Germany’s Federal Statistical Office said on Tuesday (September 27) that the country’s population has shot up to its highest level due to influx of refugees from Ukraine. Germany is Europe’s most populous country.
Germany has one of the world’s lowest fertility rates and by some measures its most aged population, but its wealth, demand for labour and relatively open immigration policy made it an attractive target for migrants even before the EU opened its doors to Ukrainians fleeing their country after Russia’s invasion in February.
The Federal Statistical Office released a report on Tuesday and said that population had grown by 1%, or 843,000 people, in the first half of 2022. In comparison, during the whole of year 2021, Germany’s population grew only by 0.1 per cent.
Since German reunification, considerable growth in population has only been observed thrice. And each time it had links to wave of refugees.
In 1992, refugees from the war in former Yugoslavia helped swell the population by 700,000. In 2015, Germany let in almost a million refugees from war in the Middle East.
Germany’s female population grew by 1.2%, significantly more than its male population, which increased by 0.8%, reflecting the fact that mainly women and children fled the war in Ukraine. Men of fighting age are forbidden from leaving the country.
(With inputs from agencies)
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