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High birth rate and more marriages
DARMSTADT – The registry office of the science city of Darmstadt has once again compiled its statistics for the past year, 2024, and gathered key figures on the services offered. The continued high birth rate is noteworthy, but it also confirms previous forecasts.
“We expect this trend to continue, as Darmstadt, with its two maternity clinics, attracts many expectant parents, especially from outside Darmstadt,” explains Paul Georg Wandrey, the responsible head of public order. A total of 4,001 children were born in Darmstadt in 2024 (2023: 4,100). Of these, 1,315 were mothers residing in Darmstadt and 2,686 were mothers residing outside of Darmstadt. The most popular girls' names were Lina (26), Emma (24), and Mia (23), while the most popular boys' names were Emil (25), Liam (24), and Leon and Luca (19 each).
The online services of the Darmstadt registry office continued to be very popular in 2024. Over 95 percent of all civil status documents were ordered digitally via the online document portal and, in most cases, paid for immediately. "Furthermore, our online appointment calendar for booking wedding dates, which was introduced in 2017, is very well received. Almost all of the available wedding dates are reserved online by citizens," said City Councillor Wandrey. "In 2022, we were able to expand our online appointment booking system to include name changes for adults and children, as well as document collection. In 2024, we were able to further expand our digital appointment offerings to include birth registration and paternity acknowledgment. We will continue to work on further improvements in this area in the coming years."
The number of weddings has also risen significantly compared to the previous year. This is partly due to the increased availability of weddings on Friday afternoons and Saturdays. Demand for 2025 indicates a further increase. "Darmstadt offers very attractive wedding venues, including the Wedding Tower, the Old Town Hall, and Dianaburg. It is also possible to get married at the district offices in Eberstadt and Wixhausen," explains Wandrey, who himself officiated five weddings in 2024. Civil ceremonies are no longer possible at the Arheilgen district office due to a lack of space.
A total of 882 (2023: 785) weddings were performed. Of these, 494 took place in the Wedding Tower (2023: 430), 68 in Dianaburg (2023: 44), 0 in the Arheilgen District Administration (2023: 1), 5 in the Eberstadt District Administration (2023: 3), and 1 in the Wixhausen District Administration (2023: 2). There were a total of 24 same-sex marriages (2023: 21, possible since October 1, 2017). There was one conversion of existing civil partnerships into marriages according to Section 17a of the German Civil Status Act (2023: 3; possible since October 1, 2017).
Deaths
There were 2,306 deaths (2023: 2,522). A notable trend is the continued increase in the number of funeral cases requiring investigation. The investigation time for a funeral case averages six hours. The processing effort is significantly lower when there are no relatives; the more relatives the deceased had, the more complex the process can be. The number of funerals to be arranged cannot be predicted or controlled in principle, but a clear trend is emerging: more and more people are dying without relatives; more and more relatives are unable to cover the funeral costs; more and more relatives are unwilling or unwilling to cover the funeral costs; and more and more dying individuals have no assets that could be used to pay for funeral expenses.
In cases of court-ordered burials with relatives legally obligated to arrange the funeral, enforcing this right places a considerable burden on the registry office staff. The Darmstadt registry office, as the regulatory authority, incurred expenses of over €135,000 for funeral services in 2024, but simultaneously generated revenue of almost €80,000 through thorough and time-consuming investigative work (for example, by contacting relatives obligated to arrange the funeral or by utilizing existing assets).
(PSD / dk)
