BERLIN, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The number of residents with foreign roots in Germany has reached the highest level since 2005, the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden revealed on Tuesday.
18.6 million individuals in the country had a migratory background in 2016, meaning that they were either immigrants or children thereof.
The number marked an 8.5 percent increase on the previous year, and "the biggest increase since the beginning of measurements in 2005," noted the Office.
The share of Germany's total population with foreign roots reached a new record level as well at 22.5 percent. The development could largely be explained by the large influx of migrants, including asylum seekers, which the country has experienced since 2015.
2.3 million individuals in Germany had roots in the Middle East in 2016, an increase of nearly 51 percent since 2011. Africans had arrived in larger numbers as well to reach a total of 740,000 -- 46 percent more than in 2011.
Turkey was still the single biggest country of origin for Germans with migratory backgrounds, but had lost relevance in recent years.
Despite the mass arrival of refugees from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, the bulk of people with migratory backgrounds still came from other European countries, said the Office.
