document_title: Demographics of Germany

question_text: what is the largest ethnic group in germany

question_tokens: what is the largest ethnic group in germany

root

text: Demographics of Germany

text: History[edit]

text: The contemporary demographics of Germany are also measured by a series of full censuses, with the most recent held in 1987. Since reunification, German authorities rely on a micro census.

tag: p

text: Total Fertility Rate from 1800 to 1899[edit]

text: The total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman. It is based on fairly good data for the entire period. Sources: Our World In Data and Gapminder Foundation.[17]

text:
Years
1800
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810[17]

Total Fertility Rate in Germany
5.4
5.4
5.39
5.39
5.38
5.38
5.37
5.37
5.36
5.36
5.35

tag: table

text:
Years
1811
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
1817
1818
1819
1820[17]

Total Fertility Rate in Germany
5.35
5.34
5.34
5.33
5.33
5.32
5.32
5.33
5.35
5.37

text:
Years
1821
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830[17]

Total Fertility Rate in Germany
5.35
5.33
5.31
5.28
5.26
5.17
5.07
4.97
4.88
4.78

text:
Years
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
1837
1838
1839
1840[17]

Total Fertility Rate in Germany
4.8
4.83
4.85
4.88
4.9
4.9
4.9
4.9
4.9
4.9

text:
Years
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850[17]

Total Fertility Rate in Germany
4.9
4.95
4.97
5
5.02
5.02
5.02
5.01
5.01
5.01

text:
Years
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855
1856
1857
1858
1859
1860[17]

Total Fertility Rate in Germany
4.87
4.74
4.6
4.47
4.33
4.45
4.56
4.67
4.79
4.9

text:
Years
1861
1862
1863
1864
1865
1866
1867
1868
1869
1870[17]

Total Fertility Rate in Germany
4.93
4.96
5
5.03
5.06
5.09
5.11
5.13
5.16
5.18

text:
Years
1871
1872
1873
1874
1875
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880[17]

Total Fertility Rate in Germany
5.24
5.3
5.35
5.41
5.46
5.38
5.3
5.22
5.14
5.06

text:
Years
1881
1882
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889
1890[17]

Total Fertility Rate in Germany
5.14
5.21
5.29
5.28
5.26
5.25
5.23
5.22
5.21
5.2

text: Life expectancy from 1875 to 2015[edit]

text: Sources: Our World In Data and the United Nations.

text:
Years

1875

1885

1895

1905

1911

1915

1925

1935

1946[18]

Life expectancy in Germany

38.5

39.5

42.8

45.5

49.0

40.5

57.4

61.5

60.5

text:
Period

Life expectancy inYears

Period

Life expectancy inYears

1950–1955

67.5

1985–1990

75.0

1955–1960

68.9

1990–1995

76.0

1960–1965

70.0

1995–2000

77.3

1965–1970

70.7

2000–2005

78.6

1970–1975

71.2

2005–2010

79.7

1975–1980

72.3

2010–2015

80.5

1980–1985

73.7

text: Source: UN World Population Prospects[19]

text: Statistics since 1900[edit]

text: Population statistics since 1900.[20] Territorial changes of Germany occurred in 1918/1919, 1921/1922, 1945/1946 and in 1990.

text:
hide

Average population

Live births

Deaths

Natural change

Crude birth rate (per 1000)

Crude death rate (per 1000)

Natural change (per 1000)

Total Fertility Rates[fn 1][17][21][22][23]

Fertility rates FRG[21]

Fertility rates GDR[21]

1900

54 326 000

1 944 139

1 199 382

744 757

35.8

22.1

13.7

4.93

1901

55 144 000

1 980 313

1 140 489

839 824

35.9

20.7

15.2

4.88

1902

56 017 000

1 971 735

1 088 492

883 243

35.2

19.4

15.8

4.82

1903

56 869 000

1 931 078

1 135 905

795 173

34.0

20.0

14.0

4.77

1904

57 695 000

1 972 847

1 128 183

844 664

34.2

19.6

14.6

4.68

1905

58 514 000

1 935 153

1 158 314

776 839

33.1

19.8

13.3

4.60

1906

59 343 000

1 970 477

1 078 202

892 275

33.2

18.2

15.0

4.51

1907

60 183 000

1 948 933

1 084 309

864 624

32.4

18.0

14.4

4.43

1908

61 023 000

1 964 052

1 100 490

863 562

32.2

18.0

14.2

4.34

1909

61 857 000

1 929 278

1 062 217

867 061

31.2

17.2

14.9

4.18

1910

62 698 000

1 876 778

1 016 665

860 113

29.9

16.2

13.7

4.01

1911

63 469 000

1 824 729

1 097 784

726 945

28.7

17.3

11.5

3.85

1912

64 236 000

1 823 636

1 000 749

822 887

28.4

15.6

12.8

3.68

1913

65 058 000

1 794 750

975 950

818 800

27.6

15.0

12.6

3.52

1914

65 860 000

1 775 596

1 246 310

529 286

27.0

18.9

8.0

3.27

1915

65 953 000

1 353 546

1 410 420

-56 874

20.5

21.4

-0.9

3.02

1916

65 795 000

1 005 484

1 258 054

-252 570

15.3

19.1

-3.8

2.76

1917

65 450 000

912 109

1 345 424

-433 315

13.9

20.6

-6.6

2.51

1918

64 800 000

926 813

1 606 475

-679 662

14.3

24.8

-10.5

2.26

1919

62 897 000

1 260 500

978 380

282 120

20.0

15.6

4.5

2.33

1920

61 794 000

1 599 287

932 929

666 358

25.9

15.1

10.8

2.40

1921

62 473 000

1 581 130

869 555

711 575

25.3

13.9

11.4

2.48

1922

61 890 000

1 424 804

890 181

534 623

23.0

14.4

8.6

2.55

1923

62 250 000

1 318 489

866 754

451 735

21.2

13.9

7.2

2.62

1924

62 740 000

1 290 763

766 957

523 806

20.6

12.2

8.4

2.42

1925

63 110 000

1 311 259

753 017

558 242

20.8

11.9

8.8

2.21

1926

63 510 000

1 245 471

742 955

502 516

19.6

11.7

7.9

2.10

1927

63 940 000

1 178 892

765 331

413 561

18.4

12.0

6.5

1.98

1928

64 470 000

1 199 998

747 444

452 554

18.6

11.6

7.0

1.99

1929

64 670 000

1 164 062

814 545

349 517

18.0

12.6

5.4

1.93

1930

65 130 000

1 144 151

718 807

425 344

17.6

11.0

6.5

1.88

1931

65 510 000

1 047 775

734 165

313 610

16.0

11.2

4.8

1.71

1932

65 716 000

993 126

707 642

285 484

15.1

10.8

4.3

1.62

1933

66 027 000

971 174

737 877

233 297

14.7

11.2

3.5

1.58

1934

66 409 000

1 198 350

725 000

473 000

18.0

10.9

7.1

1.93

1935

66 871 000

1 263 976

792 018

471 958

18.9

11.8

7.1

2.03

1936

67 349 000

1 278 583

795 793

482 790

19.0

11.8

7.2

2.07

1937

67 831 000

1 277 046

794 367

482 679

18.8

11.7

7.1

2.09

1938

68 424 000

1 348 534

799 220

549 314

19.7

11.7

8.0

2.25

1939

69 314 000

1 413 230

854 348

558 882

20.4

12.3

8.1

2.39

1940

69 838 000

1 402 258

885 591

516 667

20.1

12.7

7.4

2.40

1941

70 244 000

1 308 232

844 435

463 797

18.6

12.0

6.6

2.25

1942

70 834 000

1 055 915

847 861

208 054

14.9

12.0

2.9

1.83

1943

70 411 000

1 124 718

853 246

271 472

16.0

12.1

3.9

2.00

1944

69 000 000

1 215 000

915 000

300 000

17.6

13.3

4.3

1.89

1945

66 000 000

1 060 000

1 210 000

-150 000

16.1

18.3

-2.3

1.53

1946

64 260 000

921 998

1 001 331

-79 333

14.3

15.6

-1.2

1.65

1947

65 842 000

1 028 421

932 628

95 793

15.6

14.2

1.5

1.92

2.01

1.75

1948

67 365 000

1 049 074

804 839

244 235

15.6

11.9

3.6

1.96

2.07

1.76

1949

68 080 000

1 106 803

770 852

335 951

16.3

11.3

4.9

2.11

2.14

2.03

1950

68 374 000

1 116 835

748 329

368 506

16.3

10.9

5.4

2.14

2.10

2.35

1951

68 882 000

1 106 608

752 697

353 911

16.1

10.9

5.1

2,16

2.06

2.46

1952

69 171 000

1 105 080

767 637

337 443

16.0

11.1

4.9

2.16

2.08

2.42

1953

69 564 000

1 095 096

790 654

304 442

15.7

11.4

4.4

2.15

2.07

2.40

1954

69 934 000

1 110 028

775 291

334 737

15.9

11.1

4.8

2.18

2.12

2.38

1955

70 307 000

1 113 128

795 938

317 190

15.8

11.3

4.5

2.18

2.11

2.38

1956

70 711 000

1 137 169

812 111

325 058

16.1

11.5

4.6

2.22

2.19

2.30

1957

71 166 000

1 165 555

840 195

325 360

16.4

11.8

4.6

2.28

2.28

2.24

1958

71 637 000

1 175 870

818 418

357 452

16.4

11.4

5.0

2.29

2.29

2.22

1959

72 180 000

1 243 922

835 402

408 520

17.2

11.6

5.7

2.36

2.34

2.37

1960

72 664 000

1 261 614

876 721

384 893

17.4

12.1

5.3

2.37

2.37

2.35

1961

73 352 000

1 313 505

850 300

463 205

17.9

11.6

6.3

2.45

2.47

2.42

1962

74 049 000

1 316 534

878 814

437 720

17.8

11.9

5.9

2.44

2.45

2.42

1963

75 019 000

1 355 595

895 070

460 525

18.1

11.9

6.1

2.51

2.52

2.47

1964

75 273 000

1 357 304

870 319

486 985

18.0

11.6

6.5

2.54

2.55

2.48

1965

76 061 000

1 325 386

907 882

417 504

17.4

11.9

5.5

2.50

2.51

2.48

1966

76 734 000

1 318 303

911 984

406 319

17.2

11.9

5.3

2.51

2.54

2.43

1967

76 954 000

1 272 276

914 417

357 859

16.5

11.9

4.7

2.48

2.54

2.34

1968

77 249 000

1 214 968

976 521

238 447

15.7

12.6

3.1

2.38

2.39

2.30

1969

77 918 000

1 142 368

988 092

154 276

14.7

12.7

2.0

2.21

2.20

2.24

1970

77 772 000

1 047 737

975 664

72 073

13.5

12.5

0.9

2.03

1.99

2.19

1971

78 355 000

1 013 396

965 623

47 773

12.9

12.3

0.6

1.96

1.92

2.13

1972

78 717 000

901 657

965 689

-64 032

11.5

12.3

-0.8

1.73

1.72

1.79

1973

78 951 000

815 969

963 034

-147 065

10.3

12.2

-1.9

1.56

1.54

1.58

1974

78 966 000

805 500

956 573

-151 073

10.2

12.1

-1.9

1.53

1.51

1.54

1975

78 862 000

782 310

989 649

-207 339

9.9

12.5

-2.6

1.48

1.45

1.54

1976

78 299 000

798 334

966 873

-168 539

10.2

12.3

-2.2

1.51

1.46

1.64

1977

78 161 000

805 496

931 155

-125 659

10.3

11.9

-1.6

1.51

1.40

1.85

1978

78 066 000

808 619

955 550

-146 931

10.4

12.2

-1.9

1.50

1.38

1.90

1979

78 082 000

817 217

944 474

-127 257

10.5

12.1

-1.6

1.50

1.39

1.90

1980

78 295 000

865 789

952 371

-86 582

11.1

12.2

-1.1

1.56

1.44

1.94

1981

78 399 000

862 100

954 436

-92 336

11.0

12.2

-1.2

1.53

1.43

1.85

1982

78 293 000

861 275

943 832

-82 557

11.0

12.1

-1.1

1.51

1.41

1.86

1983

78 082 000

827 933

941 032

-113 099

10.6

12.1

-1.4

1.43

1.33

1.79

1984

77 797 000

812 292

917 299

-105 007

10.4

11.8

-1.3

1.39

1.29

1.74

1985

77 619 000

813 803

929 649

-115 846

10.5

12.0

-1.5

1.37

1.28

1.73

1986

77 635 000

848 231

925 411

-77 180

10.9

11.9

-1.0

1.41

1.34

1.70

1987

77 718 000

867 969

901 291

-33 322

11.2

11.6

-0.4

1.43

1.37

1.74

1988

78 116 000

892 993

900 627

-7 634

11.4

11.5

-0.1

1.46

1.41

1.67

1989

78 677 000

880 459

903 441

-22 103

11.2

11.5

-0.3

1.42

1.39

1.56

1990

79 365 000

905 675

914 361

-8 686

11.4

11.5

-0.1

1.454

1.450

1.518

1991

79 984 000

830 019

911 245

-81 226

10.4

11.4

-1.0

1.332

1.422

0.977

1992

80 570 000

809 114

885 443

-76 329

10.0

11.0

-0.9

1.292

1.402

0.830

1993

81 187 000

798 447

897 270

-98 823

9.8

11.1

-1.2

1.278

1.393

0.775

1994

81 422 000

769 603

884 659

-115 056

9.5

10.9

-1.4

1.243

1.347

0.772

1995

81 661 000

765 221

884 588

-119 367

9.4

10.8

-1.5

1.249

1.339

0.838

1996

81 896 000

796 013

882 843

-86 830

9.7

10.8

-1.1

1.316

1.396

0.948

1997

82 061 000

812 173

860 389

-48 216

9.9

10.5

-0.6

1.369

1.441

1.039

1998

82 024 000

785 034

852 382

-67 348

9.6

10.4

-0.8

1.355

1.413

1.087

1999

82 101 000

770 744

846 330

-75 586

9.4

10.3

-0.9

1.361

1.406

1.148

2000

82 213 000

766 999

838 797

-71 798

9.3

10.2

-0.9

1.378

1.413

1.214

2001

82 350 000

734 475

828 541

-94 066

8.9

10.1

-1.1

1.349

1.382

1.231

2002

82 489 000

719 250

841 673

-122 423

8.7

10.2

-1.5

1.341

1.371

1.238

2003

82 541 000

706 721

853 946

-147 225

8.6

10.3

-1.8

1.340

1.364

1.264

2004

82 517 000

705 622

818 271

-112 649

8.6

9.9

-1.4

1.355

1.372

1.307

2005

82 470 000

685 795

830 227

-144 432

8.3

10.1

-1.8

1.340

1.355

1.295

2006

82 377 000

672 724

821 627

-148 903

8.2

10.0

-1.8

1.331

1.341

1.303

2007

82 267 000

684 862

827 155

-142 293

8.3

10.1

-1.7

1.370

1.375

1.366

2008

82 110 000

682 514

844 439

-161 925

8.3

10.3

-2.1

1.376

1.374

1.404

2009

81 901 000

665 126

854 544

-189 418

8.1

10.4

-2.3

1.358

1.353

1.404

2010

81 751 000

677 947

858 768

-180 821

8.3

10.5

-2.2

1.393

1.385

1.459

2011

80 233 100

662 685

852 328

-189 643

8.2

10.6

-2.4

1.390

1.38

1.46

2012

80 399 000

673 544

869 582

-196 038

8.4

10.8

-2.4

1.406

1.40

1.48

2013

80 767 000

682 069

893 825

-211 756

8.5

11.1

-2.6

1.419

1.41

1.49

2014

81 198 000

714 966

868 373

-153 407

8.8

10.7

-1.9

1.47

1.47

1.54

2015

82 175 700

737 575

925 200

-187 625

9.0

11.3

-2.2

1.50

1.50

1.56

2016

82 521 700

792 131

910 902

-118 771

9.6

11.0

-1.4

1.59

1.60

1.64

2017

82 740 900

784 884

932 263

-147 379

9.5

11.3

-1.8

text: Current vital statistics[edit]

text:
Births for January–May 2017 =  315,285
Births for January–May 2018 =  312,719

tag: ul

text:
Deaths for January–May 2017 =  418,503
Deaths for January–May 2018 =  430,014

text:
Population growth for January–May 2017 =  -103,218
Population growth for January–May 2018 =  -117,295

text: After the World War II border shifts and expulsions, the Germans from Central and Eastern Europe and the former eastern territories moved westward to post-war Germany. During the partition of Germany, many Germans from East Germany fled to West Germany for political and also economic reasons. Since Germany's reunification, there are ongoing migrations from the eastern New Länder to the western Old Länder for economic reasons.

text:
The federal republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic followed different paths when it came to demographics. The politics of the German Democratic Republic was pronatalistic[25] while that of the Federal Republic was compensatory.
Fertility in the GDR was higher than that in the FRG. Demographic politics was only one of the reasons. Women in the GDR had fewer "biographic options", young motherhood was expected of them. State funded costfree childcare was available to all mothers.[26]

text: Note: Berlin is included into East Germany for the year 2002 and 2008. Source: Kreyenfeld (2002); Kreyenfeld et al. (2010); HFD Germany (2010)[27]

text:
Year
1960
1970
1980
1985
2002
2008

West Germany
24.9
23.8
25.0
26.2
27.6
28.7

East Germany
23.0
22.5
22.3
22.3
26.4
27.5

text: About 1.7 million people have left the new federal states since the fall of the Berlin Wall, or 12% of the population,[28] a disproportionately high number of them were women under 35.[29]

text: After 1990, the total fertility rate (TFR) in the East dropped to 0.772 in 1994. This has been attributed to the fact that there was a "demographic shock" (people not only had fewer children, they also were less likely to marry or divorce after the end of the GDR) the biographic options of the citizens of the former GDR had increased. Young motherhood seemed to be less attractive and the age of the first birth rose sharply.[26]

text: In the following years, the TFR in the East Germany started rising again, surpassing 1.0 in 1997 and 1.3 in 2004, reaching the West's TFR in 2007 (1.37). In 2010, the East's fertility rate (1.459) clearly exceeded that of the West (1.385), while Germany's overall TFR has risen to 1.393, the highest value since 1990[6][30] - which was still far below the natural replacement rate of 2.1 and the birth rates seen under communism. In 2016, the TFR of East Germany was 1.64, while TFR in the West – 1.60.[31]

text: Between 1989 and 2009, about 2,000 schools closed because of a scarcity of children.[28]

text: In some regions the number of women between the ages of 20 and 30 has dropped by more than 30%.[28] In 2004, in the age group 18-29 (statistically important for starting families) there were only 90 women for every 100 men in the new federal states (including Berlin).

text: Until 2007 family politics in the federal republic was compensatory, which means that poor families received more family benefits (such as the Erziehungsgeld) than rich ones. In 2007 the so-called "Elterngeld" was introduced. According to Christoph Butterwegge the Elterngeld was meant to "motivate highly educated women to have more children", the poor on the other hand were disadvantaged by the Elterngeld, receiving now fewer child benefits than the middle classes.[32] The very well-off (who earn more than 250.000 Euro per annum) and those on welfare receive no Elterngeld payments.[33]

text: In 2013 the following most recent developments were noticed:[34]

text:
The income of families having young children has risen. Persons holding a college degree, persons older than 30 years and parents with only one child benefited the most. Single parents and young parents did not benefit
Fathers are becoming more involved in parenting, and 28% of them now take some time off their jobs (3.3 months on average) when their children are born.
Mothers are more likely to work and as a result less likely to be economically deprived than they used to.
The birth rate of college educated women has risen.

text: In the new federal states the birth rate of college educated women is now higher than that of those without college degrees. Differences in value priorities and the better availability of childcare in the eastern states are discussed as a possible reason.[35]

text: Demographic statistics[edit]

text: Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review.[36]

text:
One birth every 43 seconds
One death every 34 seconds
Net gain of one person every 3 minutes
One net migrant every 1 minutes

text: Demographic statistics according to the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.[23]

text:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2010 est.)

text: While most childbirths in Germany happen within marriage, a growing number of children are born out-of-wedlock. In 2010 the out-of-wedlock-rate was 33%, more than twice of what it was in 1990.[37]

text:
The Mikrozensus done in 2008 revealed that the number of children a German woman aged 40 to 75 had, was closely linked to her educational achievement.[8]
In Western Germany the most educated women were the most likely to be childless. 26% of those groups stated they were childless, while 16% of those having an intermediate education, and 11% of those having compulsory education, stated the same.
In Eastern Germany however, 9% of the most educated women of that age group and 7% of those who had an intermediary education were childless, while 12% of those having only compulsory education were childless.

text: The reason for that east-western difference is that the GDR had an "educated mother scheme" and actively tried to encourage first births among the more educated. It did so by propagandizing the opinion that every educated woman should "present at least one child to socialism" and also by financially rewarding its more educated citizen to become parents. The government especially tried to persuade students to become parents while still in college and it was quite successful in doing so. In 1986 38% of all women, who were about to graduate from college, were mothers of at least one child and additional 14% were pregnant and 43% of all men, who were about to graduate from college, were fathers of at least one child. There was a sharp decline in the birth rate and especially in the birth rate of the educated after the fall of the Berlin wall. Nowadays,[when?] 5% of those about to graduate from college are parents.

text: The more educated a Western German mother aged 40 to 75 was in 2008, the less likely she was to have a big family.

text:
Percent of Western German mothers having 1, 2 and 3 or more children by educational attainment

number of children

compulsory education

intermediary education

highest education

one child
22
30
31

two children
39
48
48

three or more children
39
22
21

[38]

text: The same was true for a mother living in Eastern Germany in 2008.

text:
Percent of Eastern German mothers having 1, 2 and 3 and more children by educational attainment

number of children

compulsory education

intermediary education

highest education

one child
23
33
33

two children
37
46
51

three or more children
40
21
16

[38]

text: A study done in 2005 in the western German state of Nordrhein-Westfalen by the HDZ revealed that childlessness was especially widespread among scientists. It showed that 78% of the women scientists and 71% of the male scientists working in that state were childless.[39]

text: Ethnic minorities and migrant background (Migrationshintergrund)[edit]

text: The Federal Statistical Office defines persons with a migrant background as all persons who migrated to the present area of the Federal Republic of Germany after 1949, plus all foreign nationals born in Germany and all persons born in Germany as German nationals with at least one parent who migrated to Germany or was born in Germany as a foreign national. The figures presented here are based on this definition only.

text: In 2010, 2.3 million families with children under 18 years were living in Germany, in which at least one parent had foreign roots. They represented 29% of the total of 8.1 million families with minor children. Compared with 2005 – the year when the microcensus started to collect detailed information on the population with a migrant background – the proportion of migrant families has risen by 2 percentage points.[40] In 2015, 36% children under 5 years old had migrant background.[41](number includes ethnic German repatriates)

text: Most of the families with a migrant background live in the western part of Germany. In 2010, the proportion of migrant families in all families was 32% in the former territory of the Federal Republic. This figure was more than double that in the new Länder (incl. Berlin) where it stood at 15%.[40]

text: Families with a migrant background more often have three or more minor children in the household than families without a migrant background. In 2010, about 15% of the families with a migrant background contained three or more minor children, as compared with just 9% of the families without a migrant background.[40]

text: In 2009, 3.0 million of the persons of immigrant background had Turkish roots, 2.9 million had their roots in the successor states of the Soviet Union (including a large number of Russian-speaking ethnic Germans), 1.5 million had their roots in the successor states of Yugoslavia and 1.5 million had Polish roots.[42]

text: In 2008, 18.4% of Germans of any age group and 30% of German children had at least one parent born abroad. Median age for Germans with at least one parent born abroad was 33.8 years, while that for Germans, who had two parents born in Germany was 44.6 years.[43]

text: Germany is home to the third-highest number of international migrants worldwide after the United States and Saudi Arabia.[44]

text: Population of Germany in 2017

text: As of  2017[update], the population by background was as follows:[46]

text:
Population composition

%

Population[46]

European

89.7

73,357,000

European Union

87.3

71,396,000

     German (excluding ethnic German repatriates)[45]

76.4

62,482,000

     German repatriates

3.5

2,840,000

     Polish (excluding ethnic German repatriates)

1.8

1,460,000

     Italian

1.0

861,000

     Romanian (excluding ethnic German repatriates)

0.8

636,000

     Greek

0.5

438,000

     Other EU member states (primarily Spanish, Croatian, Dutch, Portuguese and Austrians)

3.3

2,679,000

European Other

2.4

1,961,000

     Russian (excluding ethnic German repatriates)

1.0

781,000

     Others (primarily former Yugoslavian, excluding Croatia and Slovenia)

1.4

1,180,000

Middle Eastern/Northern African

5.5

4,552,600

     Turkish (including Turkish Kurds)

3.4

2,774,000

     Syrians

0.8

706,000

     Others (primarily Iranian, Afghans and Arabs from other countries)

1.3

1,072,000

Sub-Saharan African

0.5

463,000

East Asian and South/Southeast Asian

2.7

2,020,000

     Peoples from Kazakhstan (excluding ethnic German repatriates. Probably Russians and other Europeans)

0.8

657,000

     Chinese

0.2

180,000

     Vietnamese

0.2

168,000

     Others (primarily Indians and Pakistani)

1.2

1,015,000

Americas

0.5

501,000

     Americans

0.2

163,000

Australia/Oceania

<0.1

40,000

Other/unspecified/mixed

0.2

605,000

Total population

100

81,740,000

text:
Simone Hauswald has Migrationshintergrund due to one side of her parents being foreign-born

Mesut Özil is classified as having a migrant background because both of his parents were born in Turkey

Helene Fischer has a migrant background despite being ethnically German because she was born in the Soviet Union to parents of the German minority in Russia.

text: Four other sizable groups of people are referred to as "national minorities" (nationale Minderheiten) because they have lived in their respective regions for centuries: Danes, Frisians, Roma and Sinti, and Sorbs. There is a Danish minority (about 50,000, according to government sources) in the northern-most state of Schleswig-Holstein. Eastern and Northern Frisians live at Schleswig-Holstein's western coast, and in the north-western part of Lower Saxony. They are part of a wider community (Frisia) stretching from Germany to the northern Netherlands. The Sorbs, a Slavic people with about 60,000 members (according to government sources), are in the Lusatia region of Saxony and Brandenburg. They are the last remnants of the Slavs that lived in central and eastern Germany since the 7th century to have kept their traditions and not been completely integrated into the wider German nation.

text: Until World War II the Poles were recognized as one of the national minorities. In 1924 the Union of Poles in Germany had initiated cooperation between all national minorities in Germany under the umbrella organization Association of National Minorities in Germany. Some of the union members wanted the Polish communities in easternmost Germany (now Poland) to join the newly established Polish nation after World War I.[citation needed] Even before the German invasion of Poland, leading anti-Nazi members of the Polish minority were deported to concentration camps; some were executed at the Piaśnica murder site. Minority rights for Poles in Germany were revoked by Hermann Göring's World War II decree of 27 February 1940, and their property was confiscated.

text: After the war ended, the German government did not re-implement national minority rights for ethnic Poles.  The reason for this is that the areas of Germany which formerly had a native Polish minority were annexed to Poland and the Soviet Union, while almost all of the native German populations (formerly the ethnic majority) in these areas subsequently fled or were expelled by force.  With the mixed German-Polish territories now lost, the German government subsequently regarded ethnic Poles residing in what remained of Germany as immigrants, just like any other ethnic population with a recent history of arrival.  In contrast, Germans living in Poland are recognized as national minority and have granted seats in Polish Parliament. It must be said, however, that an overwhelming number of Germans in Poland have centuries-old historical ties to the lands they now inhabit, whether from living in territory that once belonged to the German state, or from centuries-old communities. In contrast, most Poles in present-day Germany are recent immigrants, though there are some communities which have been present since the 19th and perhaps even the 18th centuries.  Despite protests by some in the older Polish-German communities, and despite Germany being now a signatory to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Germany has so far refused to re-implement minority rights for ethnic Poles, based on the fact that almost all areas of historically mixed German-Polish heritage (where the minority rights formerly existed) are no longer part of Germany and because the vast majority of ethnic Poles now residing in Germany are recent immigrants.

text: Roma people have been in Germany since the Middle Ages. They were persecuted by the Nazis, and thousands of Roma living in Germany were killed by the Nazi regime. Nowadays, they are spread all over Germany, mostly living in major cities. It is difficult to estimate their exact number, as the German government counts them as "persons without migrant background" in their statistics. There are also many assimilated Sinti and Roma. A vague figure given by the German Department of the Interior is about 70,000. In the late 1990s, many Roma moved to Germany from Kosovo. In contrast to the old-established Roma population, the majority of them do not have German citizenship, they are classified as immigrants or refugees.

text: After World War II, 14 million ethnic Germans were expelled from the eastern territories of Germany and homelands outside the former German Empire. The accommodation and integration of these Heimatvertriebene in the remaining part of Germany, in which many cities and millions of apartments had been destroyed, was a major effort in the post-war occupation zones and later states of Germany.

text: Since the 1960s, ethnic Germans from the People's Republic of Poland and Soviet Union (especially from Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine), have come to Germany. During the time of Perestroika, and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the number of immigrants increased heavily. Some of these immigrants are of mixed ancestry. During the 10-year period between 1987 and 2001, a total of 1,981,732 ethnic Germans from the FSU immigrated to Germany, along with more than a million of their non-German relatives. After 1997, however ethnic Slavs or those belonging to Slavic-Germanic mixed origins outnumbered these with only Germanic descent amongst the immigrants. The total number of people currently living in Germany having FSU connection is around 4 to 4.5 million (Including Germans, Slavs, Jews and those of mixed origins), out of that more than 50% is of German descent.[47][48]

text: Germany now has Europe's third-largest Jewish population. In 2004, twice as many Jews from former Soviet republics settled in Germany as in Israel, bringing the total inflow to more than 100,000 since 1991.[49] Jews have a voice in German public life through the Central Council of Jews in Germany (Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland). Some Jews from the former Soviet Union are of mixed heritage.

text: In 2000 there were also around 300,000–500,000 Afro-Germans (those who have German citizenship)[50] and 150,000+ African nationals. Most of them live in Berlin and Hamburg. Numerous persons from Tunisia and Morocco live in Germany. While they are considered members of a minority group, for the most part, they do not considers themselves "Afro-Germans," nor are most of them perceived as such by the German people. However, Germany does not keep any statistics regarding ethnicity or race. Hence, the exact number of Germans of African descent is unknown.

text: Germany's biggest East Asian minority are the Vietnamese people in Germany. About 40,000 Vietnamese live in Berlin and surroundings. Also there are about 20,000 to 25,000 Japanese people residing in Germany. Some South Asian and Southeast Asian immigration has taken place. Nearly 50,000 Indians live in Germany. As of 2008, there were 68,000 Filipino residents and an unknown number of Indonesians residing in Germany.[51]

text:
Numerous descendants of the so-called Gastarbeiter live in Germany. The Gastarbeiter mostly came from Chile, Greece, southern Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey and the former Yugoslavia.
Also included were Vietnam, Mongolia, North Korea, Angola, Mozambique and Cuba when the former East Germany existed until reunification in 1990.[52] The (socialist) German Democratic Republic (East Germany) however had their guest-workers stay in single-sex dormitories.[53] Female guest workers had to sign contracts saying that they were not allowed to fall pregnant during their stay. If they fell pregnant nevertheless they faced forced abortion or deportation.[54] This is one of the reasons why the vast majority of ethnic minorities today lives in western Germany and also one of the reasons why minorities such as the Vietnamese have the most unusual population pyramid, with nearly all second-generation Vietnamese Germans born after 1989.

text: Foreign nationals in Germany[edit]

text: As of  2016[update], the numbers of selected groups of resident foreign nationals (non-naturalized residents) in Germany were as follows:

text: This list does not include foreigners with German nationality and foreign nationals without resident status.

text:
Rank

Nationality

Population (2016)[57]

% of foreign nationals

EU Nationals

4,279,770

42,6

EU-Candidate Nationals

1,944,195

19,4

1
 Turkey
1,492,580
14.9

2
 Poland
783,085
7.8

3
 Syria
637,845
6.4

4
 Italy
611,450
6.1

5
 Romania
533,660
5.3

6
 Greece
348,475
3.5

7
 Croatia
332,605
3.3

8
 Bulgaria
263,320
2.6

9
 Afghanistan
253,485
2.5

10
 Russian Federation
245,380
2.4

11
 Iraq
227,195
2.3

12
 Serbia
223,100
2.2

13

Kosovo

202,905

2,0

14
 Hungary
192,340
1.9

15
 Austria
183,625
1.8

16
 Bosnia and Herzegovina
172,560
1.7

17
 Spain
163,560
1.6

18
 Netherlands
149,160
1.5

19
 Ukraine
136,340
1.4

20
 Portugal
136,080
1.4

21
 France
130,915
1.3

22

China

129,150

1,3

23

United States

114,145

1,1

24

United Kingdom

107,005

1,1

Other EU Nationals

344,490

3,4

25

Switzerland

48,880

0,5

text: Genetics of the German native people[edit]

text: The most common Y chromosome haplogroups among German males are Haplogroup R1b, followed by Haplogroup I1, and Haplogroup R1a.[58]

text: Geography[edit]

text: With an estimated more than 81.8 million inhabitants in late 2011,[59] Germany is the most populous country in the European Union and ranks as the 16th largest country in the world in terms of population. Its population density stands at 229.4 inhabitants per square kilometer.

text: States[edit]

text: Germany comprises sixteen states that are collectively referred to as Länder.[60] Due to differences in size and population the subdivision of these states varies, especially between city-states (Stadtstaaten) and states with larger territories (Flächenländer). For regional administrative purposes five states, namely Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony, consist of a total of 22 Government Districts (Regierungsbezirke). As of 2009 Germany is divided into 403 districts (Kreise) on municipal level, these consist of 301 rural districts and 102 urban districts.[61]

text:
State
Capital
Area(km²)
Population[62](Dec. 31, 2015)
Population density

North Rhine-Westphalia
Düsseldorf
34,110
 17,865,516
524

Bavaria
Munich
70,550
 12,843,514
182

Baden-Württemberg
Stuttgart
35,751
 10,879,618
304

Lower Saxony
Hanover
47,614
 7,926,599
167

Hesse
Wiesbaden
21,115
 6,176,172
293

Saxony
Dresden
18,420
 4,084,851
221

Rhineland-Palatinate
Mainz
19,854
 4,052,803
204

Berlin
Berlin
892
 3,670,622
4,100

Schleswig-Holstein
Kiel
15,800
 2,858,714
181

Brandenburg
Potsdam
29,654
 2,484,826
83

Saxony-Anhalt
Magdeburg
20,452
 2,245,470
110

Thuringia
Erfurt
16,173
 2,170,714
134

Hamburg
Hamburg
755
 1,787,408
2,366

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Schwerin
23,212
 1,612,362
69

Saarland
Saarbrücken
2,569
 995,597
388

Bremen
Bremen
419
 671,489
1,599

Germany
Berlin
357,340
 82,175,684
230

text: Cities[edit]

text:
viewtalkedit
BerlinHamburgMunich (München)

Rank

City

Federal state

Population

viewtalkedit
Cologne (Köln)
Frankfurt am MainStuttgart

1
Berlin
Berlin
3,670,622

2
Hamburg
Hamburg
1,787,408

3
Munich
Bavaria
1,450,381

4
Cologne
North Rhine-Westphalia
1,060,582

5
Frankfurt am Main
Hesse
732,688

6
Stuttgart
Baden-Württemberg
623,738

7
 Düsseldorf
North Rhine-Westphalia
612.178

8
Dortmund
North Rhine-Westphalia
586,181

9
Essen
North Rhine-Westphalia
582,624

10
Leipzig
Saxony
560,472

11
Bremen
Bremen
557,464

12
Dresden
Saxony
543,825

13
Hanover
Lower Saxony
532,163

14
Nuremberg
Bavaria
509,975

15
Duisburg
North Rhine-Westphalia
491,231

Source: Statistische Ämter des Bundes und der Länder[63]

text: Metropolitan regions[edit]

text: Germany officially has eleven metropolitan regions. In 2005, Germany had 82 cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants.

text:
Metropolitan region
Location
Description
Population
Notes

Rhine-Ruhr

The metropolitan area is part of the pan-European Blue Banana mega region and is a significant industrial and commercial hub, home to many of Germany's biggest corporations and contributing as much as 15% to the German GDP. Included in the rather polycentric conurbation are the cities of Cologne, Düsseldorf, Bonn, Dortmund and Essen served by two of the countries largest airports Düsseldorf Airport and the Cologne Bonn Airport. Particularly among young Germans, Cologne and Düsseldorf are known for their nightlife and open-minded atmosphere.

approx. 10 million

Turks, Poles, Italians, Romanians, Africans, Arabs, Greeks, Dutch, Russians, Serbs, Bulgarians and Spaniards

Berlin/Brandenburg

Berlin is the capital and largest city. It lies in the eastern part of the country, completely surrounded by the rather sparsely populated state of Brandenburg. Berlin is regarded as one of Europe's most open, vibrant and ever changing capitals. The city is arguably the most diverse city in Germany regarding culture and ethnicity. Regarded as an economically weak region of Germany for a long time, it is now transforming itself into the entrepreneurial center of Europe. Dubbed the "Silicon Allee" by insiders of the tech industry, Berlin is home to countless startup companies and one of Germany's densest knowledge hubs with 4 public universities and countless research centers.

approx. 6 million

Turks, Russians, Poles, Africans, Italians, Americans, Vietnamese, Serbs, Arabs, Bulgarians, Romanians, French and Spaniards

Munich

The metropolitan area in and around Munich has one of Germany's highest standard of living. Housing some of the countries largest car and machine companies, it is known for its economic strength mixed with the uniqueness of Bavarian culture, taking up almost the entirety of southern Bavaria. It is the closest metropolitan area to the Alps.

approx. 5.7 million

Turks, Croats, Italians, Poles, Greeks, Austrians, Romanians and Serbs

Rhine-Main

Frankfurt is the financial and commercial center both for Germany and continental Europe. Almost all of Germany's big banks and the ECB have their HQ located inside the city of Frankfurt. Despite not having a population of over a million, it is Germany's only city with a large, visible cluster of skyscrapers. The city is one of Europe's biggest transit hubs with Europe's 4th busiest airport (Frankfurt airport), Germany's second busiest railway stations and one of the EU's most heavily used interchanges.

approx. 5.5 million

Turks, Poles, Italians, African, Croats, Romanians, Greeks, Serbs, Spaniards, Americans, Chinese, Arabs and Indians

Hamburg

Hamburg is the country's second largest city and the biggest Hanseatic city in Europe. It is Europe's 3rd busiest container port with just under 9 million TEUs annually. The city is proud of its diverse nightlife and music scene centered in and around the famous St. Pauli district.

approx. 5.3 million

Turks, Poles, African, Portuguese, Romanians, Russians, Italians and Spaniards

Stuttgart

Stuttgart has a reputation for research, inventions and industry. The German headquarters of many international enterprises are in Stuttgart. This contrasts with the strong rural, down-to-earth attitude of the Stuttgarters throughout the classes. A popular slogan is "We are good at everything. Except speaking High (standard) German."

approx. 5.2 million

Turks, Greeks, Dutch, Italians, Croats, Serbs, French, Chinese, Romanians, Americans and Spaniards.[citation needed]

Hannover–Braunschweig–Göttingen–Wolfsburg

The relatively urban south of Lower Saxony, located on route between the Ruhr area and Berlin, and the route form Hamburg to the south, has been important for logistics, industry, but also developed a strong standing in the service industries.

approx. 3.7 million

Turks, Kurds (especially around Celle), Serbs, Ukrainians, Greeks, Russians, Italians (especially in Wolfsburg) and Spanish (Especially in Hanover).[citation needed]

Bremen/Oldenburg

Located in the northwestern part of Germany, the main axis contains the cities of Bremen, Delmenhorst and Oldenburg, with the cities of Wilhelmshaven and Bremerhaven being the northern corners at the north sea. Major rural areas are covered in between these cities. There is a smooth transition to the Hamburg metropolitan area to the east.

approx. 2.7 million

Turks, Russians, Albanians, Serbs, Portuguese, Iranians, Dutch, Americans and Britons.[citation needed]

Central German Metropolitan Region

Very lively bar scene, fastest growing economy in Germany.

approx. 2.4 mil

Russians, Poles, Vietnamese, Indians, Italians, Romanians, Ukrainians, Chinese, Turks, Portuguese, Arabs and Pakistanis.[citation needed]

text: Immigration[edit]

text: Over ten million people living in Germany today were born outside of Germany; equivalent to 12% of the German population. Most immigrants come from other European countries, particularly from Turkey, Russia, Poland and Italy. Germany is the second-most popular destination for immigrants in the world after the United States.[36] The German Government has been keen to encourage immigration over the past fifty years.[36]

text: Germany had signed special visa agreements with several countries in times of severe labour shortages or when particular skills were deficient within the country. During the 1960s and 1970s, agreements were signed with the governments of Turkey, Yugoslavia, Italy and Spain to help Germany overcome its severe labour shortage.

text: As of 2012, the largest sources of net immigration to Germany are other European countries, most importantly Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Spain, and Greece; notably, in the case of Turkey, German Turks moving to Turkey slightly outnumber new immigrants.[64]

text: In 2015, there were 476,649 asylum applications.[65]

text: Education[edit]

text: Responsibility for educational oversight in Germany lies primarily with the individual federated states. Since the 1960s, a reform movement has attempted to unify secondary education into a Gesamtschule (comprehensive school); several West German states later simplified their school systems to two or three tiers. A system of apprenticeship called Duale Ausbildung ("dual education") allows pupils in vocational training to learn in a company as well as in a state-run vocational school.[66]

text: Optional kindergarten education is provided for all children between three and six years old, after which school attendance is compulsory for at least nine years. Primary education usually lasts for four years and public schools are not stratified at this stage.[66] In contrast, secondary education includes three traditional types of schools focused on different levels of academic ability: the Gymnasium enrols the most academically promising children and prepares students for university studies; the Realschule for intermediate students lasts six years; the Hauptschule prepares pupils for vocational education.[67]

text:
In addition Germany has a comprehensive school known as the Gesamtschule. While some German schools such as the Gymnasium and the Realschule have rather strict entrance requirements, the Gesamtschule does not have such requirements. They offer college preparatory classes for the students who are doing well, general education classes for average students, and remedial courses for those who aren't doing that well. In most cases students attending a Gesamtschule may graduate with the Hauptschulabschluss, the Realschulabschluss or the Abitur depending on how well they did in school.
The percentage of students attending a Gesamtschule varies by Bundesland. In 2007 the State of Brandenburg more than 50% of all students attended a Gesamtschule,[68] while in the State of Bavaria less than 1% did.

text: The general entrance requirement for university is Abitur, a qualification normally based on continuous assessment during the last few years at school and final examinations; however there are a number of exceptions, and precise requirements vary, depending on the state, the university and the subject. Germany's universities are recognised internationally; in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) for 2008, six of the top 100 universities in the world are in Germany, and 18 of the top 200.[69] Nearly all German universities are public institutions, tuition fees in the range of €500 were introduced in some states after 2006, but quickly abolished again until 2014.

text: Percentage of jobholders holding Hauptschulabschluss, Realschulabschluss or Abitur in Germany[70]

text:
1970

1982

1991

2000

Hauptschulabschluss

87,7%

79,3%

66,5%

54,9%

Realschulabschluss

10,9%

17,7%

27%

34,1%

Abitur

1,4%

3%

6,5%

11%

text: Literacy[edit]

text: Over 99% of those of age 15 and above are estimated to be able to read and write. However, a growing number of inhabitants are functionally illiterate. The young are much more likely to be functionally illiterate than the old. According to a study done by the University of Bremen in coorporation with the "Bundesverband Alphabetisierung e.V.", 10% of youngsters living in Germany are functionally illiterate and one quarter are able to understand only basic level texts.[71] Illiteracy rates of youngsters vary by ethnic group and parents' socioeconomic class.

text: Health[edit]

text:
As of  2009[update], the principal cause of death was cardiovascular disease, at 42%, followed by malignant tumours, at 25%.[72]
As of  2008[update], about 82,000 Germans had been infected with HIV/AIDS and 26,000 had died from the disease (cumulatively, since 1982).[73]
According to a 2005 survey, 27% of German adults are smokers.[73]
A 2009 study shows Germany is near the median in terms of overweight and obese people in Europe.[74]

text: Religion[edit]

text: The national constitutions of 1919 and 1949 guarantee freedom of faith and religion; earlier, these freedoms were mentioned only in state constitutions. The modern constitution of 1949 also states that no one may be discriminated against due to their faith or religious opinions. A state church does not exist in Germany (see Freedom of religion in Germany).[75]

text: According to a 1990s poll by Der Spiegel, 45% of Germans believe in God, and a quarter in Jesus Christ.[79] According to the Eurobarometer Poll 2010, 44% of German citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", 25% responded that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 27% responded that "they don't believe there is any sort of spirit, God or life force". 4% gave no response.[80]

text: Christianity is the largest religion in Germany, comprising an estimated 57.9% of the country's population.[81][82]

text: Islam is the second largest religion in Germany, with an estimated 6.1% of the population according to a 2017 Pew Research Survey. Germany has the second largest Muslim population in Europe, at nearly 5 million, and is expected to grow significantly in the coming decades.[36]

text: Smaller religious groups (less than 1%) include Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism.[83][84]

text:
The two largest churches, the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), have lost significant number of adherents. In 2016 the Catholic Church accounted for 28.5%[81][82][85] and the Evangelical Church for 26.5%[81][82][86] of the population. Other Christian churches and groups summed up to 3.3%[83] with estimations for the Orthodox Church between 1.3%[84] and 1.9%.[83]
Since the reunification of Germany, the number of non-religious people has grown and an estimated 36.2% of the country's population are not affiliated with any church or religion.[81][82][83][84]

text: The other religions make up to less than 1% of the population.[83] Buddhism has around 200,000 adherents (0.2%), Judaism has around 200.000 adherents (0.2%), Hinduism 90,000 (0.1%), Sikhism 75,000 (0.1%) and Yazidis religion (45,000-60,000).[87] All other religious communities in Germany have fewer than 50,000 (<0.1%) adherents.

text:
Religion in Germany (2016)[81][82]

No Religion

35.2%

Roman Catholicism

28.6%

Evangelical Church

26.6%

Islam

5.8%

Orthodox Church

2.0%

Other Christians

1.0%

Other Religions

0.8%

text: Protestantism is concentrated in the north and east and Roman Catholicism is concentrated in the south and west. According to the last nationwide census, Protestantism is more widespread among the population with German citizenship; there are slightly more Catholics total because of the Catholic immigrant population (including such groups as Poles and Italians).[88] The former Pope, Benedict XVI, was born in Bavaria. Non-religious people, including atheists and agnostics, might make up as many as 55% of the total population, and are especially numerous in the former East Germany and major metropolitan areas.[89]

text: Of the roughly 4 million Muslims, most are Sunnis and Alevites from Turkey, but there are a small number of Shi'ites and other denominations.[90][91] 1.3% of the country's overall population declare themselves Orthodox Christians,[84] with Serbs, Greeks, Montenegrins, Ukrainians and Russians being the most numerous.[92] Germany has Europe's third-largest Jewish population (after France and the United Kingdom).[93] In 2004, twice as many Jews from former Soviet republics settled in Germany as in Israel, bringing the total Jewish population to more than 200,000, compared to 30,000 prior to German reunification. Large cities with significant Jewish populations include Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich.[94] Around 250,000 active Buddhists live in Germany; 50% of them are Asian immigrants.[95]

text: 2011 Census[edit]

text: Census results were as follows:

text:
Roman Catholic Church: 24,740,380 or 30.8% of the German population;
Evangelical Church: 24,328,100 or 30.3% of the German population;
Other, atheist or not specified (including Protestants outside EKD): 31,151,210 or 38.9% of the German population.[88]

text: Religion (2011 German Census)

text:
Evangelical population according to the 2011 Census

Catholic population according to the 2011 Census

Non-Christian population according to the 2011 Census (including other religions and not specified)

Predominant religious group according to the 2011 Census - Catholics are dominant in the south and west, the non-religious (including other religions and not specified) dominate in the east and the large cities and Protestants dominate in north, east, and central parts of Germany

text: Languages[edit]

text: German is the only official and most widely spoken language. Standard German is understood throughout the country.

text: Minority languages[edit]

text: Danish, Low German, Low Rhenish, the Sorbian languages (Lower Sorbian and Upper Sorbian), and the two Frisian languages, Saterfrisian and North Frisian, are officially recognized and protected as minority languages by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in their respective regions. With speakers of Romany living in all parts of Germany, the federal government has promised to take action to protect the language. Until now, only Hesse has followed Berlin's announcement, and agreed on implementing concrete measures to support Romany speakers.

text: Implementation of the Charter is poor. The monitoring reports on charter implementation in Germany show many provisions unfulfilled.[citation needed]

text:
Protected Minority Languages in Germany

Language
States

Danish
Schleswig-Holstein

North Frisian
Schleswig-Holstein

Saterland Frisian
Lower Saxony

Low German
Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, North Rhine-Westphalia

Low Rhenish
North Rhine-Westphalia

Upper Sorbian
Saxony

Lower Sorbian
Brandenburg

Romany
Hesse de facto, de jure in all states (see text)

text: High German dialects[edit]

text: German dialects – some quite distinct from the standard language – are used in everyday speech, especially in rural regions. Many dialects, for example the Upper German varieties, are to some degree cultivated as symbols of regional identity and have their own literature, theaters and some TV programming. While speaking a dialect outside its native region might be frowned upon, in their native regions some dialects can be spoken by all social classes.[citation needed]. Nevertheless, partly due to the prevalence of Standard German in media, the use of dialects has declined over the past century, especially in the younger population.

text: The social status of different German dialects can vary greatly. The Alemannic and Bavarian dialects of the south are positively valued by their speakers and can be used in almost all social circumstances. The Saxonian and Thuringian dialects have less prestige and are subject to derision. While Bavarian and Alemannic have kept much of their distinctiveness, the Middle German dialects, which are closer to Standard German, have lost some of their distinctive lexical and grammatical features and tend to be only pronunciation variants of Standard German.

text: Low Saxon dialects[edit]

text: Low Saxon is officially recognized as a language on its own, but despite this fact, there's little official action taken on fostering the language. Historically one third of Germany's territory and population was Low Saxon speaking. No data was ever collected on the actual number of speakers, but today the number of speakers ranges around 5 million persons. Despite this relatively high number of speakers there is very little coverage in the media (mostly on NDR TV, no regular programming) and very little education in or on the language. The language is not fixed as part of the school curriculum and Low Saxon is used as a medium of instruction in one school only in the whole Germany (as a "model project" in primary school sided by education in Standard German). As a consequence the younger generation refused to adopt the native language of their parents. Language prevalence dropped from more than 90% (depending on the exact region) in the 1930s to less than 5% today. This accounts for a massive intergenerational gap in language use. Older people regularly use the language and take private initiative to maintain the language, but the lack of innovative potential of the younger generation hinders language maintenance. The language too has an own literature (around 150 published books every year) and there are many theatres (mostly lay stages, but some professional ones, like for example Ohnsorg-Theater).

text: Use of Low Saxon is mainly restricted to use among acquaintances, like family members, neighbours and friends. A meeting of a village council can be held almost completely in Low Saxon if all participants know each other (as long as written protocols are written in Standard German), but a single foreigner can make the whole switching to Standard German.

text: The Low Saxon dialects are different in their status too. There's a north-south gradient in language maintenance. The Southern dialects of Westfalian, Eastfalian and Brandenburgish have had much stronger speaker losses, than the northern coastal dialects of Northern Low Saxon. While Eastfalian has lost speakers to Standard German, Westfalian has lost speakers to Standard German and Standard German based regiolect of the Rhine-Ruhr area. Brandenburgish speakers mostly switched to the Standard German-based regiolect of Berlin. Brandenburgish is almost completely replaced by the Berlin regiolect. Northern Low Saxon speakers switched mostly to pure Standard German.

text: Foreign languages[edit]

text: English is the most common foreign language and almost universally taught by the secondary level; it is also taught at elementary level in some states. Other commonly-taught languages are French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian. Dutch is taught in states bordering the Netherlands, and Polish in the eastern states bordering Poland.[citation needed] Latin and Ancient Greek are part of the classical education syllabus offered in many secondary schools.

text: According to a 2004 survey, two-thirds of Germany's citizens have at least basic knowledge of English.[citation needed] About 20% consider themselves to be competent speakers of French, followed by speakers of Russian (7%), Italian (6.1%), and Spanish (5.6%). The relatively high number of Russian speakers is a result of massive immigration from the former Soviet Union to Germany for almost 10 consecutive years, plus its having been learned in school by many older former East Germans.[citation needed]