Demographics of Germany

The population of Germany, currently numbering over 80 million, is primarily of German nationality. There are about 7 million foreign residents, the largest single nationality group of whom are the Turkish. Germany has been a prime destination for refugees from many developing countries, in part because its constitution long had a clause giving a 'right' to political asylum, but restrictions over the years have made it less attractive.

Germany has one of the world's highest levels of education, technological development, and economic productivity. Since the end of World War II, the number of youths entering universities has more than tripled, and the trade and technical schools of the are among the world's best. With a per capita income level of about $27,000, Germany is a broadly middle class society. Germans also are mobile; millions travel abroad each year. A generous social welfare system provides for universal health care, unemployment compensation, and other social needs. Due to Germany's ageing population and struggling economy, the welfare system came under a lot of strain from the 1990s. This lead the government to push through a wide-ranging programme of belt-tightening reforms, Agenda 2010, including the labour market reforms known as Hartz I - IV.

With unification on October 3, 1990, Germany began the major task of bringing the standard of living of Germans in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) up to that of western Germany. This will be a lengthy and difficult process due to the relative inefficiency of industrial enterprises in the former GDR, difficulties in resolving property ownership in eastern Germany, and the inadequate infrastructure and environmental damage that resulted from decades of communist rule. Since reunification, hundreds of thousands of former East Germans have migrated into western Germany to find work.

Drastic changes in the socioeconomic landscape brought about by reunification have resulted in troubling social problems. Economic uncertainty in eastern Germany is often cited as one factor contributing to extremist violence, primarily from the political right. Confusion about the causes of the current hardships and a need to place blame have found expression in harassment and violence by some Germans directed toward foreigners, particularly non-Europeans. The vast majority of Germans condemn such violence.

Population: 82,468,000 (2005, 1st quarter avg.)

Age structure (2003): 0-14 years: 14.7% 15-64 years: 67.3% 65 years and over: 18%

Population growth rate: 0.0% (2004)

Birth rate: 8.56 births/1,000 population (2003)

Death rate: 10.35 deaths/1,000 population (2003)

Net migration rate: 4.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Template:End box

Infant mortality rate: 4.2 deaths (within one year) per 1,000 live births (2003)

Life expectancy at birth (2001):

total population: 78.29 years
male: 75.59 years
female: 81.34 years

Template:End box

Total fertility rate: 1.42 children born/woman (2004)

Nationality: noun: German(s) adjective: German


Contents

Ethnic groups

Germans 91.5%, Turks 2.4%, other 6.1% (made up largely of Serbs, Croats, Italians, Russians, Greeks, Poles, Spaniards, Albanians).

While most of the German citizens are ethnic Germans or naturalized immigrants, there are four other sizable groups of people that have lived in Germany for centuries. They are referred to as "national minorities" (nationale Minderheiten): Danes, Frisians, Roma and Sinti, and Sorbs.

There is a Danish minority (about 50,000, according to government sources) in the most northern-most state of Schleswig-Holstein.

Eastern and Northern Frisians (60,000 inhabitants define themselves as "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, are located in the Lusatia region of Saxony and Brandenburg. They are last remains of the Slavs that lived in central and eastern Germany since the 7th century.

Roma people have been in Germany since the Middle Ages. They were persecuted by the National Socialists, 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 Germany government normally does not keep information on the ethnicity of their citizens. 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 1990s, many Roma moved to Germany from former Yugoslavia. In contrast to the old-established Roma population, the majority of them does not have the German citizenship, they are classified as immigrants or refugees.

Since the 1960s, ethnic Germans from the Soviet Union came to Germany, especially from Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine. During the time of Perestroika, and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the number of immigrants increased heavily.

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 200,000 since 1991. Jews have a voice in German public life through the Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland.

See also: Volga German

Religions

Roman Catholic 32.1%, Lutheran 31.8%, Muslim 4.5%, Jewish 0.1%, unaffiliated or other 31.5% (2002)

Languages

German is Germany's official and most-widely spoken language. Standard German is understood all over the country, while dialects - which can be quite distinct from the standard language - are still in use in everyday speech, especially in rural regions. In contrast with France speakers with regional dialects and accents are generally not frowned on or interpreted as uneducated.

English is the most popular foreign language. In secondary education (in some regions even earlier), it is taught as first foreign language almost everywhere. Other languages taught at schools are French, Italian, Spanish, and Russian. Dutch is taught in counties bordering the Netherlands. Latin and Greek are part of the syllabus of classical education which is offered by some secondary schools.

According to a 2004 survey, two thirds of Germany's citizens have at least basic knowledge of English. About 20 % consider themselves as speakers of French, followed by those of Russian (18 %), Italian (6.1 %), and Spanish (5.6 %). The high number of Russian speakers is a result of the GDR's close relation to the Soviet Union - more than a half of the Germans in the East speak Russian, compared to 5.5 % in the western part of the country.

Danish, Low German, Sorbian, and Frisian are officially recognized and protected as minority languages per the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in their respective regions. As speakers of Romany are living in all parts of Germany, the federal government has promised to take action to protect the language. Until now, Hesse is the only Land that has followed Berlin's announcement and implemented concrete measures to support speakers of Romany.


Protected Minority Languages in Germany
Language States
Danish Schleswig-Holstein
North Frisian Schleswig-Holstein
Saterland Frisian Lower Saxony
Low German Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein
Upper Sorbian Saxony
Lower Sorbian Brandenburg
Romany Hesse (see text)

Template:End box

Literacy

Over 99% of those of age 15 and above are estimated to be able to read and write.

de:Wohnbevölkerung in Deutschland es:Demografía de Alemania pt:Demografia da Alemanha

Navigation

  • Art and Cultures
    • Art (https://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Art)
    • Architecture (https://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Architecture)
    • Cultures (https://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Cultures)
    • Music (https://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Music)
    • Musical Instruments (http://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/List_of_musical_instruments)
  • Biographies (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Biographies)
  • Clipart (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Clipart)
  • Geography (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Geography)
    • Countries of the World (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Countries)
    • Maps (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Maps)
    • Flags (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Flags)
    • Continents (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Continents)
  • History (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/History)
    • Ancient Civilizations (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Ancient_Civilizations)
    • Industrial Revolution (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Industrial_Revolution)
    • Middle Ages (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Middle_Ages)
    • Prehistory (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Prehistory)
    • Renaissance (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Renaissance)
    • Timelines (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Timelines)
    • United States (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/United_States)
    • Wars (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Wars)
    • World History (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/History_of_the_world)
  • Human Body (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Human_Body)
  • Mathematics (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Mathematics)
  • Reference (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Reference)
  • Science (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Science)
    • Animals (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Animals)
    • Aviation (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Aviation)
    • Dinosaurs (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Dinosaurs)
    • Earth (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Earth)
    • Inventions (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Inventions)
    • Physical Science (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Physical_Science)
    • Plants (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Plants)
    • Scientists (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Scientists)
  • Social Studies (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Social_Studies)
    • Anthropology (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Anthropology)
    • Economics (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Economics)
    • Government (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Government)
    • Religion (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Religion)
    • Holidays (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Holidays)
  • Space and Astronomy
    • Solar System (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Solar_System)
    • Planets (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Planets)
  • Sports (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Sports)
  • Timelines (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Timelines)
  • Weather (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Weather)
  • US States (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/US_States)

Information

  • Home Page (http://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php)
  • Contact Us (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Contactus)

  • Clip Art (http://classroomclipart.com)
Toolbox
Personal tools