Nearly one fifth of Germany's population has a foreign background, a jump of close to 4 per cent in just a single year, new government figures showed Friday, dpa reported.
According to 2013 data, 15.9 million residents in Europe's largest economy have a migrant background - defined by census takers as those who had immigrated since 1950, their descendents, and foreign nationals.
Statisticians attributed the sharp rise - the largest since Germany began compiling such data in 2005 - to both an upsurge in immigration and higher birthrates among ethnic minorities than among Germans.
Of those described as having a migrant background, 6 million were born in Germany and 10.5 million were immigrants.