What Are The Characteristics Of German Women?

In most European countries, the family structure typically revolves around a central household and other family members; however, within Germany, individual family structures can often be quite varied. Therefore, it may be worth checking with German women how their family structure works and what this might mean as part of your relationship. Still, generally speaking, German families consist of the mother, father, and their direct children. Usually, most children will remain at home until they have become adults; in Germany, young adults typically leave the family home around the age of 18-21, thanks to the abundance of jobs – especially if they have found a partner. However, marriage for most German women and men occurs in their late 20s and usually after several years of getting to know one another. Religious ceremonies are optional, but many still opt for a traditional wedding. 

The family remains a vitally important part of German culture regardless of personal views. While many young people move out of the family home early, they often choose to live close to their parents – so you may want to consider this when dating German women and deciding where to live. Germany has an estimated 5.5 million married couples and a further 1.6 million single parents. Furthermore, divorces in Germany are uncommon. Between 2011 and 2018, there was a decrease of 21% in the number of dissolved marriages – something that’s often uncommon in European countries, where divorce rates typically seem to increase yearly. This may be due to the high quality of living on the HDI within German countries. So, if you begin dating a German woman and want to take things a step further, she’ll likely be incredibly devoted, and you may have higher chances of staying together in the long term.

The average age for a woman to give birth in Germany is 29.8. While many young German couples aim to settle down in their late 20s after establishing a stable career and often a house, once a German woman has had a child, it’s common for her to stay at home to look after the child and help maintain the family home. This perhaps contributes to the number of German women in part-time work only. Those who return to work often rely on childcare. 53% of families have one child, 36% of families have two children, 9% have three children, and 2% of the population in Germany has four or more children. Germany’s birth rates are still comparatively low, and the German population is classed as aging resultingly. The country has the second oldest global population after Japan, and the current birth rate is only 1.53 children per German woman, lower than the European average of 1.61 per woman. With this concern in mind, the German government is currently looking to support families by providing childcare allowances, tax breaks, incentives, and schemes for families on lower incomes to help keep children.

ducation has played a significant role in German society for a long time, and this means that a large proportion of the German nation is literate and well-educated. However, rapid and regular educational system changes over the past 100 years mean that there is often a substantial discrepancy between the education of different generations. For example, standardized education began in the 1960s in East Germany; meanwhile, in West Germany, the educational systems were adopted from the Allied Powers in each respective occupation zone. Then, once West Germany regained its independence in 1949, rights for determining curriculums were transferred to the state governments, which resulted in highly variable educational systems for young German students. Eventually, these two systems were scrapped after the modern Federal Republic of Germany was formed. In addition, schools now provide bilingual education with a higher reliance on modern technology, such as computer access and Internet usage, which helps prepare German students more thoroughly for work. This fact is invaluable in IT fields that are always in exceptionally high demand in the German economy, particularly in inner-city regions.

Education in modern Germany is optional until the age of six, during which time children can attend optional kindergarten education. However, after the age of six, education becomes compulsory for nine years, during which time students can choose to specialize in either vocational or academic courses. After that, higher education in Germany is often well-attended. Many German higher education facilities are state-funded and publicly owned, making them highly renowned for affordability and quality. Moreover, an OECD report found that higher educational facilities in Germany are the third most popular international destination for study. With facilities such as the highly-regarded Heidelberg University, founded in 1386, it has run since it’s easy to see why so many students flock to Germany to study. Moreover, universities such as the Humboldt University of Berlin would go on to inspire higher education in many other Western countries around the world.

After education, employment prospects within Germany are often high, especially in inner-city areas. Among the most sought-after skills in Germany are those relating to technology; if this is an area you specialize in, you could find excellent opportunities in Germany. The overall unemployment rate in Germany is low at around 5%; meanwhile, the average annual income is €47,700 for most people. However, women in Germany earn about 18% less than men in Germany. Furthermore, while around 70% of German women are in employment, a substantial portion of these women is employed in part-time roles, with the average number of hours worked per week for women in Germany being just 30, compared to 39 hours for men. Therefore, it can easily be estimated that German women may rely more on their husbands or partners to supplement their incomes. Nevertheless, since Germany’s per-capita GDP is still high, households enjoy a good quality of life regardless in Germany in most cases, and Germany is even considered the 6th highest country to live in on the Human Development Index.

Fortunately, freedom of religion among German women and men is more widespread today. Indeed, numerous religions are practiced and followed in Germany. However, as with the majority of European countries, the most predominant and common religion in Germany is Christianity. Christianity accounts for somewhere in the region of 54% of the population. Following this figure, roughly 40.1% of German women and men have no religious ties. Islam is also practiced within Germany, with around 5% of the population following it. Other religions also include Buddhism, 0.2% of the people; Judaism which accounts for 0.1% of all religions practiced in Germany; and Hinduism, which accounts for 0.1%. A more uncommon religion practiced in Germany includes Yazidi, which represents 0.1% of the population. Finally, 0.4% of the population identifies as other religions. 

Christianity has the most extensive backing of followers in Germany. The religion was introduced into Germany around 300AD, during the time of the Roman Empire. From this point, around the 5th Century, the existing Germanic tribes slowly converted to Christianity, and by the 9th Century, most German women and men followed Christianity. This event occurred around the time of Charlemagne. Many of these Catholic followers broke away during the 16th Century to form protestant denominations; despite this, Christianity remains the most popular religion and accounts for 54% of the population. Approximately half of the Christian population within Germany identifies as Catholic. The split is also slightly geographical in that the Catholic following is more substantial in the southern and western areas. There are a small proportion of other variants of Christianity, including Jehovah’s Witnesses and Eastern orthodox churches. 

One of the religions with a significantly lower number of followers in Germany is Judaism, which only equates to 0.1% of the country’s total population. This figure is lower than many other European nations. Still, it is perhaps not surprising, considering that Judaism was practiced much more widely in Germany before World War Two. However, during the Second World War, many Jewish German women and men fled over fears of persecution. While the persecution of the Jewish population began before the Second World War, this became substantially more problematic during and after the War, and many German women and men from the Jewish faith did not return. Many other European countries are now home to the original German Jewish population, and many of the families that managed to escape have settled down and had families across all parts of Europe. During the War, 94.5% of the country was considered protestant or catholic, with only 1.5% of the population being of no faith. Since World War Two and the emergence of Eastern and Western Germany, the country experienced a shift in religious followers, which saw the freedom of religion in western Germany and the reduction and persecution of Christians in eastern Germany. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the end of the Cold War, Germany reformed, and the country restored freedom of religion.

There’s often quite a stern and complex image of German women, but this stereotype is somewhat true for many women in Germany. Indeed, perhaps one of the main characteristics of German women is that they are emotionally strong and resilient – a necessity imposed on the people of Germany during the First and Second World Wars. This was highly true of German women in wartime Germany since they were often left to maintain and run the household while their husbands and sons went off to War. As a result, German women had to look after themselves and be strong for the family. As such, this is a trait and mentality that has been passed down from generation to generation. Furthermore, due to the significant pressures imposed on German women during and immediately after both World Wars, German women had to develop a robust and resourceful nature to make the most of the available resources – and many German women still share this characteristic.

Despite being strong-willed, German women are also caring and compassionate and deeply emotionally attached to their family and friends. It is considered essential to have strong emotional connections to the people they love, which stems from Germany’s past and the role of many historical German women in holding the household together and helping look after the family. With this in mind, traditionally, German women were expected to stay at home and look after the family, which means many German women remained the head of the household. This also makes them great hosts when family and friends come to stay, as they always aim to impress and welcome people with open arms. Therefore, when dating a German woman, you should be prepared for her to be incredibly doting. She’s only doing it because she cares! Compared to many other cultures, German women may even be more forceful in ensuring that their families eat well and are healthy, so they will be unwilling to leave their spouses’ side, especially to start with.

Another characteristic of German women is that they are incredibly punctual and great time-keepers. Typical German traditions mean that everything must be precise; this is extremely important when it comes to timings. When planning events, putting dates in the diary, and arranging family gatherings, make sure you can make the times you’ve scheduled; German women expect you to be there, waiting for her, as she’ll likely arrive perfectly on time. Also, within Germany, people are generally very welcoming and accepting of others, and German women especially love to get to know people from other nationalities. German women, though compassionate, hold high expectations for timeliness in many cases, so this is something you should never leave to chance. It’s also worth considering that, when meeting German women, they are not scared to meet new people and share exhilarating experiences, especially with loved ones; this all plays into their robust nature and the deep emotional connection that many German women have. Perhaps this trait is no wonder, considering the care and love passed down through generations after so many years of the country suffering from extreme hardship and challenge. With this in mind, it makes getting to know German women a great experience – and you can be sure she’ll be devoted and eager to try new things with you by her side!