23% in Germany are immigrants, children of immigrants

BERLIN (AP) — Some 18.9 million people, or 23% of Germany’s population, either immigrated to the country since 1950 or are the children of immigrants, Germany’s Federal Statistics Office said Thursday.

It’s the first time the statistics office has analyzed the country’s population based on migration figures and not just on citizenship, which is a more vague concept since many immigrants — and especially the children of immigrants — have taken on German citizenship in recent years.

When it comes to the 17.3% who are first-generation immigrants, Germany ranks above the European Union average of 10.6%, the German news agency dpa reported.

In addition, another 3.7 million, or 4.5% of the population, have one parent who immigrated and one ethnic German parent.

The newly presented figures are from 2021 and therefore do not include the more than 1 million Ukrainians who came to Germany looking for shelter after Russia invaded their home country a year ago.