Up to 20% of children and adolescents in Germany suffer from mental disorders such as anxiety disorders, hyperkinetic syndrome, learning disorders, depression, addiction and eating disorders. These untreated problems often continue into adulthood, where the prevalence rises to 25%, making mental disorders one of the greatest challenges in the health sector. The most important risk factor for mental illness in young people is socioeconomic status (SES): children from socially disadvantaged families are at greater risk. (German Centre for Mental Health 2024)

The results of the meta-study by Färber & Rosendahl (2018) show a significant correlation between resilience and mental health. Resilience was defined as including the following competencies: self-confidence, perseverance, adaptability, tolerance, and a flexible view of oneself and one’s own life path.

The prevalence of overweight children and adolescents is 15.4% and for obesity 5.9%. Children and adolescents with low SES are more frequently affected than those with high SES (RKI 2018). Overweight and obese children are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high blood pressure, lipid metabolism disorders and glucose metabolism disorders (Friedemann 2012). A high BMI in childhood and adolescence is associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease in adulthood (Llewellyn 2016). In addition, overweight leads to a lower quality of life and a higher risk of bullying (Puhl 2013).

Only 22.4% of girls and 29.4% of boys aged 3 to 17 are physically active for at least 60 minutes a day, thus meeting the WHO’s physical activity recommendations (RKI 2018). Low physical activity is more common among female adolescents and children from families with a low SES. Inadequate physical activity contributes significantly to deaths from coronary heart disease (12.3%), stroke (7.6%), diabetes mellitus (3.1%), colorectal cancer (3.4%) and breast cancer (1.8%) in Germany (Global Burden of Disease Study 2016). There is also a link between school sports, leisure activities and a lower risk of mental illness (White 2017). Promoting physical activity in children and adolescents can prevent obesity and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, promote healthy development, improve cognitive and academic performance, and increase physical activity in adulthood (Lee 2013; Rauner 2015; Britto 2017; Ng 2017).

Access to high-quality education and thus educational success in Germany continue to depend on social background.

This is reflected in low levels of parental education, parental unemployment and the risk of household poverty. The high degree of dependence on social background is also evident in the long term in the qualifications achieved: among 20-year-olds, 79% of children from families with high socioeconomic status achieve university entrance qualifications, but only 31% of children from families with low socioeconomic status.

In families with a migration background in particular, the probability of at least one of the risk factors being present is 48% (compared to 16% for those without a migration background). In addition, people with a migrant background who moved to the UK at the age of 19 or later are much more likely to have no vocational qualification or university entrance qualification (32%) than people without a migrant background (8%).

The urban-rural divide is also of great significance: in large cities, the proportion of 30- to 35-year-olds with a university degree is significantly higher at 49% than in predominantly eastern German districts and independent cities, for example, where it is 17%. (Author group: Education Reporting, Education in Germany 2022)

The number of unemployed people in Germany last year was 2.6 million (2023). This figure should be viewed dynamically: within 2023, 2.2 million people newly registered as unemployed and 1.7 million people took up new employment. This is compounded by a shortage of skilled workers in over 200 industries in Germany. However, 50% of unemployed people are looking for unskilled jobs and have no qualifications as skilled workers, whereas 80% of registered jobs are aimed at skilled workers.
At 20.8%, the unemployment rate for people without completed vocational training (a lack of training is usually accompanied by a search for unskilled work) is more than six times higher than that for people with a vocational or academic qualification (3.2% and 2.5% respectively). (Statistics from the Federal Employment Agency 2024)
According to the OECD study ‘Education at a Glance’ from 2023, the proportion of 25- to 34-year-olds without a higher school leaving certificate or vocational training in Germany rose from 13% to 16% (234,700 young adults) between 2015 and 2022. The number of 18- to 24-year-olds who are neither in employment nor in training is 8.6% (527,000 young adults). The number of people who attended secondary school and subsequently obtained a vocational qualification fell from 51% (2015) to 38% (2022) during the same period.
With regard to the employment rate and gender equality, there is also room for improvement here: 80.2% of men in Germany are in work, as are 73% of women. However, 67% of mothers work part-time, compared with only 9% of men. 40% of women stated that they had to make this decision for personal and family reasons. (Federal Statistical Office 2023)
Inadequate childcare and nursery provision, expensive care places for relatives, combined with a shortage of educators and carers, make it difficult for many families to return to full-time employment.

Human activity is causing increased levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) to enter the atmosphere, which intensifies the natural greenhouse effect. This causes the Earth’s surface to heat up even more. This warming has many serious consequences, including droughts, heat waves, extreme weather events, warming oceans, rising sea levels and species extinction. To stop this development, we must become climate neutral so that the Earth does not heat up by more than 1.5 degrees. To achieve this, CO2 emissions must be avoided and reduced.

For politicians to be able to implement this, citizens are needed who support these decisions and consider nature to be worth protecting. Experiencing nature in childhood and adolescence has a profound impact on nature-related behaviour in adulthood (BPB 2022 & Gebhardt 2009). In addition, positive experiences of nature in childhood and adolescence promote a willingness to behave in an environmentally friendly manner later in life, to accept restrictions for the protection of nature and/or to become involved in nature conservation (Rosa Collado 2019).

Here, too, the influence of social background is evident: studies conducted primarily in the USA show that children and young people from educationally disadvantaged and low-income families are disadvantaged in terms of access to nature (BPB 2022).