Immigrants boost German population as births outnumber death first time in eight years

The German population has grown for the first time in eight years, according to the latest estimates from the Federal Statistical Office – but only thanks to an influx of immigrants, mainly from eastern Europe.

The office's latest estimate suggests that the German population grew by 90,000 people last year, with the numbers boosted by around 163,000 Poles, 95,000 Romanians, 51,000 Bulgarians, and 41,000 Hungarians all settling in the country in 2011.

But despite this positive development, authorities still believe that the population will continue to decline in coming decades, because Germans are not having enough babies.

The office says that there would need to be an average of 2.1 children per woman in order to sustain the current population level – but the current birth-rate is well below that at 1.4. Even the current rate of immigration to Germany is not enough to make up the deficit.

Immigrants boost German population - The Local