Quickfacts: Society

Last update: 01-15-2002

Ethnic groups:
Germans, Danish and Sorb minorities.

Language: German

Religions, 1998: 33% Protestant, 33% Roman Catholic, 34% none or other.

Population, Dec.'99:
82,163 million, +0.2% or 126,464 persons more than in 1998 (-0.1%),
West: 66,946,150 (women: 34,293,056), +0.3%
East: 15,217,325 (women: 7,779,643), -0.5%.

Population growth:
+2.2% from 1991-1996, due to the influx of foreigners,
1997-1999: -0.1%, annual average.

Population density, 2000:
596 persons per sq mi, Highest density: North Rhine-Westphalia: 1,359 persons, Lowest density: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: 204 persons.

Density per sq. km in cities:
Munich: 3,996, Berlin: 3,897, Leipzig: 3,186, Dresden: 2,095, Essen: 2,931, Stuttgart: 2,831, Bremen: 1,682. About 12 million or 14.7% of all Germans live in the largest twelve German cities with a population of more than 500,000.

Foreigners, Dec. '99**:
7,336,100, +0.3% from Dec. '98, or 8.9% of the population.
From:
Turkey: 2,053,560
former Yugoslavia: 737,200
Italy: 615,900
Greece: 364,400
Africa: 305,300
Poland: 291,700
Croatia: 214,000
Austria: 186,100
Bosnia-Herzegovina: 167,700
Portugal: 132,600
Spain: 131,000
United States: 112,000
Iran: 116,500
Vietnam: 85,400

Naturalized citizens, 2000:
186,700 foreigners, +30% over 1999 (143,300),
By nationality:
82,800 (or 44%) from Turkey
14,400 (or 7.7%) from Iran
9,800 (or 5%) from Yugoslavia (Serbia, Montenegro)
5,700 (or 3%) from Lebanon
5,000 (or 2.7%) from Morocco
4,800 (or 2.6%) from Afghanistan
4,600 (or 2.5%) from Russian Federation
4,600 (or 2.5%) from Sri Lanka
4,500 (or 2.4%) from Vietnam
4,000 (or 2%) from Bosnia, Herzegovina

Live births, 2000**:
766,971, of these 179,569 out of wedlock,
1999: 770,744, down by 1.8% from 1998,
East: 107,000 (+3.8%),
West: 664,000 (-2.7%),
German nationality: 676,000 (-1.4%),
Foreign nationality: 95,000 (-4.8%).
Out of wedlock:
East: 499,
West: 177 per 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth, 1997/99:
Men: 74.4 years, women: 80.6 years,
East: 73.0 yrs for men, 80.0 yrs for women
West: 74.8 yrs for men, 80.7 yrs for women.

Obesity (Body Mass top), Apr. 1999:
Persons older than 17 years of age: 47% overweight, 11% obese,
East: 50%,
West: 46%. Men: 56% overweight, 12% obese, Women: 39% overweight, 11% obese.

Deaths, 2000**:
838,796, 0.9% less than in 1999, 388,981 men, 449,815 women,
Drug-related, 2001**: 1735 registered cases, down from 2,023 in 2000.
Road traffic casualties, 2001**: 7,000, -7% from 2000,
Alcohol-related road traffic casualties 2000: 1,022 (-8%).

Marriages, 2000**:
419,505, 1999: 431,000, +3.2% from the previous year, the first increase since 1989,
East: 61,000 (+10.3%),
West: 370,000 (+2.1%). Average age of first time 'I do'-vow takers, 1997: Women: 27 yrs, 10 months, men: 30 yrs, 4 months. (1992: Women: 26 yrs, 5 months, men: 28 yrs, 10 months).
Non-marital partnerships, April '00:
2.1 million or every tenth couple, +47% from April 1991,
East: 12% or every eighth couple. 29% of non-marital partnership-households have children, (legally married couples: 51%).

Bi-national married couples, May 2000:
1.3 million couples (6.6%): both spouses a foreign national, 0.8 million marriages (4.1%): 51% or 411,000 wives foreign nationals: 75% Europeans (12% Poland, 8% former Soviet Union, 7% Turkey), 13% Asians, 8% Americans, 3% Africans, 1% other; 49% or 395,000 husbands foreign nationals: 79% Europeans (15% Turkey, 14% Italy, 7% Austria), 7% Africans, 6% Americans, 6% Asians, 2% other, 17.37 million (89.3%) all-German couples.

Divorces, 2000:
194,410, a record high rate, up by 2% from 1999. Ten out of 1,000 marriages ended in divorce in 1999, affecting 148,100 children below the age of 18 years.

Households, May 2000**:
38,124,000,
Single-person-households: 13.75 million,
Two-person-households: 12.60 million,
Three-person-households: 5.598 million,
Four-person-households: 4.391 million, Five and more persons: 1,665 million. About 40% of households, or 14.8 million, owned their dwellings in 1999: West 44%, east 26% (+19% from 1993).

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