C. Katharina Spieß is director of the Federal Institute for Population Research.

In certain regions of Germany, daycare centers find themselves in a completely unfamiliar situation: They are looking for children – and not the other way around! In some places, facilities even have to close because the regional birth rate is so low. In many areas, needs are still not being met, especially when it comes to places for children under the age of three. And families at risk of poverty or those who don’t speak German at home still have a harder time finding a place. But one thing is certain: it is not only in eastern Germany that regions are confronted with low birth rates.