MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The number of Germans with immigrant backgrounds is estimated to have reached a record high of 18.6 million people in 2016, mainly due to an influx of refugees over the two previous years, the country’s Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Tuesday.
The figures showed an 8.5 percent increase since last year and hit its fifth consecutive record since the registers began in 2005, the federal agency specified in a press release.
According to Destatis, a total of 2.3 million people in Germany have their roots in the Middle East, demonstrating a 51 percent increase since 2011. Over one half of the German population (53 percent) reportedly have an immigrant background, meaning that at least one of their parents is foreigner or a naturalized citizen.
Germany has been the key destination for thousands of refugees and immigrants coming to Europe since the start of 2015, when Chancellor Angela Merkel announced her open-door policy. The majority of asylum seekers were from Syria and Afghanistan.
