Shrinking and ageing German population down by 1.5 million

BERLIN: Germany’s population is not only ageing and shrinking — a key challenge for Europe’s biggest economy — but also 1.5 million smaller than previously thought, the first census since before the country’s 1990 reunification showed yesterday.
Federal statistics office Destatis said 80.2 million people were living in Germany as of May 9, 2011, sharply down from the previously assumed population of 81.7 million.
That figure had long been deemed unreliable because it was based on a census taken in the former West Germany in 1987 and a plebiscite in the former communist East Germany in 1981.
Nonetheless “the magnitude of the revision” was a surprise, said Destatis President Roderich Egeler. He said Germany has “significantly fewer foreigners” than previously thought.
Of the new total, 74 million inhabitants or 92.3 percent were German nationals. About 6.2 million or 7.7 percent were foreign nationals — 1.1 million fewer than previously assumed.
This could be because many foreigners who leave the country may not report their departure to municipalities, said Sabine Bechtold, head of population statistics at Destatis.
The new data will mean a range of key indicators will have to be revised, from gross domestic product per capita to the unemployment rate, said Bechtold.
The new census could also reduce the influence of Germany in European institutions — such as the Council of Ministers, where decisions are made with approval of 55 percent of member states and 65 percent of the total population — or in the European Parliament. The census also found that women outnumbered men by about 41 million to 39 million.
About 15 million people, or 19 percent of the population, had a first- or second-generation immigrant background. About 40 million people were in paid work while 2.1 million were out of work, the new figures showed.
In terms of accommodation, almost 46 percent of households lived in their own homes, while more than half were renting.
In a surprise finding, 1.7 percent of households lacked either a toilet, shower or bath and 0.8 percent lacked all three — a trend especially marked in eastern states, which also had the highest number of empty houses.