Baku, August 4 (AZERTAC). A census of German children showed Wednesday that there were 13.1 million juveniles in German households in 2010, a sharp drop from 2000 which means the country now has the lowest percentage child population in Europe.

In 2000, the population of German children numbered 15.2 million.

The new figures mean 16.5 per cent of the population consists of children, the lowest percentage of any European country, according to the statistics agency Destatis.

Bulgaria was second lowest, with a percentage rate of 16.7, while Turkey scored highest, with a child population (those less than the age of 18) of 31.2 per cent.

Experts at Destatis said the downward German trend was likely to continue.

If the numbers are confirmed by an ongoing national census, it could indicate that efforts by the German government to increase the birth rate by offering extended leaves for new parents had come to naught.

The children`s census also showed that the drop-off in the child population was more severe in the former East Germany, at 29 per cent since 2010, versus a 10-per-cent loss in the former West.