Some 25% of people living in Germany have an immigrant background

Every fourth person living in Germany has an immigration background, official figures showed on Monday.

Some 21.8 million people were either born abroad or have parents who immigrated to Germany, accounting for 26.3% of the total 84-million population, the Federal Statistical Office said in a statement, citing 2025 figures.

This represents an increase of 0.5 percentage points compared to the previous year.

The data is part of the agency's annual micro census which surveys about 1% of the population on a range of topics.

Some 20% of people living in Germany are first-generation immigrants, according to the figures.

In 2025, the figure stood at 16.4 million, up by 1.7% from 2024, meaning the number of new immigrants has grown less sharply than in previous years, the agency noted.

Polish and Turkish citizens make up the largest share of first-generation immigrants with 1.5 million each, followed by Ukrainians at 1.3 million and Russian and Syrian nationals at 1 million respectively.

A total of 5.4 million people were born to immigrant parents who had moved to Germany since 1950, up 3% compared to 2024.