.