Berlin: Germany`s population rose for a third consecutive year in 2013, boosted by the highest level of net migration in 20 years, the Federal Statistics Office said on Wednesday.
Some 80.8 million people lived in Germany at the end of 2013, up from 80.5 at the end of 2012. The number of deaths exceeded births by around 200,000 to 220,000 but migration more than made up for the shortfall.
Economic crisis in the euro zone has brought scores of young southern Europeans to Germany in search of employment, and sparked a wave of German language learning across the continent as people seek to benefit from Germany`s comparative economic strength.
Experts warn however that Germany`s population will shrink in the medium to long-term due to the low birth rate, and could stand at just 70 million by 2060.
