More than one in five people in Germany have foreign roots, which is an increase of nearly 9 percent since last year, according to a government report.
A report released Tuesday by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) shows the number of people who were either born to foreign parents or are immigrants themselves reached 18.6 million in 2016. The figure, which makes up 22.5 percent of the total population, is the highest since the agency started recording demographic levels in 2005.
The increase is largely attributed to the migrant crisis, which has brought more than one million people to Germany over the past two years. Citizens of other European countries still make up the largest source of immigration in the country. About half of those with an immigrant background, 52 percent, have German citizenship.
The number of people with roots in the Middle East has gone up 51 percent since 2011 and now stands at 2.3 million. People with African heritage has increased 46 percent during the same timespan to reach 740,000.
The report shows a clear difference in education levels for people with a foreign background. Around 9 percent of people with foreign roots have no high school diploma, compared to 2 percent for the rest of the population. The gap narrows when it comes to academic degrees, with about 37 percent from each group obtaining at least an entry-level university degree.
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