Population: Largest number of naturalizations since the turn of the millennium

Population: Largest number of naturalizations since the turn of the millennium

More than a third of all naturalized citizens come from Syria. The number of new citizens from Ukraine is only increasing slightly.

Last year, more people were naturalized in Germany than ever before since the time series began in 2000. This was announced by the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden. The number of naturalizations rose by 19 percent compared to the previous year, after having already risen by 28 percent in 2022 compared to the previous year. In absolute numbers, around 200,100 foreigners were naturalized in 2023.

People from 157 different nationalities received German citizenship in 2023. The five most common nationalities were Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Romania and Afghanistan. Together, these countries accounted for more than half of all naturalizations.

Naturalized citizens are younger than the population average

The naturalized citizens were on average 29.3 years old and thus significantly younger than the general population. The proportion of women among the naturalized citizens was 45 percent, which was lower than in the general population.

Previously Syrian nationals made up the largest group of those naturalized. They alone accounted for more than a third of all naturalizations. Their number rose by another 56 percent compared to the previous year. In 2022, this number had already more than doubled compared to the previous year and even increased sevenfold in 2021.

Language skills and minimum length of stay

“The high number of naturalizations of Syrians is therefore linked to the high immigration of Syrian asylum seekers between 2014 and 2016. These people now increasingly meet the requirements for naturalization, including language skills and minimum length of stay,” the statisticians explained.

Naturalizations of Iraqi nationals increased by 57 percent, while naturalizations of Turkish nationals decreased by 25 percent. Naturalizations of Romanian nationals increased by 8 percent, and the number of Afghan naturalizations increased by 55 percent.

The number of naturalizations of Ukrainians increased by six percent to 5,900 in 2023, after almost tripling from 1,900 to 5,600 from 2021 to 2022 in the wake of the Russian attack. Naturalizations of Ukrainian citizens accounted for three percent of all naturalizations in 2023.

Source: Stern

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