26 percent of the inhabitants in Germany have a migration background

WIESBADEN. More than every fourth inhabitant of Germany had a migration background last year. According to the Federal Statistical Office, 21.2 million people had foreign roots. This means that 26 percent of the population are immigrant children or migrants. The increase of around 2.1 percent compared to the previous year is the weakest percentage increase since 2011, the authorities said on Tuesday.

With 13.8 million people, around two thirds came from European countries. About 4.6 million people immigrated from Asia, which corresponds to a share of 22 percent. 1 million people were of African descent. Most migrants came from Turkey (13 percent), followed by Poland (11 percent).

85 percent of foreigners immigrated themselves. This was only 46 percent true for Germans with a migration background. Last year, 52 percent of those affected had a German passport, while 48 percent were foreigners. Around eleven million people were German nationals from birth.

The number of residents with foreign roots has been increasing for years

24.4 percent of the working population had a migration background, 75.6 percent had no foreign roots. Migrants worked particularly frequently as cleaners, in production and warehousing, in logistics and in elderly care. They were clearly underrepresented in the police, in the military and in education.

The number of people with a migration background in Germany has been increasing for years. In 2018, 20.8 million people with foreign roots lived in Germany , 2.5 percent more than in the previous year. In 2017, the number had reached a new highest city of 23.6 percent (19.3 million people) for the sixth time in a row and had increased by 4.4 percent compared to 2016.

Source: Junge Freiheit