Life in Germany: Every Number That Shapes It (1800–2100)
Updated September 2026 · methodology
A child born in Germany in the 2020s can expect to live 81 years on an average income of 53,800 international dollars. (UN WPP / World Bank, compiled by MYRIAD)
To exist within these metrics is to inhabit a world where the friction of survival has largely vanished. Daily life is no longer a negotiation with scarcity, but a navigation of stability, defined by 100 % electricity at home and a homicide rate of 0.9 per 100,000. The human experience here has shifted from the urgency of physical labor toward an era of intellectual expansion, where 14.1 years of schooling and 90 % internet access provide the primary tools for engaging with the world.
The trajectory from the 1950s reveals a profound societal pivot. In that era, life expectancy was 64.99 years and income per person sat at 8,775 intl-$, while child mortality claimed 61.46 per 1,000 births. Over the decades, Germany traded 2,027 annual working hours for a more sustainable 1,350 hours/year. This evolution reflects a systematic move toward longevity and security, as extreme poverty plummeted from 7.61 to a rare 0.2 %, fundamentally altering the baseline of human existence.
For a child born in the 2020s, the birth lottery grants a life expectancy of 81 years and an average income of 53,800 international dollars. Compared to ancestors who averaged 6.64 years of schooling, the modern citizen enters a landscape of expanded potential and relative safety. This shift from 2.63 to 1.53 children per woman underscores a transition toward smaller, more resource-intensive family structures within a society where 77.5 % of the population now lives in cities.
Explore the data to see where the birth lottery placed you and discover your own parallel life in Germany on MYRIAD.
🇩🇪 Every dimension below links to the full three-century series for Germany — and to the same series for every other country, so you can see exactly where the birth lottery placed its people.
The numbers today vs 1950
| Dimension | 1950s | 2020s | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life Expectancy at Birth | 64.99 | 81 years | history → |
| Income per Person (GDP per capita, PPP) | 8,775 | 53,800 intl-$ | history → |
| Child Mortality (under 5) | 61.46 | 3.6 per 1,000 births | history → |
| Years of Schooling | 6.64 | 14.1 years | history → |
| Children per Woman | 2.63 | 1.53 births | history → |
| Living in Cities | 53.06 | 77.5 % | history → |
| Internet Access | 0 | 90 % | history → |
| Electricity at Home | 85 | 100 % | history → |
| Homicide Rate | 1.27 | 0.9 per 100,000 | history → |
| Annual Working Hours | 2,027 | 1,350 hours/year | history → |
| Average Male Height | 174 | 180 cm | history → |
| Extreme Poverty | 7.61 | 0.2 % | history → |
See your parallel life in Germany →
Questions people ask
What is life expectancy in Germany?
81 years in the 2020s (UN WPP / World Bank data compiled by MYRIAD).
Is Germany a good place to be born, statistically?
MYRIAD ranks every country by a composite of longevity, income, child survival, education and safety for each birth decade — enter your details on the homepage to see where Germany lands for your cohort.