Young people in Germany waiting longer to have sex

Young people in Germany are waiting longer and longer before kissing or having sex for the first time, according to a new study from the Federal Institute for Public Health (BIÖG).

Average young German has sex at 19

Our first romantic and sexual relationships are formative. According to a study from the BIÖG, these experiences are arriving later and later for young people in Germany.

While a 2019 study from the institute found that the average young person in Germany had their first sexual experiences by 17 years old, this average has now increased to 19 years old. In 2019, 61 percent of 17 to 19-year-olds said they had had their first sexual experiences; by 2025, the same figure had fallen to 40 percent.

On average, young people are also having their first kiss much later. In 2019, 53 percent of 14-year-olds who took part in the study said that they had had their first kiss; in 2025, just 33 percent of 14-year-olds said the same.

“The results clearly show that young people today generally take more time and make conscious decisions when it comes to sexuality,” study coordinator Mechthild Paul explained. “This is not a coincidence, but a result of continual and fact-based education.”

Schools in Germany have been obliged to teach sex education since 1977. At a younger age, this may cover anatomy, before moving on to physical and sexual development, the menstrual cycle, contraception and sexually transmitted infections.

In the study, young people cited school sex education lessons as their primary source of information about sexual relationships, followed by conversations, the internet and youth publications.

Young couples wait, plan and use contraception

Paul sees the survey results as proof that young people in Germany have an increasingly responsible, health-conscious and thoughtful attitude towards romantic and sexual relationships.

Before they begin practising the facts of life, young people are taking time to plan and are often in a relationship with their sexual partner. Two-thirds of girls and half of boys said they were in a relationship with the first person they had sex with.

And when it comes to contraception, young people are proving responsible. Just 6 percent of those surveyed said that they didn’t use contraception when having sex for the first time. Condoms remain the go-to contraception for young people, while the pill is declining in popularity.