German population grows less than expected, census shows

(Reuters) - Population in Germany has grown between 2011 to 2022 but less than previously assumed, according to the census published by the German statistics office on Tuesday.

It said that as of mid-May 2022 82.7 million people lived in Germany, an increase of 2.5 million from 2011, when the previous census was compiled, but 1.4 million fewer than expected.

The census findings also show that the foreign population has increased to around 10.9 million people in 2022 from 6.2 million in 2011. That was still one million below a figure previously reported in a population projection, accounting for 71% of the divergence between the census and projection data, the statistics office said.

The update comes as Europe's powerhouse faces growth-related concerns and a shrinking working-age population in the next two decades, as a forecast published by the federal institute BBSR showed last week.

It said that in 2023, net migration to the country compensated for Germany's birth rate and ageing population, leading to a rise of 300,000 to a new record of 84.7 million people. That figure was based on projections made before the publication of census data.

The statistics office said that among the largest German cities, Bremen has experienced the biggest population increase of 1.8% between 2011 and 2022, while Cologne has recorded the sharpest drop of 5.9%.

(Reporting by Paolo Laudani; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)