The results of the survey, published in the magazines "Parents" and "Parents for Family," offer insight into Germany’s dwindling birth rate, an issue of growing concern for government and society. Only half as many children were born in Germany last year as 40 years ago.

Factors such as contentment with childless life, the higher costs of living and worries about long-term job prospects are other reasons why as many as one-third of German women will have no children.

In fact, the state of the economy plays an important role in Germans’ decision to have children. Almost half of all respondents to the Forsa survey who had one child choose not to have any more because they "don’t know whether they will keep their job and can afford more children."

For women especially, working environments continue to be a major factor limiting women’s desire to have children. Nearly half of the women respondents complained about work superiors who had no tolerance for family. More than 29% find that it takes longer to advance their career with children.

Although fewer Germans are having kids, 90% of the 40,000 people surveyed listed family as their number one priority. Being a parent means many things for people in Germany, but many see "being needed," "having joy," and "being loved and loving" as the most positive rewards of parenthood. Quite alarmingly, over half of those polled connected parenthood with "bringing victims into the world," an idea that is closely related to concerns over jobs prospects.

Forsa also asked respondents what measures the German government could take to promote a more family-friendly country. Just 25% of the respondents suggested more "Kindergeld," the German system that gives families up to 300 Eur ($397) per child every month. Only 21% thought that better state-sponsored childcare facilities would make them more likely to have more children.