Refugees lead to record German immigration: statistics office

BERLIN (Reuters) - A record 2.14 million people moved to Germany last year, a 46 percent increase from 2014 after an influx of refugees, the Federal Statistics Office said on Thursday.It said around 45 percent of the 2.14 million immigrants who arrived in Germany last year were citizens of other European Union countries, 13 percent were from non-EU European countries, and 30 percent were from Asia, mainly from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. Five percent were from Africa.The Interior Ministry said earlier this year that 1.1 million migrants entered Germany last year with the aim of seeking asylum but the number of migrants who applied for asylum last year was much lower at 476,649. Those who wish to seek asylum have faced delays in making their applications.It was not immediately clear whether the numbers from the statistics office were based on that data.A record 998,000 people left Germany last year, a 9 percent increase compared with 2014.That led to net migration of 1.14 million, also an all-time high figure, the Statistics Office said.(Reporting by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Alison Williams)Join the conversation about this story
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